(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/121008-athens-720a.photoblog600.jpg) / People walk past graffiti in central Athens on Monday ahead of the visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.By Anthee Carassava, CNBC.comDebt-swamped Greece braced for two days of strikes, protests and potential violence as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, long demonized for her tough-talking, austerity-minded approach to Europe’s deepening woes, prepared to visit the epicenter of the crisis, three years since it began here.
To fend off potential attacks, at least 7,000 plainclothes police and hundreds more undercover agents have been mobilized from across the country to lock down the capital and erect steel fences around parliament. Snipers were already visibly stationed on the roof tops of government buildings in Athens; Commando Seals and Frogmen were also ordered on standby as helicopters began patrolling the Athenian skyline from Monday.
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