What Real Border Security Looks Like

Bret Stephens, The New York Times, Jan. 10, 2019

Republicans and Democrats should agree to build an Israeli-style “smart fence.”

[JB suggested heading for the below excerpt: All-female Israeli unit spots Islamic State fighters infiltrating a non-man's lands]

Excerpt:

ON THE ISRAEL-LEBANON BORDER — Other than the Korean Peninsula’s DMZ, there’s probably no border in the world as fraught with the potential for sudden violence as this one, known locally as the Blue Line. Since President Trump thinks border security is the issue of our time, it’s worth considering how Israel — with tight borders, real threats, and a no-nonsense attitude toward its security needs — does it. ...

As for technology, I saw it at work on a tour earlier Wednesday of an Israeli military base on the Golan Heights. In a crowded, windowless room within a bunker-like structure, 20 or so women soldiers, some of them still teenagers, sat at screens patiently watching every inch of Israel’s border with Syria, noticing patterns, prioritizing potential threats, and relaying information to operators in the field.

Image from article: An all-female unit monitors the border with Syria on video screens. Credit Israel Defense Force

Why an all-female unit? Because the Israeli military has determined that women have longer attention spans than men. Last August, the unit spotted seven Islamic State fighters, wearing suicide belts and carrying grenades, as they were infiltrating a no-man’s land on their way to Israel. An airstrike was called in. The men never reached the border. ...