OPINION:
There are lots of old tales about fences (“Trump seizes victory in border wall fight with new funding,” Web, Aug. 31). Quite some time ago, I tried hard to tell people it is not about the fence but rather pairs of eyes. There are many ways to get past a fence, from El Chapo-like tunneling to destroying the structure.
If we had elevated watchtowers every 5 miles, with armed people with binoculars capable of seeing for 2½ miles, we could watch the entire border and prevent any type of intrusion. The cost to do this wouldn’t be great and would certainly be lower than building a wall that can be bypassed.
Let’s see: an access road, three shifts of eight hours each, protective towers with plexiglass elevated 20 feet, cellphones for helicopter pilots and border guards to contact headquarters, and several other necessities, such as porta-potties.
I actually sat down and tallied up the cost a long time ago, but it may be too late to get this message to Congress.
J.V. PRESOGNA
Erie, Pennsylvania
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