August 26, 2002
A Suspicious People
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| Portrait studio. |
The fact is, however, that the Swiss have always had a radically exposed military position between the grand old imperial French, the Holy Roman Empire-cum-German of late, and the Italians and their Popes. The Swiss just take it from all sides when there is war, and therefore being peaceniks makes sense. Consider this very interesting article by Robert Kagan recently in Policy Review. Not about the Swiss, but you'll get the idea.
Worried about the Cold War's end by Armageddon, they built extensive mountainside caves and blast shelters, equipped to supply hundreds of thousands. They arm all their private citizens and spend a huge sum annually on defense, maintaining the finest, untested army in the world.
And then there is that stuff about their behavior during World War 2, cooperating with the Germans. From what I have observed at the Berlin Jewish Museum and read in many other places, I don't think anyone knew about the mass exterminations--they didn't even start until nearer to the end of the war. So the Swiss collaborations--or anyone's for that matter--ought not be linked immediately to that. But Germany was virulently anti-semitic and had already engaged in a long list of persecutions against Jews, Gays, Slavs, and other groups. It doesn't make the Swiss look good.
The Swiss finance industry appears to operate in large part by protecting the funds of the world's criminals -- without question, huge sums of drug money and funds for all kinds of revoultionaries and dictators are stored there. While we were there, the papers covered a speech given by the revolutionary front that controls about 30% of Columbia and is currently holding a kidnapped minister. Of course they make money from coca, he says, but they also make money from coffee. No doubt, that money is kept in numbered Swiss accounts. The recent obituaries on the legendary Abu Nidal made sure to mention the tens of millions he held in accounts there (seized only via bungled withdrawal attempts).
Can Switzerland sustain its status as outcast from the global order? It's finance industry operates, essentially, but flouting the multinational standards for such business. Can it be that different from a rogue state in the end?
Posted by amol at August 26, 2002 02:59 PM