Is is possible for a country not to have any army
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right den they must be useless.Originally posted by Shotgun:I thot the Vatican has an Inquisition army and a special forces group called AX? Source: Blood Trinity.
As a result of the Vatican having a small resident population, but millions of visitors every year, the state has the highest per capita crime rate of any nation on earth, more than twenty times higher than Italy. In his 2002 report to the pontifical court, Chief Prosecutor Nicola Picardi quoted statistics of 87.2% for civil offences, and 133.6% for penal offences. Each year, hundreds of tourists fall victim to pickpockets and purse snatchers. The perpetrators, who are also visitors, are rarely caught, with 90% of crimes remaining unsolved.
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No one sovereign nation would ever attack the Vatican. It does maintain a small force of Swiss Guards, and although we see them usually in ceremonial attire, they are considered to be one of the most well trained forces.
In another sense, the Vatican (hence the Pope) can easily depend on major nations for support.
fyi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_without_an_army -
for the UN to work
we must abolish the veto vote by the permanent members of the security council, then any action to be democratically voted by all members of the UN.
The UN is not a democratic organization -
"Swiss Guards, who are all Swiss citizens, live in their own barracks inside the Vatican, where they also train and take their meals, served by Swiss nuns. Theirs is an insular community even within the close-knit world of the Vatican. Young guards and even officers sometimes chafe at the rigid discipline and restrictions of both army and church. In uniform they carry seven-foot pikes and tear gas. They do not carry guns but are trained in shooting. On papal trips some guards sometimes carry sidearms, and there is a gun room in the barracks, which is at St. Anne's Gate, a prominent Vatican entryway."
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07EFDC1631F936A35756C0A96E958260&sec=health&pagewanted=print
The aove quotation is from an article about the shooting deaths of several members of the Swiss Guard inside the Vatican. THough they carrry ancient halberds for ceremonial duties, they do have arms inside the Vatican. Anyway, all the Swiss Guards are volunteers whom have already served in the Swiss army, -
Seven years later, (and no doubt after the Swiss read about the treachery of the Vatican in Da Vinci Code
), the Swiss are now suspicious and wants to reopen the investigation into the shooting deaths.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1386153,00.html