You may have seen this going around via email. I just received two emails with this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ufkwTM82e4
I dont think the US has a big problem either, even though our goverment would like to join a UN treaty against arms.....try getting 30 million plus to give them up..lol Issy
Interesting video ... thanks for posting it. The old saying is "Switzerland doesn't have an army ... it is an army." And let's not forget the national hero: William Tell.
I'm inclined to believe that since they stay out of everybody's way nobody cares. As far as a deterrent to invasion... I don't really think the number of guns or how many are trained to use them matters too much in this case. The geography plays a bigger role as a deterrent to invasion for them in my opinion.
Actually, I think the real reason is that anyone who might think of invading Switzerland has money in a numbered Swiss bank account.
Well, the reason for Switzerland not being invaded is very, very simple: They don't have any (or at least not enough for anyone to care about) oil
Israel is in a similar situation. Conscription for males and females means the entire populace has military training.
I don't think so. Having that many members of the population trained, armed and on permamnent reserve status makes for a very large army. So in the cases of both countries, the size of the standing army is no so important as the size of the total available army that could be called up.
Switzerland Gun Ownership The subject of the video is Marc Heim, a representative for ProTell, a Swiss grassroots gun rights advocacy group based in Bern, Switzerland. He is hardly an objective, unbiased source of information. American gun advocates should be cautious about using Switzerland as a model for a gun friendly country. As opposed to the US, the Swiss government demands mandatory military service for all able bodied males. The Swiss government provides the guns and ammunition. The Swiss government requires these same persons to train every other year. The Swiss government requires that every soldier keeps his military outfit, his weapon, and war ammunition at home at all times. The ammunition is sealed. The Swiss government required a weapon acquisition permit to purchase a firearm in a commercial shop. The Swiss government prohibits the sale of automatic weapons and accessories such as silencers. What would the NRA's reaction be if any of these policies were enacted in the US? Switzerland is not invaded for many reasons: (1) it does not actively interfere in the affairs of other countries; (2) it has no valuable resources to steal, like oil, coal or diamonds. (3) it has merged cultures with its neighborhoods. Switzerland has four official languages. (4) the secretive Swiss Banking system is more valuable to potential invaders than its actual land. (5) if invaded, the Swiss would stop exportation of chocolate, causing a world wide panic. (6) no army has a weapon as devastating as the Swiss Army Knife.