[familyop]

"Does anyone have thoughts on...rural fortifications?"

[driftdiver]

Is that one of Obama’s welfare projects?

[Pollster1]

While I see the point on the Berlin Wall (which did in the short term interfere with unauthorized crossings), the Great Wall (same), European ruins (same), I also note that every military base on which I have worked had fences or walls. While the walled cities of Italy in most cases fell to attack, they still built walls. I lean toward a suspicion that fortifications are a good thing as long as they are a supplement to other defenses and not the only line of defense. I'm not convinced that I am right, and I suspect thought on this question would evolve quickly in difficult times, but some sort of barrier (manned or patrolled) is almost a universal throughout history.