[Spiff]

I don't particularly what to jump into the middle of you guys and take side, but Poohbah is right. UAV's and blimps would be a great help, they can't appended an illegal alien. IMO, they will be a greater asset then Poohbah thinks, but with out the agents on the ground to collect all the illegals they spot, what good are they. It's a two fold problem. We have to be able to see everything that moves on the border, and we also need the agents to check out and apprehend what moves.

Hey, MI, I agree with you. The idea is to use the force multipliers, intelligence gathering, and high tech sensing provided by the military to augment the Border Patrol. Sure, we need more Border Patrol to do the actual apprehension of the intruders - I never said we didn't. However, I disagree with poohbah when he claims we need thousands of soldiers trampling through the desert to hold the line.

[Marine Inspector]

However, I disagree with poohbah when he claims we need thousands of soldiers trampling through the desert to hold the line.

We'll you won't change her mind, so don't try.

I don't think we'll need as many agents as Poohbah thinks either, but their are much better ways to fix the problem then throwing money and manpower at the border, and I think Poohbah knows what I'm talking about and would agree.

[Poohbah]

Deterrence has to be visible and visibly effective. That's how deterrence (which is an attempt to influence the mindset of your adversary) works.

Merely cutting down the numbers coming in would not significantly help matters any. You need to drop them down very close to zero. And in order for that to happen, you've got to convince potential illegal aliens that the chances of getting caught are near 100%.

Once someone crosses the border, you're REACTING. That illegal alien is the one calling the tune.

BTW, the Viet Cong adapted very nicely to the "force multiplier" McNamara Line in Vietnam--it didn't significantly impeded their operations at all.

Force multipliers don't multiply your FORCES, they multiply your firepower--i.e., the lethal "force" you can inflict on the enemy.