LEARNING FROM THE SWISS

The New American, page 44 | February 11, 2002 | John F. McManus

[Marianne]

Switzerland has never joined the United Nations, NATO, or the European Union. Her exemplary spirit of "armed neutrality" has kept her out of wars and intrigues, even free from terrorism. In a recent statement, Swiss attorney Matthias Erne pointed to his nation's admirable policy hoping that the Swiss people will not allow their leaders to alter it. Mr. Erne's thoughts appeared in a recent issue of the English-language Current Concerns based in Zurich. What he says of Switzerland in the aftermath of the September 11th attack on America contains a lesson for our nation, and for any nation that wishes to be free of war and the ravages of terrorism. Excerpts follow:

-- "Switzerland is a neutral country. It has made permanent armed neutrality, a concept for preventing war, the maxim of its foreign policy. By doing so, Switzerland guarantees four permanent objectives. It will never begin a war, it will never enter a war on the side of a warring party, it will never one-sidedly support warring parties, but it will vigorously defend itself against any attacking party."

-- "This level-headed, non-aggressive policy means that there is no cause for terror or war against Switzerland. Since Switzerland is not a member of NATO, the UN and the EU, the country does not feel threatened, since no one has any cause to change the country's foreign policy [by means of] war or terror."

-- "Both terror and wars of aggression have the same purpose: change. They aim to bring about change in government, or government policy, or a country's borders. War principally strikes the opposing army, but terror strikes at civilization and causes terrible suffering and fear. But this fear is not the aim of terror, it is the - illegal - means of bring about changes."

The sound thinking presented by Matthias Erne once prevailed amongst America's leaders, but it is sorely lacking today. A look around the world at the beginning of the 21st century shows American military personnel imposing our will in dozens of countries - precisely the opposite of what early U.S. leaders urged. In his 1821 inaugural address, President John Quincy Adams stated:

"America goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own . . . She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication in all wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy and ambition, which assume the colors and usurp the standards of freedom."

Our sixth president was merely restating what George Washington wisely said in 1797: "The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connections as possible." And Thomas Jefferson expressed the same thinking during his 1801 inauguration when he urged "peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none."

Senators relied upon these sentiments to keep America out of the League of Nations in 1919. And Senator Robert Taft certainly had this style foreign policy in mind in 1951 when he told his colleagues that "the ultimate purpose of our foreign policy must be to protect the liberty of the people of the United States."

Taft publicly lamented his approval of the UN Charter, and opposed U.S. entry into NATO. When President Truman committed U.S. forces to Korea without declaring war in 1950, Taft called it "a complete usurpation of power." He warned fellow senators that if "this incident is permitted to go by without protest, at least from this body, we would have finally terminated for all time the right of Congress to declare war, which is granted to Congress alone by the Constitution."

Since Taft's warning, Americans have been sent to war in Vietnam, Iraq and now Afghanistan without the constitutionally required declaration by Congress. Our current policy of going "abroad to seek out monsters to destroy" has American forces numbering tens of thousands in Korea, Japan, Germany, Italy, England, Bosnia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, and a dozen other nations. The "entangling alliances" we have created are a major reason why terror has been visited upon us in New York (1993), Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Tanzania, Yemen, and, of course, again in New York and in Washington, D.C., on September 11th. Many Americans wonder why anyone can hate us. Our interventionist foreign policy contains much of the answer.

The "permanent neutrality" keeping Switzerland free of war and terror is what past American leaders advocated. Our nation should return to this same policy. Naysayers insisting this amounts to "isolationism" should be told to look to Switzerland. Like Switzerland, our nation should become independent of NATO and the UN. And just as Switzerland has wisely refrained from joining the European Union, the United States should exit NAFTA and the WTO and cease all moves that would involve us with any other "entangling" economic alliances.

[Marianne]

SWITZERLAND
ECONOMY: Public debts: 38% of GNP. Income/person $43,060. (137% of USA) - one of the world's highest.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ECONOMY: Public Debt: 66% of GNP. Income/person: $31,380

(Source: OPERATION WORLD, by Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk, 21st Century Edition.)

[Tauzero]

(crickets)

You're talking to the walls here. Except for a few paleocons and libertarians.

[arkfreepdom]

Switzerland would not exist if it did not reside within the US defense umbrella. We don't have the luxury of being a freeloader.

[KirklandJunction]

Sadly, living in Switzerland is expensive.
Darn, I can't afford to vote with my feet!

[BrooklynGOP]

Who do you think the Swiss will run to when they get attacked? Another neutral nation?

[TheBigB]

We have plenty of knives and cheese here already. Screw the Swiss.

[nickcarraway]

What makes a man go Neutral?

[Aggie Mama]

No nads.

[js1138]

Yes, and Quakers in the U.S. are safe too, as long as the American army exists.

And of course it didn't hurt the Swiss economy to launder all the Jewish gold teeth and other body parts collected by the nazis.

Neutrality can be both fun and profitable.

[Willie Green]

"We are infinitely better off without treaties of commerce with any nation."

--Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1815.

[Lumberjack]

And what will people here learn from this article? Well, they'll ignore the 800 or so years of peace Switzerland has had and claim they only exist because the US protects them indirectly. They'll completely ignore the success of a non interventionist foreign policy coupled with a free trade domestic policy and make vague statements about how "its different over there", again ignoring our history up to the last 90 or so years.

But hey, I'm all for this plan. It just makes sense, and the FF's would agree with this philosophy (as do I), even if the neocon do not.

[dead]

While there is much to be admired about Swiss foreign policy, the fact of the matter is that were it not for millions of dead Russians, Americans, and Brits, the Swiss would have been making Ricola and watches for the Nazi hierarchy these last fifty years.

[dead]

Willie, how about a little context for that quote. Knowing what I know about Jefferson, I'm guessing that that quote advocated allowing free citizens to trade with whomever they wished, free from governmental restrictions.

That is certainly not the position of any Buchananite I know. Have you had a change of heart?

[arkfreepdom]

"And what will people here learn from this article?"

And what will you learn from the responses? Certainly not that Swiss neutrality is a sham and no nation has remained neutral unless protected by Daddy. In this case we are Daddy. But what the hell, you probably think communism would work if people were just cooperative.

[Willie Green]

"Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains."

--Thomas Jefferson to Horatio G. Spafford, 1814. ME 14:119

"I have come to a resolution myself as I hope every good citizen will, never again to purchase any article of foreign manufacture which can be had of American make, be the difference of price what it may."

--Thomas Jefferson to B. S. Barton, 1815. ME 19:223

"The prohibiting duties we lay on all articles of foreign manufacture which prudence requires us to establish at home, with the patriotic determination of every good citizen to use no foreign article which can be made within ourselves without regard to difference of price, secures us against a relapse into foreign dependency."

--Thomas Jefferson to Jean Baptiste Say, 1815.

"I hope we shall... crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country."

--Thomas Jefferson to George Logan, 1816. FE 10:69

[Blood of Tyrants]

Check again. In Switzerland, every free male from the age of 18 to 45 (and maybe beyond) has a fully automatic rifle and plenty of ammunition in their closet and they are well trained to use them. Competetive shooting is a national pastime. It is nothing to see a couple of people on the train with a rifle slung over their shoulder on their way to or from the range. Their murder rate is about 85 per year for the entire country, most of which are committed by foreigners. I'll admit that a homogeneous population helps a great deal.

The reason Hilter didn't invade Switzerland was because he knew that literally every person in the country was armed to the teeth and that every town in Switzerland would be just like Stalingrad; a quagmire where tens of thousands of Germans went to die and accomplished nothing.

Switzerland has never asked for protection. Besides when Hitler was overrunning Europe, who could have helped them?

[Benson_Carter]

for what it's worth (and a bump, from my archives)

Swiss Gun Laws- and some rebuttal to HCI "spin"-- Thread II

and a big time bump for getting us out of these "entangling alliances" .

[Lumberjack]

And what will you learn from the responses? Certainly not that Swiss neutrality is a sham and no nation has remained neutral unless protected by Daddy. In this case we are Daddy. But what the hell, you probably think communism would work if people were just cooperative.

Well, now isn't that special?

So then, I suppose that ol Daddy existed 800 years ago? Oh, that's right, it didn't. In fact, we didn't start "protecting" Europe until just after WWII in any meaningful sense of the word. But hey, if you want to claim that America has always existed, fine by me. But the point of the article is that the foreign policy of neutrality has a well established history in Switzerland, and that it keeps it safe not just from invading nations, but from terrorist attacks as well, regardless of a newbie modern state (like the U.S. for example) trying to claim some sort of credit for Switzerland's policies.

And no, communism cannot work, will not work, has never worked. I despise statism in all forms, but I'm sure that the point was lost on you, based on your barb.