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Guest Post: Do The Swiss Know Something The Rest Of Us Don't?

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Via John R. Schindler of The XX Committee,

Do the Swiss know something the rest of us don’t?

Ueli Maurer, the Swiss defense minister, has been making coy statements about the European crisis getting ugly – as in really ugly, like needing armed troops to deal with it. This sounds more like Greece, where the rioting is regular and increasingly scary, than anything in Central Europe, but where the whole EU furball is headed does seem less than clear of late.

The Swiss are famous for preparing for everything and having an absolutely huge army, relative to their population, to deal with any eventuality. They maintain their special military system, based on training for nearly the whole male population but a very small active duty cadre (plus a few, tiny UN peacekeeping-type missions abroad, since the Swiss have an actually defensive defense force): the Swiss can call up over 200,000 trained troops, which is but one-third of what was on-call twenty years ago – like everyone, they have downsized as the threat has receded since the fall of the Soviet bloc – but that’s still pretty huge in Swiss terms. In America, that would mean a mobilization strength of nearly 8,000,000 for the U.S. military (it’s a hair under three million, in case you were wondering).

Minister Maurer, accompanied by whispers from the top uniformed leadership in Switzerland, is trying to raise awareness that Europe’s massive fiscal-cum-political crisis could get very unpleasant. Swiss military exercises in September, called STABILO DUE, were based on EU instability getting out of hand. The Swiss have stayed out of the EU – one more thing the very prosperous Swiss are gloating about these days – and they certainly don’t want EU problems spilling over into their peaceful little country. That the Swiss military is adding four new military police battalions to the army, to be spread around the country, indicates that the threat they have in mind is more disorder and chaos than actual invasion.

The Swiss are in the process of modernizing their military, which they have discovered is very expensive; the purchase of 22 new Saab Gripen fighters has proved a big political headache, since the Swiss are as notable for their frugality as for their military preparedness. But Minister Maurer is on firm ground when he notes that the massive decline in European militaries since 1990 has implications for today, none of them positive. When even the British have cut their army so much that, in the event of a serious crisis, there would be at most two dozen infantry battalions on hand in the UK (that’s well under 20,000 bayonets), one has to wonder if the next London “disturbances” could be kept in check if things got truly ugly. It’s commonly held by European security insiders that if the next Anders Brievik were to target Muslims, not fellow Europeans, things could get unimaginably ugly very quickly. It is difficult to see how Europe’s much smaller militaries could cope with massive civil disturbances. (And don’t ask Uncle Sam for help, since the very last thing the Pentagon wants is to get dragged into any riot suppression – particularly putting down Muslim uprisings – anywhere in Europe.)

It’s easy to dismiss the Swiss, since they are a tiny country whose military hasn’t actually fought anybody in a couple centuries. On the other hand, they managed to stay out of both of Europe’s catastrophic World Wars precisely though preparing for eventualities and maintaining a strong defensive capability. They’re clearly on to something.

 

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Mon, 10/08/2012 - 01:24 | 2866877 Cycling Fish
Cycling Fish's picture

Yes, the Swiss do know something.

When you are bankers for the richest folks and leaders of the world you get to see what they are afraid of and you can gauge the levels of fear from the movements in their account balances.

To put that another way, when you are a relationship banker in Switzerland or an accountant or a "signer" for the very rich, you get to see what they do, not just listen to what they say.

 

LLoyds of London are in a similar position since the "names" include most well connected people.

 

 

Mon, 10/08/2012 - 01:31 | 2866884 TheObsoleteMan
TheObsoleteMan's picture

No, it wasn't because the Swiss are great at being prepared that has kept them out of outside wars for over 600 years. It is because they were, and still are to a lesser extent, Europe's bankers. Somebody has to be "neutral", and provide all of those under the table banking trasactions to the warring nations. During both world wars, the Swiss banking industry serviced both sides of the conflicts. They were the bank of choice for the OSS, ODESSA and SIS.

Mon, 10/08/2012 - 02:43 | 2866947 mr_T
mr_T's picture

In Zurich the ATMs have the option to dispense cash in the form of gold teeth..
I wonder if I can deposit my grill.

Mon, 10/08/2012 - 02:56 | 2866958 Joe A
Joe A's picture

Not only do they have a big army, nearly every Swiss has a weapon at home. Some years ago there was a scandal in Switzerland because they discovered the existence of a secret army. There are also many caves where the army and/or civilians can retreat to in case of war. Due to the Alps, it is very difficult to manouvre an army into Switzerland. Tanks would be sitting ducks.

Mon, 10/08/2012 - 06:21 | 2867052 4exNinja
4exNinja's picture

Being Swiss I should shed some light on this ;)

Ueli is part of the people's party, a fairly extreme rightwing party. They are currently going through a few scandals as some of their statements are Santorum'esque crazy. 

The Swiss military ALWAYS supported the cops and disaster aid. We don't think that's weird. They're well trained and at least that way our taxpayer money is used for something useful. So often during larger sporting events you will see the occasional soldier stand next to a cop. They are often training with each other and we are very used to seeing them roll around the country.

Ueli's just posturing. It's as simple as that. As mentioned above, getting the military involved in support of cops isn't anything new in Switzerland, and you won't hear anyone scream "state of emergency" or other nonsense. As pretty much every male at one point in time served in the military (me included), people aren't suspicious of this...they are part of Swiss culture. 

The Swiss military is indeed going through some changes and will continue to refocus their strategy. In the process, they are likely to work even closer with cops...and this latest move is a sign of that. 

It has NOTHING to do with Switzerland fearing violence from Europe!! It's just that Ueli is VERY anti-EU and comes over the top with his statements when in reality they're just a continuation of a previously agreed strategy to get the military work closer with the cops whenever beneficial. 

In short: Nothing to see here, just some political posturing ;)

EDIT: And yeah, most of us have assault rifles at home and it's quite common to see dudes with guns on trains on their way to military service. Why do we have almost no shootings? Because people generally have it too good which makes sure they don't go apeshit. If you lose your job, you get 80% of your previous salary until you find a new one (up to 2 years or so). Everyone has health insurance. You get paid $30/hr serving drinks or $4200/mo being a maid. Call it socialism if you want, but just like in Sweden it WORKS and generally ensures people have a high standard of living. 

Mon, 10/08/2012 - 06:44 | 2867075 onebir
onebir's picture

When you commanded a bicycle battalion, you need to work for that credibility:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ueli-Maurer/112508485429025?sk=info&rf=108184439210130

Mon, 10/08/2012 - 07:06 | 2867083 4exNinja
4exNinja's picture

Actually, there are tons of places where this is the fastest mode of transportation ;)

We also have snowboard soldiers...and before you laugh, we actually have foreign army special forces train with those guys. When I did my service we were stationed with some Dutch and US guys for a couple of days. Went through avalanche training and learned how to rescue people from crevaces at a glacier. 

I still think it's a giant waste of money, but at least they help when avanlanches go down and offer assistance to cops. 

PS: On a side note, our entire army is a bunch of alcoholics and pot heads...people never consume more stuff than during their army duty. Sitting on some stupid tower in the middle of nowhere protecting a country that doesn't need it does that to you. :D

PPS: Also, most citizens opt to hand in their rifle when not on duty...so a lot of people stopped having those guns at home. It's just pointless to have them at home as the crime rate is silly low and there simply aren't enough violent crimes to justify owning a gun. Again, making sure the population as a whole has a good standard of living makes sure of that...2.8% unemployment during a crisis is pretty good I'd say ;)

Mon, 10/08/2012 - 08:13 | 2867163 Ar-Pharazôn
Ar-Pharazôn's picture

show me how are you going on the top of a mountian with your nice abrahams

Mon, 10/08/2012 - 08:29 | 2867195 4exNinja
4exNinja's picture

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qXmTtyj105A/TG5BJ8OJH5I/AAAAAAAAByE/wzdq6kg2Vn4/s1600/sany02.jpg

 

I was laughing too until I saw them. They really get to places where short of walking you wouldn't get to. 

Mon, 10/08/2012 - 08:54 | 2867248 Ar-Pharazôn
Ar-Pharazôn's picture

i know mate... you're not the only swiss here ;)

Mon, 10/08/2012 - 07:38 | 2867120 Grand Supercycle
Grand Supercycle's picture

WILE E.COYOTE overdue sell off...

Has taken longer than expected but SPX & GOLD etc daily chart
bearish topping process strengthens further.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-12-24/market-analysis

http://trader618.com

Mon, 10/08/2012 - 11:45 | 2868115 kumquatsunite
kumquatsunite's picture

There is a certain bafflement over any gloating regarding the purchase of gold and silver. Perhaps this is because those who gloat do not understand their history. Gold and silver Are barbaric relics because they are used Only during a barbaric time. In other words, gold and silver are a frontier "coinage". What does the US dollar really mean to you? It means that the dollar you fold up in your pocket is a representation (a contract if you will) of "time" and sovereignty. Yes, the world would just love to see the US dollar not be the reserve coinage, after all, the dollar reserve Means that we are the preeminent nation in the world. Those who tout gold and silver do not understand what their touting of it means: that there children and grandchildren live in a barbaric world. Now don't know about ya'll but moi is jingoistically American, believing that we are the best country in the world and will be for eons to come. Without the US, the world lives in "tooth and claw". We have fifty states, endless resources including the people of the United States and are ingenuity. So I'll back the US dollar which fluctuates DUE to changing circumstances. So WHAT!? Things fluctuate. Support  your country by investing in new factories and the people of the United States, not gold and silver. When someone touts gold and silver, they usually do so on a full belly with a whiskey in hand. Jerks.

Mon, 10/08/2012 - 12:46 | 2868365 jonjon831983
jonjon831983's picture

This is actually my investment thesis for defense companies, but on a larger scale:

"The Swiss are in the process of modernizing their military, which they have discovered is very expensive; the purchase of 22 new Saab Gripen fighters has proved a big political headache, since the Swiss are as notable for their frugality as for their military preparedness. But Minister Maurer is on firm ground when he notes that the massive decline in European militaries since 1990 has implications for today, none of them positive. When even the British have cut their army so much that, in the event of a serious crisis, there would be at most two dozen infantry battalions on hand in the UK (that’s well under 20,000 bayonets), one has to wonder if the next London “disturbances” could be kept in check if things got truly ugly."

Mon, 10/08/2012 - 12:54 | 2868393 SilverFish
SilverFish's picture

Phil Collins says that in Switzerland, you're not allowed to flush the toilet between the hours of 10pm and 6am. Its the law!!

 

This is the secret to their success. I'm certain of it.

 

 

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