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U.S. to end "virtual" fence project on Mexican border
Yahoo ^ | 1/14/11 | Jeremy Pelofsky - Reuters

Posted on 01/14/2011 10:53:21 AM PST by NormsRevenge

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama's administration plans to pull the plug on the troubled "virtual fence" project that was meant to better guard stretches of the U.S. border with Mexico, a senior lawmaker said on Friday.

The project, being run by Boeing Co, has cost about $1 billion so far and was meant to pull together video cameras, radar, sensors and other technologies to detect smugglers trying to cross the porous border.

"The SBInet program has been a grave and expensive disappointment since its inception," Representative Bennie Thompson, the senior Democrat on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement which noted that the Department of Homeland Security was ending the project.

Thompson said that nearly $1 billion had been spent for only 53 miles of coverage in the project that started during the administration of former President George W. Bush.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; Mexico
KEYWORDS: aliens; boeing; border; dhs; fence; mexican; virtual
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I'm sure Incompetanto and DHS can find more creative things to waste money on,, like traveling to foreign countries on fact-finding missions and such.
1 posted on 01/14/2011 10:53:21 AM PST by NormsRevenge
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‘virtual farce’ does not come cheap, yaknow.


2 posted on 01/14/2011 10:54:05 AM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Obama: Epic Fail or Bust!!!)
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To: NormsRevenge

good. at least they can’t claim they have that now.


3 posted on 01/14/2011 10:56:19 AM PST by MNDude
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To: NormsRevenge

Another reason why a real fence needs to be built.

You cannot “end” a real fence with a committee meeting.


4 posted on 01/14/2011 10:57:07 AM PST by kidd
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To: NormsRevenge

Not like it ever did a dam’ bit of good anyway. Much like the Nazi-titled “Dept of Homeland Security” which ought to be zeroed out of the budget too, as long as the CIA and FBI are allowed to talk to each other.....


5 posted on 01/14/2011 10:59:32 AM PST by Notary Sojac (WeÂ’ve Had 3 Central Banks In The History Of America, 2 Of Them Failed And This Will One Will Too!)
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To: NormsRevenge

It was a scam from day one.


6 posted on 01/14/2011 11:01:01 AM PST by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: NormsRevenge
Boeing is the prime on this, as I recall. Tough luck for them.

Maybe now DHS will try proven technology that's already providing persistent surveillance for military sites around the world.

7 posted on 01/14/2011 11:04:04 AM PST by mvpel (Michael Pelletier)
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To: NormsRevenge

Democrats love to demonstrate “fiscal responsibility” by cutting the military and border security.


8 posted on 01/14/2011 11:08:56 AM PST by denydenydeny (Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views, beyond the comprehension of the weak-Adams)
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To: kidd

BORDERWALL AS ARCHITECTURE diagrams

http://borderwallasarchitecture.blogspot.com/search/label/diagrams


9 posted on 01/14/2011 11:14:17 AM PST by Hotlanta Mike (TeaNami)
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To: denydenydeny

Cutting a project that involved a bunch of people without sufficient skill or experience falling on their face over and over again is actually beneficial to the military and border security.


10 posted on 01/14/2011 11:14:39 AM PST by mvpel (Michael Pelletier)
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To: NormsRevenge

They were willing to spend a billion dollars just to avoid building a real fence.

Now they’ve realized they can save a billion dollars and... just not build the fence.


11 posted on 01/14/2011 11:18:02 AM PST by marron
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To: marron

Plan accomplished. No fence.

I wonder what the next excuse will be.


12 posted on 01/14/2011 11:22:54 AM PST by glorgau
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To: glorgau

I wonder what the next excuse will be.


No dinero


13 posted on 01/14/2011 11:37:16 AM PST by Hotlanta Mike (TeaNami)
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To: NormsRevenge
The virtual fence thing always bothered me. Why not build a wall like the Chinese did 2,000 years ago? They built it longer than we need to and they didn't have bulldozers, backhoes, cement and dump trucks. Get'er done!
14 posted on 01/14/2011 11:42:34 AM PST by FreeAtlanta ($10 bucks and a nod, Mr. Obama, and this would all be cleared up.)
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To: NormsRevenge
For the same $1 billion, we could put approximately 10,000 soldiers on the border, armed and equipped, per year. At three shifts a day for each shift per observation position, they could cover 500 miles of that border easily, 24/7, aided and backed up by aerial observation assets (drone and chopper) and standby QRFs.

Also, trained civilian volunteers could flesh out the observation posts at a fraction of the cost and spread the coverage further.

Instead, the answer is obviously to just quit trying and pour the money into the illegal alien welfare benefits coffers.

Feds, " failure" is thy name...

15 posted on 01/14/2011 11:49:01 AM PST by Gritty (The FCC banning FOX NEWS would be a big favor to political discourse and America -Sen Rockefeller)
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To: FreeAtlanta

Great wall of China = 5,500 miles long
US Southern border with Mexico = 2,000 miles long
You telling me primitive chinks in cone caps built over twice the length of wall we need and did it by hand?
We have Caterpillar and other equipment manufacturers of modern earth moving equipment here.
This would not be a difficult project.
Expensive, yes but only if union labor is involved.
The solution is too easy......


16 posted on 01/14/2011 12:16:04 PM PST by 9422WMR (Illegal is not a race.)
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To: 9422WMR
We probably could use captured Illegals as workers and when they are done, put them on the other side.

We could digg a 30 or 40 foot deep trench with concrete walls (to discourage tunnel building) and digg and fill with concrete and sensors an additional 20 foot deep trench. The dirt from these trenches can be used for berms.

17 posted on 01/14/2011 12:39:51 PM PST by FreeAtlanta ($10 bucks and a nod, Mr. Obama, and this would all be cleared up.)
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To: NormsRevenge

It should be replaced with a vitriol fence...


18 posted on 01/14/2011 12:43:25 PM PST by OrangeHoof (Washington, we Texans want a divorce!)
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To: NormsRevenge

Good.
It was a huge waste of money.
Didn’t work.
Can’t work.
But they won’t build a real fence, so there is no difference in outcomes except they can spend the dough on bonuses and such.............


19 posted on 01/14/2011 1:05:26 PM PST by Red Badger (Whenever these vermin call you an 'idiot', you can be sure that you are doing something right.)
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To: 9422WMR
You telling me primitive chinks in cone caps built over twice the length of wall we need and did it by hand? We have Caterpillar and other equipment manufacturers of modern earth moving equipment here.

I see you don't quite understand.

China had an Emperor and shovels. We have the EPA and regulations. Only the first group works for the good of their own country.

20 posted on 01/14/2011 4:04:58 PM PST by Gritty (What is happening on the southern border is the unmaking of America - Mark Steyn)
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