Damn it, Janet.
Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.
Posted on 01/15/2011 1:48:22 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
Congress ordered the high-tech fence along the border with Mexico in 2006 amid a clamor over the porous border, but it yielded only 53 miles of protection.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the lesson of the multimillion-dollar program is there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution for border security.
Napolitano said the department's new technology strategy for securing the border is to use existing, proven technology tailored to the distinct terrain and population density of each region of the nearly 2,000-mile U.S-Mexico border. That would provide faster technology deployment, better coverage and more bang for the buck, she said.
Although it has been well known that the virtual fence project would be dumped, Napolitano officially informed key members of Congress Friday that an "independent, quantitative, science-based review made clear" the fence, known as SBInet, "cannot meet its original objective of providing a single, integrated border security technology solution."
The fence, initiated in 2005, was to be a network of cameras, ground sensors and radars that would be used to spot incursions or problems and decide where to deploy Border Patrol agents. It was supposed to be keeping watch over most of this nation's southern border with Mexico by this year.
Instead, taxpayers ended up with about 53 miles of operational "virtual fence" in Arizona for a cost of at least $15 million a mile, according to testimony in previous congressional hearings.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said the SBInet concept was unrealistic from the start. Napolitano's decision "ends a long-troubled program that spent far too much of the taxpayers' money for the results it delivered," said Lieberman, I-Conn.
The high-tech fence was developed as part of Bush administration response to a demand for tighter border security that arose amid a heated immigration debate in Congress.
(Excerpt) Read more at ap.stripes.com ...
Ping
Thank goodness for common sense. What a waste of money!
Figure it out.
Bush should have built a real border fence. This is the AP via Stars and Stripes - oh let’s brainwash the troops.
Kay Bailey Hutchinson essentially killed the fence in Texas when she allowed suits to filed against it. Happy day, she said a couple days ago that she’s stepping down... of course, she’s said that before but I’m crossing my fingers she’s telling the truth this time.
So it’s spend boocoo more bucks which they can pocket and the job never gets done.
This was a JOKE from Day 1. A WALL, or at least a fence, will slow people down. What the heck would this do - allow the illegals to play video games on their way here - or maybe allow us to simply watch their invasion.
1-3 billion dollars flushed down the rat hole for the much vaunted “virtual fence” ..... Now how about a real fence? Never mind we have an open borders Kenyan in charge
None of these hacks care. It isn’t their own money being squandered
This was a JOKE from Day 1. A WALL, or at least a fence, will slow people down>>>>>>
A real wall or fence has to be patrolled and enforced. We don’t even do enough of that
“A real wall or fence has to be patrolled and enforced. We don’t even do enough of that”
You are right and I thought about it before. A wall will (generally) be an obstruction - but a bunch of sensors can simply be turned off, based on policy, and it’s as though they never existed.
With a wall - if it is breached, some decently placed cameras can REALLY have an impact. With sensors - forget it.
Damn it, Janet.
Bush didn’t want a real wall built. So he settled for this.
Obama doesn’t want a wall built, either. So he cancelled this, but will not move to build anything more sensible in its place.
Right you are!
The Israelis have the best idea
In urban areas they need a wall and build one
But in remote areas their border fence is a heavy duty see through fence. Lots of well placed razor wire/ They have sensors and cameras
There is a patrol road running parallel to the fence and the Israelis respond to intrusions
I’m not sure if he’s ending it because it was too effective, or because it was a failure. Either way, though, we’re at the same place. We’ve got no protection.
The cheapest way would be to mine the border.
CO2 is a national security threat. Over eating is a national security threat. Talk radio is a national security threat. Foreigners streaming over our borders unchecked is not a national security threat. }:-(
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