Posted on 09/20/2006 7:04:00 PM PDT by blam
US to build 1,800 towers to guard borders
By Francis Harris in Washington
(Filed: 21/09/2006)
America is to build 1,800 watchtowers bristling with high-tech sensors as part of an $8 billion (£4.25 billion) programme to secure its borders against illegal migrants.
The towers will form the centrepiece of a network to be constructed by the aerospace company Boeing along the 5,000 miles of border with Mexico and Canada.
Each watchtower will be equipped with an array of equipment, including cameras, which can zoom in on suspicious movements then transmit live video to border agents with handheld computers.
Some of the watchtowers will be on permanent sites and some will be portable.
Unmanned aerial drones launched from the back of border patrol vehicles will also be deployed, as will motion sensors.
"Nothing like this has been done before. Not so much because of the technology that will be used, but because of the political atmosphere, geography, topography and large scope of the project," Boeing's Wayne Esser said.
Boeing has promised to have the system functioning within three years of the contract's award. This initial contract value is expected to be $80 million (£42.5 million).
America has been spending huge sums of money to secure its borders since the September 11 attacks exposed serious flaws in its defences.
More than a million mainly Hispanic illegal migrants enter the country every year and now total at least 11 million.
American officials fear that terrorists could hide among the human tide.
The government has massively bolstered the border defence force.
The US border patrol has 12,000 employees and will soon surpass the 12,500-strong FBI to become America's biggest law enforcement agency.
A further 6,000 border patrol agents are being hired.
Most will be sent to the Mexican border, where 98 per cent of all arrests are made.
Meanwhile Congress yesterday debated proposals to build 700 miles of fencing on the main entry routes along the 2,200 mile-long Mexican border.
Critics say that spending countless billions on border defences has failed to stem the entry of illegal migrants to the US.
As evidenced by the virtual shutdown of human, drug, and weapon smuggling. Not.
As usual, the gov't is spending money on the wrong things.
Towers...for monitoring illegal trafficking.
A wall would stop illegal trafficking.
Notice nothing stated about the towers actually being manned. Or that the drones would ever actually be used operationally. Or that arrests would ever be increased. More hardware, and probably a great more government and contractor meetings. Hundreds more congressional visits.
And still the invasion will continue, because no one is intending to halt it.
Phoney baloney.
A double wall, with landmines inbetween, clearly labelled.
This appears to be more "virtual fence" bullshit. Anything, any boondoggle is fine rather than build an effective Israeli style border fence
Sounds like a good move.
That'll never happen, and I can't see us ever ordering our border agents to fire upon unarmed civilians. And if they aren't allowed to shoot to kill, arming them with sniper rifles will not be much of a deterrent because the traitorous pro-open border idiots on the Left would constantly put out pamphlets and air televisioin commercials informing the would-be immigrants of our "non-lethal force" policies.
Now, how about donating your corpse to a good cause so we can decorate the towers and border with decaying bodies and human skeletons?
Not by itself. A wall would have to be monitored. And, no, the United States is not going to mine the border or anything like that.
Where's the 3-level fence, ala Israel?
Hey, we can dream, can't we ???
3 years and 30 million illegals later....
Only a coconut would take my comment seriously.
Ping!
Close the barn door!
The cows are out!
I have not heard about any bill authorising this having been signed into law. It would be great, but I would not hold my breath. Funny how all of this is comming right before the election. I bet the tone changes after the election. Keep the preasure on. Don't be bamboozeled.
I doubt we've spent that kind of money. BTW, the government has spent trillions on education and test scores go down. Trillions on "war on poverty" and we have an obesity problem.
A 5000 mile minefield would be cheaper (feeling lucky today,
Jose?)
if nothing else works we could always hang a picture of hillary clinton on the fese every 20 feet that would be enough to scare any one away
Maybe the government just wants an accurate count of how many are coming in. They could have little tax-ID dispensers below each tower, like a parking lot.
ping
When the government moves, even slightly, in the direction we approve of we should let them know it as strongly as we let them know of our dislike when they go in the opposite direction.
In the last 24 hours we've heard of the fence, the voter ID and now this. All very good news.
Boeing says it is $2 billion.
1-800-towers?
That's going to be confusing around Mother's Day.
The government should lease them out to local ranchers in the fall and sell deer costumes to the Mexicans.
Hey, mom *hick* I gocha a mexici *hick* a mexican from 1-800 towers. Sho don't *hick* shay I never gets you nuttin'.
With motion detection!
This outta fit nicely.
A big 'my sentiments exactly' BUMP To The TOP!
More expensive crap that will never work.
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