European Border Security: a (failed) US-style "one-size-fits-all" solution?
As time
is the only undisputed judge of events, the true historical “witness” as it were,
this following article lists the failed attempts at preventing undocumented
migrants from entering the US. What was drafted after the turn of the century,
was nothing more than more US Private companies making $billions, with the help
of VP Dick Chaney, Rumsfeld and others. Ironically, it couldn’t have gone any
other way, as USA is responsible for creating the millions of misplaced folks
and refugees.
Now, in 2016, the European Union is faced with the largest displacement of
human population since WW II, with the world’s largest organizations such as
NATO, UN, Frontex(?), being very unclear on their mission statements, while at
the same time countries such as Turkey, Visegrad 4, are making profits on the souls
of small children that were robbed of a life.
As this has been going on since the “Arab Spring” coups, no-one thought of the
effects of war would bring to Europe. Make no mistake: The overthrow of foreign
governments, or “Regime Changes”, created instability in the region from Tunisia,
Egypt, Libya, Iraq, but Syria is hard to take. In the ruins of the globe’s
first civilizations, the “justified execution” of Saddam Hussein (in the name
of peace & justice), gave birth to Al Nusra, to ISIS, to terrorize, so
countries must spend on “Security” while others, (Turkey) have established trade
from weapon sales, oil, narcotics, and human trafficking.
So below is US President Barrack Obama’s busted bubble on the fence scheme.
Now in Europe, the Balkan Route has been shut by fences with Skopje, keeping
cargo trains grounded for months. Sadly, Greece will get along with over
100.000 long term based migrants and refugees, multiple tax increases.
There is no bright light at the end of this tunnel.
- 24-Jan-2011-The Obama administration on Friday
ended a high-tech southern border fence scheme that cost taxpayers nearly $1
billion but did little to improve security. Congress ordered the high-tech
fence in 2006 amid a clamor over the porous border, but the project 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 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 the 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, chairman of the 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 a Bush administration response to a demand for tighter border security that arose amid a heated immigration debate in Congress.
The Bush administration awarded Boeing a three-year, $67 million contract. But the fence had a long list of glitches and delays. Its radar system had trouble distinguishing between vegetation and people in windy weather, cameras moved too slowly and satellite communications also were slow. Although some of the concept is in use in two sections of Arizona, the security came at too high a cost.
Boeing was the contractor for SBInet. Despite the problems, the Homeland Security Department granted Boeing a second one-year option on a three-year contract to work with the department for maintenance and upkeep of the two Arizona sections that are operational. That agreement continues through September 2011
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 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 the 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, chairman of the 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 a Bush administration response to a demand for tighter border security that arose amid a heated immigration debate in Congress.
The Bush administration awarded Boeing a three-year, $67 million contract. But the fence had a long list of glitches and delays. Its radar system had trouble distinguishing between vegetation and people in windy weather, cameras moved too slowly and satellite communications also were slow. Although some of the concept is in use in two sections of Arizona, the security came at too high a cost.
Boeing was the contractor for SBInet. Despite the problems, the Homeland Security Department granted Boeing a second one-year option on a three-year contract to work with the department for maintenance and upkeep of the two Arizona sections that are operational. That agreement continues through September 2011
