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The fact is that the US-Mexican border is about 2,000 miles long. Part of it runs through urban areas, but most is rural, remote, and pretty rough territory. This border is now manned (protected doesn't describe it) by about 9500 agents, who use cameras, helicopters, and ground vehicles to patrol and monitor the border. Separately, almost 5000 personnel operate the authorized crossing points along the border.

Militarizing this border would probsbly require about 50 men per mile, plus support personnel, or about 100,000 more men total. Why so many? First of all, we need the equivalent of four shifts to provide full time coverage. This number would provide one squad of 12 men per mile, which is the smallest regular command structure. The actual coverage area for such a squad would vary according to the specific territory, but this is a reasonable average.

They would usually operate as 3 or 4 man patrols, armed well enough to present overwhelming force to any "coyotes" trying to sneak their clients in. Smaller patrol teams would invite violence against them as a way to penetrate the border.

But an army division is about 15,000, so we are talking about SIX divisions here. And we simply do not have, and cannot recruit, that many new soldiers in any reasonable amount of time.

And what about Canada, where the border is about three times as long? Again, to truly protect the entire border would require doubling the size of our active duty army, and we just cannot recruit the troops to do it. Could we draft them? Perhaps - for the duration of one administration.

"Militarizing this border would probsbly require about 50 men per mile, plus support personnel, "

Nonsense. In the rural areas, you put up a fence and could man it with about 1-2 persons per mile, making sure the integrity of the fence is maintained. A team of 20 could be well-covering a 10 mile stretch round the clock. Add in UAVs and cameras and motion-detectors, and you're all set.

build a fence and you will need only 20,000 men/women to man the borders.

As for Canada, it is much less of a problem anyway.

Exactly. The "sealed border" is pure fantasy.

However, border enforcment in general would be more effective if we could get more cooperation out of Mexico, and I think Bush's program might help with that. If Mexico knows that its money supply won't be cut off by being stricter on border enforcement (and prosecution of smuggling rings) on its own side, it might be possible to get some real help from that side of the border. Mexico has not been a reliably good neighbor of late, and I hope Bush uses this as a way of bringing them around.

But an army division is about 15,000, so we are talking about SIX divisions here. And we simply do not have, and cannot recruit, that many new soldiers in any reasonable amount of time.

There's the answer. Put all the Mexicans in the military, ship them off to Iraq and Afghanistan, it gives them jobs, and we can protect our borders. sarcasm off

You are talking to someone who is not in favor of the military patrolling our borders -- not with the manpower shortage we now have in the active force and have to rely on the Guard and Reserves.

There is not enough manpower to go around. Not sure what the solution to the problem is for sealing the borders, but there has to be one.

We have to do something to stop the coyotes from putting people at risk by offering them a green card, work, and SSN for a lot of money to get the illegals across the border. Stop the coyotes and you stop a lot of illegal border crossings. How do you do that? I have no idea but someone must have some idea who these coyotes are.