We fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here.
Charlie Burr
From this morning's New York Times:
Swiss Accidentally Invade LiechtensteinZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- What began as a routine training exercise almost ended in an embarrassing diplomatic incident after a company of Swiss soldiers got lost at night and marched into neighboring Liechtenstein.
According to Swiss daily Blick, the 170 infantry soldiers wandered just over a mile across an unmarked border into the tiny principality early Thursday before realizing their mistake and turning back.
A spokesman for the Swiss army confirmed the story but said that there were unlikely to be any serious repercussions for the mistaken invasion.
''We've spoken to the authorities in Liechtenstein and it's not a problem,'' Daniel Reist told The Associated Press.
Officials in Liechtenstein also played down the incident.
Liechtenstein, which has about 34,000 inhabitants and is slightly smaller than Washington DC, doesn't have an army.
[Update: World on Edge as Switzerland Accidentally Invades Liechtenstein.]
[Update II: Switzerland Joins Axis of Evil, Switzerland Attacks!.]
[Update III: Swiss Greeted as Liberators.]
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Mar 4, '07
And what exactly does this have to do with Oregon politics?
Mar 4, '07
When they came for Liechtenstein, I said nothing, for I was not a Liechtensteinian....
12:50 p.m.
Mar 4, '07
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
2:22 p.m.
Mar 4, '07
I find it hilarious that we have readers who are obsessively tracking whether we meet our mission statement -- even though they clearly haven't read it.
Mar 4, '07
Thanks Kari. The humor was not lost on all. And it is nice to consider the mis-steps of other nations and know that the US is not alone in its grievous blunderings across international borders. Viewed in the context of Swiss malfeasance, I am feeling more sympathy for the neo-cons and their excursions in the middle east. Too bad that there is no longer a GOP Congress to launch hearings into matters like the UN's Oil for Food program and this latest Swiss mess to provide real perspective for our liberation of Iraq.
Mar 5, '07
My problem with this post as it relates to BO's mission statement is that it wasn't "smart" or "funny."
Mar 5, '07
Alex Daivies, why is this not funny to you? Switzerland, legendary makers of precision timepieces, lacks comparable navigational equipment or attention span that would keep their army from accidentally stumbling into their neighbors country.
Fortunately there's good relations rather than poor relations between these two micro-nations, so it's only an an occassion for the kind of light-hearted humor impossible in the case of Iran and Iraq.
12:55 p.m.
Mar 5, '07
Posted by: ws | Mar 5, 2007 9:49:24 AM
Couple that with the Swiss' legendary (some would say infamous) neutrality, the Swiss invading any another country has added layers of mirth.
12:58 p.m.
Mar 5, '07
"Sir, in my heart, I know I'm funny." — Lt. Steven Hauk
Mar 5, '07
I enjoyed it as well, Kari. Save Liechtenstein!! ;-)
Mar 5, '07
Maybe our decider can now liberate the poor Lichtenstin... ians? From the evil Swiss!
Darn those Swiss and their... uh... swissh cheese and cows. Darn them all! We'll make 'em all eat American cheese!
Mar 5, '07
Even if we knew then what we now, we'd still have invaded to forward the march of freedom and democracy around the world.
Mar 8, '07
Not funny??? Criminy, it's a Monty Python episode.
Mar 8, '07
OK, from now on everybody check with Alex, the Sole Arbiter Of Humor, because humor has an objective standard and only He knows what it is.
Mar 10, '07