There’s an old saying that goes something like “If you break it, you buy it.” The US government seems to be taking this literally. It has offered 15 million dollars to acquire a piece of land in the heart of Belgrade where it plans to build the new US embassy in Serbia. This is the same area that NATO bombings reduced to rubble in 1999.

“If you break it …”. The new embassy will be built in Dedinje, an historically symbolic neighborhood of Belgrade closely linked to state power. Josip Broz—marshal Tito—had his home here along with the apartments and villas of  the Yugoslavian—and then Serbian—political élite. Slobodan Milosevic lived here as well, which is why NATO air forces didn’t hesitate bombing it to smithereens.
It was no coincidence the US chose this site in particular: home to a privileged few, the district boasts clean fresh air and is a far cry from the majority of Belgrade’s residential areas. The city’s wealthiest residents have their homes here surrounded by expensive stores and shopping malls. But it was one of the areas that suffered most in 1999.
The facts are well know. On March 24, 1999, NATO commences operations to halt the ethnic cleansing that western authorities claimed was underway in Kosovo, where Serbian troops were slaughtering Albanians. A series of tactical and operational miscalculations left thousands of civilians dead. Belgrade was repeatedly hit and suffered enormous damages, including the area around Dedinje.

A bizarre history. It is at the very least peculiar, then, to hear Michael Polt, US ambassador in Belgrade, announce an agreement with the Serbian government while emphasizing that this “represents a powerful symbol, a kind of monument to friendly relations between the two states.” Polt added that the embassy was just the first step in a series of investments that Washington has decided to make in Serbia totaling 100 million dollars. It also seems likely that withdrawals recently announced for the next few months by Serbian military authorities (due to lack of funds) are part of the accord. Polt added that the agreement has been held up for years because of hardline opposition by the Serbian military who felt the site purchased by the US was too close to other strategic installations. But times have changed and Belgrade is facing too many serious problems right now to turn down that much cash.
And so now things have come full circle. The US is paying a fortune to set up shop in an area they had bombed out of existence, an area that was for years home to the very symbols of power that kept Washington and Belgrade apart. The Serbian government is making huge profits on land that NATO destroyed thereby plunging the Serbian economy into crisis—the very crisis that is today motivating the government in Belgrade to accept an offer from buyers who, just a few years ago, were considered bitter enemies. 
                       

                                                                                                                Ch.E.