Time to wall off Mexico

www.pittsburghlive.com

Time to wall off Mexico
By Dimitri Vassilaros
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, July 25, 2005

Israel, North Korea -- and even France -- can help America end its illegal immigration crisis.

When democracies and dictatorships have the will to defend their borders they find a way. There is a way for the United States to stop the gushing of illegals pouring in from Mexico, but does it have the will?

Israel has far fewer interlopers. However, they are much more lethal. Mexicans take American jobs. Palestinians take Israeli lives.

The "Security Fence" Israel is constructing, about 70 percent completed, will be a physical barrier to terrorists hellbent on killing as many innocent victims as they can before blowing themselves to kingdom come.

In the last three years -- without the presence of natural or man-made barriers between Israel and the Palestinian areas -- 117 terrorists crossed over into Israel.

The Arab terrorists sneaked in and murdered 477 Jews, Arabs and Christians -- and wounded thousands of others. But the security fences around the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have severely limited successful terrorist attacks. And even car thefts.

There has been a very significant decrease in terrorism in fenced areas, according to Uriel Palti, consul general of Israel to the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. "There hardly have been any more suicide bombings where we established the security fence.

"Yes, it was hard to convince the government at first because it was a new approach," Mr. Palti said. "It was not easy. It took time because it is a major project."

Is the fence the biggest deterrent?

"It is difficult to measure," he said, because the Israeli army also guards its border. "But no doubt, it is one of the major deterrents and it has proved itself."

North Korean dictator Kim "Baby Doc" Jong-il can do at least one thing well -- defend his nation's border from infiltrators.

The demilitarized zone between North and South Korea is the most fortified boundary on Earth, according to Daniel Dzurek, president of International Boundary Consultants. His firm advises government agencies and oil-sector companies about boundary disputes.

"It's an extreme effort to prevent anyone from leaving," Mr. Dzurek said. "It's incredibly militarized across the buffer zone. It is fortified, mined, and has barbed-wire fences and pillboxes. There are large numbers of troops manning both sides.

"We certainly are wealthy enough and if we had the political will and spent billions that could make it (the Mexican border) impenetrable," he said.

Where there's a will ...

The drawback is that it could seriously retard trade because every foreigner would have to go through a very serious checking process, Dzurek said.

The Maginot Line, France's near impenetrable military line of defense along its German and Italian borders, gets a bum rap because it did not prevent the Germans from invading during World War II.

But the concrete fortification, tank obstacles, machine-gun posts and other dissuaders did exactly what they were designed to do. The defensive line prevented the enemy from coming through. Germany had to circumvent it to invade France.

America's border with Mexico stretches about 2,000 miles. Building a security fence system would be controversial and costly. But it would be a small price to pay to protect American sovereignty -- if this country has the will.