Official says 'gamble' on 'virtual' fence didn't pay off

The U.S. official in charge of the troubled effort to seal the U.S.-Mexico border said Wednesday that the recent wave of deadly violence in the region is a sign that his efforts are bearing fruit. "I would not say it is a sign of success," said Mark Borkowski, executive director of the Secure Border Initiative (SBI) at the Department of Homeland Security. "The increase in violence is a symptom that the border is more secure, because it is a reaction to it."...more

Following his logic, would we conclude that if the violence subsided the border would be less secure?

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Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, Mr. Borkowski sought to explain the delays and cost overruns that have beset his office's highest- profile program, dubbed "SBInet" — a $1.1 billion "virtual fence" that would use remote sensors, radar and other technology to monitor and secure the southwest border. He said that SBInet was "a put all your eggs in one basket kind of a move" and a "reasonable gamble," given the urgency of the problem. "We did not do our due diligence on what the right answer was" to the challenge of using technology to monitor the most remote and inhospitable stretches of the border, he said. Instead, "We decided to use the power of competition" to try to identify those answers. "The gamble didn't pay off," he said.