SocraticGadfly: Que sera la barrera

April 23, 2008

Que sera la barrera

Looks like while the Department of Homeland Security’s “virtual fence” may work on a “virtual border,” it pretty much sucks in real life.
The government is scrapping a $20 million prototype of its highly touted “virtual fence” on the Arizona-Mexico border because the system is failing to adequately alert border patrol agents to illegal crossings, officials said.

The move comes just two months after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced his approval of the fence built by The Boeing Co. The fence consists of nine electronic surveillance towers along a 28-mile section of border southwest of Tucson.

And, I am SHOCKED, shocked, I say, that government-overbilling defense contractor Boeing would build a piece of crap.

The reason it doesn’t work probably is in part due to this:
Although the fence continues to operate, it hasn't come close to meeting the Border Patrol's goals, said Kelly Good, deputy director of the Secure Border Initiative program office in Washington. …

The Border Patrol had little input in designing the prototype but will have more say in the final version, officials said.

Of course, doesn’t that sound like a company that has years of government contract experience, especially on DoD items?

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