Monday, September 23, 2013

The Other Approach to Security

The Swiss just voted to keep their military draft, and the vote wasn't close either. Some 73% of them voted "no" on a measure to convert to an all volunteer military. See this Los Angeles Times article for details.

It has been 200 years since the Swiss had to fight anyone. That in a Europe where wars were common throughout the first three-quarters of the entire period.

Using a combination of fearsome terrain (the Alps), strict neutrality, and an almost universally armed adult male militia, Switzerland has avoided the wars that swirled around it.

If you visit Switzerland, look for semi-hidden gun emplacements, pillboxes, blast-protected fighter hardstands, mysterious tunnels, etc. A lot of the Swiss military is underground, dug into the mountainsides.

Could the U.S. do what the Swiss have done to protect itself, probably not. Our population is much more heterogeneous, and while well armed, not as susceptible to organization.

Later ... One characteristic of Swiss foreign policy entirely unlike ours is their absolute refusal to become involved in the internal affairs of another country. The Swiss never send troops elsewhere; their military posture consists entirely of defending Switzerland from within its own borders.

The Vatican's famous Swiss Guard are the one exception and they are, in actual fact, mercenaries - employees of the Holy See, not a function of the Swiss government.