The Iraqis are building a wall around Baghdad to keep car bombers from building their VBIEDs out in the boonies and driving them into the city to kill and maim:
Baghdad is to resort to one of the oldest forms of defence by building a massive wall around the capital to keep out insurgents, The Times has learnt.
A series of recent suicide bombings has driven the governor of the Iraqi capital to propose the concrete barrier, which will be 15ft (4.5m) high and 70 miles (112km) long. Every man, beast and vehicle entering will be searched at one of only eight gates along the main highways.
Baghdad, roughly the same size as London and with approximately five million inhabitants, will face severe disruption as a result. Freedom of movement will be limited and workers and visitors alike will probably have to wait for at least an hour to enter. Once inside, though, it is hoped they will be much safer.
This is drastic. And it will take a year to complete. But popular opinion demands action by the government to stop the killers. That is certainly one advantage of a democracy. Rulers need the consent of the ruled, and the ruled don't like being blown up. The ruled tend to expect the government to be up on doing something about that problem.
If it works, and it should--although the enemy will adapt, hopefully with a less effective method of killing--it will buy time to hunt down the terrorists. Then the gates can be opened up to allow people to travel more freely.
