VOA常速英语2008年-US Furious Over Belgrade Embassy Attack

By David Gollust
Washington
22 February 2008
 

The United States has formally protested to Serbia's government over inadequate¹ security at the U.S. embassy in Belgrade, which was attacked and partly burned by demonstrators Thursday. The State Department says Serbian anger over Kosovo independence is no excuse for the attack and anti-U.S. incitement³ in Serbia. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

State Department officials say they're still trying to piece together the precise circumstances of the attack. But they say it is clear that the Serbian security presence around the embassy was completely inadequate, despite the fact that thousands demonstrators angry over U.S. recognition of Kosovo independence were in the area.

At a news briefing late Thursday, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said authorities deployed⁴ enough police to turn back the crowd only after the embassy had been breached⁵, and after Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns had warned Serbian Prime Minister Voyislav Kostunica and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic that they would be held personally accountable if the attack continued.

"The message was very clear, that the situation was intolerable, that they needed to act immediately to provide adequate security forces so that our embassy compound and our personnel were not under attack," said Sean McCormack. "He made it very clear to the foreign minister that we would hold the Serbian government personally responsible for the safety and well-being⁶ of our embassy employees."

McCormack said Burns, acting⁷ on the orders of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, told the Serbian officials there could be no repeat of the situation in the future and was so assured by Mr. Kostunica.

The spokesman said the penetration⁸ of the embassy and associated fire damage was limited to a reception area, and that secure areas and classified materials were not compromised.

In the expectation of the Kosovo demonstration⁹, U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter closed the embassy at mid-day Thursday and only a few security personnel and other staffers were in the building at the time of the attack.

There were no known casualties among U.S. personnel though Serbian fire officials reported finding a burned body on the embassy grounds, possibly that of a protester.

Serbia has been bitterly critical of the decision by the United States and key European allies Monday to recognize Kosovo independence.

The majority ethnic-Albanian former Serb province had been run by the United Nations since 1999 and the Bush administration held that internationally-supervised independence, as called for last year by U.N. envoy¹⁰ Martti Ahtisaari, was the only viable¹¹ solution for the troubled region.

McCormack said the United States realized it is a difficult issue for Serbia but that it is not an excuse for incitement to violence, which he said some political figures in Belgrade have engaged in.

"There cannot be an incitement to violence," he said. "We are interested in a political dialogue with the Serbian government. The European Union is interested in a political dialogue with the Serbian government. It is very clear there are differences with respect to the action that we took to recognize Kosovo and the action that others have taken to recognize Kosovo. We can talk about that. But none of that, none of those disagreements are an excuse or justification¹² to incite² others to violence."

Serbia withdrew its ambassador from Washington earlier this week. McCormack said while the U.S. embassy will close for a few days, ambassador Munter will remain in Belgrade and there is no intention on the U.S. side to downgrade relations over Thursday's events.

1 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

2 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

3 incitement   

激励； 刺激； 煽动； 激励物

参考例句：

• incitement to racial hatred 种族仇恨的挑起
• Interest is an incitement to study. 兴趣刺激学习。

4 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

5 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

6 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 penetration   

n.穿透，穿人，渗透

参考例句：

• He is a man of penetration.他是一个富有洞察力的人。
• Our aim is to achieve greater market penetration.我们的目标是进一步打入市场。

9 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

10 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

11 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

12 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。