Quote Originally Posted by Disciple of Tacitus
Unfamiliar with Bremer's decision to disband the Iraqi army? And look how well that turned out ...



Oh wait, that just proves your point.
I forgot Costa Rica. They abolished the military after a coup, and seem to have, surprisingly, successfully kept both order and cordial relations to their near and far neighbours. Also Panama don't have any army after the US invasion, and seem to get by as a vassal of USA.

In general though, and particularly in ancient times, I'd go with Machiavelli: "For among the other bad effects it causes, being unarmed makes you despised; it is not reasonable for an armed man to obey an unarmed man willingly."