>> The failure to stop the smuggling isn't because a technological fix is
>> impossible. It's because the authorities on one side of the border
>> (Egypt) have been less than totally committed to stopping the
>> smuggling.
>
> That's the same thing: that you need a political solution for the
> technological solution to work.
Actually this is an interesting angle from which to comtemplate the walls that have worked in the history of counter-insurgency, like Hassan's Wall against the Polisario, or the Morice line in Algeria. I've often cited both as things that did succeed in preventing cross-border infiltration but which, while having a big effect on the military situation, didn't succeed in attaining the ultimate political goals their creators desired. (The Polisario is no more, but Morocco still hasn't been able to exploit the mineral wealth of Western Sahara. And the French aren't in Algeria anymore).
But now that I think about it, both these technological fixes rested covertly on political solutions. In the case of the Polisario, the wall rested on Algeria's desire for various reasons to stop backing the Polisario; the wall gave them the excuse. And in the case of the Morice line (along the border between Algeria and Tunesia, and truly a high tech solution for its day), the political foundation was that Boumedienne took over the FLN in Tunesia and decided that it was to his interest to build up a disciplined "army of the exterior;" wait it out while his comrades inside the country fought; and then take over once the French left -- a strategic plan that turned out to be completely sound, and that sine non qua for which was not only to to accept and promulgate the belief that there was no way to breach the wall but to make sure no resources were spent trying and make sure all efforts failed.
And the same is probably true of the wall around Israel now. It's often cited by Israelis as a technological fix that has drastically reduced bombing. But in the West Bank, it probably rests on the political fix that the PA is in charge there, and is currently against bombing. They may stay that way (and I personally think it's good policy). But if they (or their successor) devoted their efforts to it as their number one priority, that wall would not be hard to breach at all.
Michael