Saudi Arabia has announced that it will be building a fence along its border with Iraq to keep terrorists out. The fact of the matter is that fences work. Some say they don't work, but all they have to do is take a look at Israel to see that they do.

As an analogy think of your house. You can leave your doors and windows wide open and complain when people intrude. When you decide to install windows and doors and lock them, some will say "well criminals can still get in, you can never keep them all out", but the truth is that doors and windows will keep a large portion out. Sure, you need other things like law enforcement and other ways of cracking down on crime, but a basic protection system goes a long way to stopping the majority of those who are thinking of breaking in.

AP

Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with plans to build a fence to block terrorists from crossing its 560-mile border with Iraq — another sign of growing alarm that Sunni-Shiite strife could spill over and drag Iraq's neighbors into its civil conflict.

The barrier, which hasn't been started, is part of a $12 billion package of measures including electronic sensors, security bases and physical barriers to protect the oil-rich kingdom from external threats, said Nawaf Obaid, head of the Saudi National Security Assessment Project, an independent research institute that advises the Saudi government.

Tipped by: PoliBlog