An unplanned cross-border incursion has been called an "accidental invasion" and is being described as "not a problem" by an officer of the "offending" army. The incident occurred early Thursday, according to the Swiss daily Blick, which reported that a group of 170 infantry soldiers had accidentally crossed an unmarked border and penetrated slightly more than a mile into foreign territory before realizing their mistake and turning back.
Swiss Army spokesman Daniel Reist told The Associated Press, "We've spoken to the authorities in Liechtenstein and it's not a problem," according to the New York Times.
As the NYT tells the story,
Officials in Liechtenstein also played down the incident.
Interior ministry spokesman Markus Amman said nobody in Liechtenstein had even noticed the soldiers, who were carrying assault rifles but no ammunition. "It's not like they stormed over here with attack helicopters or something," he said.
Liechtenstein, which has about 34,000 inhabitants and is slightly smaller than Washington DC, doesn't have an army.
Three cheers for Liechtenstein for being such good sports about all this; were it in my hands I'd be demanding reparations: a fine watch and a year's supply of Toblerone for everyone in the principality. That would teach the Swiss infantry to pay more attention to their maps than their (very cool) knives. Wouldn't it?
And the cost? To the country with all the banks? A pittance!!
I'm considering forming a Committee to Lobby for Swiss Reparations to Lichtenstein. Is there any support here among my readers? If so, we may proceed.
In all honesty, even if we don't get the watches, just the chocolate ... and even if I only get a 1% commission ...