VIENNA — With no wars to fight and friends on every border, neutral Austria has little reason to feel threatened - which may explain why Sunday's referendum on the future of its army is being driven by concerns that seem to have nothing to do with how best to defend itself. At issue in this placid nation of just over eight million people is whether to keep and reform the present system that relies heavily on conscripts, or to go with the European flow and create a professional army, as 21 of the EU's 26 other members have. Austria's armed forces now consist of about 35,000 troops, with about 14,000 professionals and the rest conscripts who serve for six months as well as a...
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