@Robert Gentel,
Quote:Yet mathematics dictates that the overwhelming majority of these are suffering from nationalistic delusion.
I don't profess to have a mathematical mind, but I wonder.
Of course, technically, all save one are wrong, because only one group can be
the finest fighting force in the world, but I think they can all be good enough that elevating your own to the top spot could not be considered delusional. I don't know, but it seems to me that mathematics wouldn't dictate otherwise.
I'm sure it's possible for the training, resources and (most importantly) standards for one of these "elite" units to be so inferior that in actuality the best of the best in one locale might be pathetic.
No matter what a nation's economic status may be, it can have standards as high as any others and afford a relatively small cache of top quality weapons. The only area wherein math might rule one of these countries out of the running would be in base population.
Let's say that to qualify for consideration a nation's special forces unit would have to be at least 100 persons strong. Well, with a total population of only 50, Pitcairn Islands is already out of the running, and I doubt the Vatican could field 100 top of the line physical specimens from its total population of 500.
Third from the bottom of the population list is Tokelau with a head count of 1,100. Unless Tokelauans are an exceptionally fit breed, I don't see them producing 100 uber-warriors either.
There are four more nations with populations under 10,000 and Tuvalu is the first to reach 10K
There are 27 nations with total populations of less than 100,000. With the exception of Greenland and Samoa (Vikings and NFL Linebackers) I don't think any of these countries have the sort of genetic stock that might offset low population bases in terms of the probability of finding 100 fit specimens.
Pure guesswork on my part but I'm thinking that a base population of 100,000 could do the trick. You would have to find one very fit, very athletic person between the ages of 20 and 35 in every 1,000 citizens in order to build the unit. probably tight, but it seems doable.
Relevance to this thread is that if any country can create a massively popular and successful new reality TV show where the world's Special Forces units square off for the title World's Finest Fighting Force, its America.
