Border security

Gen. Anthony Tata: A border wall truth -- All the technology in the world will not stop illegal immigrants

President Trump is right when he argues that drones and technology are not sufficient to stop illegal immigration. Of course, our border patrol forces armed with technology and drones are a lethal force but that combination alone cannot totally prevent illegal immigrants or hostile forces from entering the United States.

By way of example, as a commander in operational combat zones in Kosovo and Afghanistan, I had thousands of troops and the latest technology arrayed along the borders with Macedonia and Pakistan, respectively. Despite having the best soldiers in the world and the most advanced technology, we still couldn’t completely stop enemy infiltration.

We used drones, ground radars, human intelligence, image intelligence, and other forms of the most advanced special intelligence in the world. To be sure, along with the roughly 100-mile Kosovo-Macedonia border we detained many Islamic jihadists infiltrating into Macedonia, but not all. And those that did infiltrate threatened the fledgling democracy in Skopje...