Virtual Fence Becomes Virtual Nightmare
http://fungazi.com/wordpress/?p=366

As expected, the Bush Administration’s plans for a virtual fence now appears to be slowly crumbling under the weight of reality and despite the federal government’s willingness to throw tons of taxpayer dollars at the ill-conceived project, it is still plagued by numerous technical problems. Even if the technical problems are overcome, and all of the required software programs can be effectively integrated into one package, the final product is likely to be a very finicky, subject to error, extremely complicated to use and difficult to master. Boeing Integrated Defense Systems was awarded the $20 million dollar contract by the Department of Homeland Security to construct the SBInet program, which is supposed to use technology, personnel and infrastructure to control the nation’s borders. Under the first phase of the contract, Boeing was supposed to develop an integrated system for 28 miles of border in Arizona by June, however, they missed that deadline and are still trying to unravel the ongoing technical glitches, and DHS is now threatening to drop the contract and start looking for an easier solution to the problem.

In the meantime, a report released by the General Accounting Office this week indicates that only an estimated 392 miles (6.5%) of this nation’s border is under effective control.

The federal government is now saying they are going to “fast trackâ€