Pakistani PM Seeks US Aid for Massive Border Wall
Cites Wall Between US, Mexico as Model
During his visit with US Homeland Security Director and former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani to build a massive border wall along the 1600+ mile border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Gilani referenced the wall between the United States and Mexico as a model. It is unclear if Gilani was simply referring to partial fencing as the US currently has, or proposals to wall off the entire border. Only portions of the US, Mexican border are actually fenced off.
Though the border between the US and Mexico is of similar scope to that between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the US Mexico border is largely desert. Pakistan and Afghanistan by contrast are seperated by hills and mountain ranges. Making matters worse, the most rugged terrain is in the areas with the largest militant populations.
The US program has cost enormous amounts of taxpayer dollars and seen limited effectiveness. It seems difficult to imagine that the US will support a similar program in Pakistan, costing perhaps an order of magnitude more to fence off portions of mountain ranges in the Pakistani tribal areas.
jbnhm
July 4th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
There's obviously some text missing in the first sentence. This is the third anti-War article today with typos. You guys are great but I just wanted to let you know you may need to step up your proof-reading.
Federale
July 5th, 2009 at 3:37 am
Where there is double or triple fencing, or the modern climb resistant designs, the fense is working great. The problem is that it is not 2,000 miles long, only a few sections of a few score miles, sometimes much less than that.
Daily Briefing — 4th-5th July 2009 « Little Alex in Wonderland
July 5th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
[...] In his meeting with U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security head, Janet Napolitano, Pakistan PM Yousef Gilani sought U.S. aid to build a 1600+mile wall along the Af-Pak border. Ms. Napolitano was the former governor of Arizona, which borders Mexico and Mr. Gilani referenced the U.S.-Mexico model. (AntiWar.com) [...]