Homeland Security chief cancels costly virtual border fence

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Friday canceled the controversial virtual fence along the U.S. border with Mexico, citing technical problems, cost overruns and schedule delays since its inception in 2005. The Secure Border Initiative-network, a high-tech surveillance system to reduce border smuggling, so far has cost taxpayers almost $1 billion for two regions in Arizona, covering just 53 miles overall on the 2,000-mile border, according to a homeland security report. Napolitano announced "a new path forward for security technology" along the border that is tailored to the needs of each region and provides "faster deployment of technology, better coverage, and a more effective balance between cost and capability," she said in a prepared statement. "There is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution to meet our border technology needs," Napolitano said about her decision to end the problem-plagued virtual fence. Her new plan would use mobile surveillance systems, drones, thermal imaging devices, and tower-based remote video surveillance, she said...more

And let's see, which of those systems, devices and structures are allowed in Wilderness areas?