Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader
By Barry Rubin
A reader asks whether there are any defensible borders in the modern world because it is possible to fire missiles or rockets across a border.
Well, yes, but even in ancient times it has always been possible for an army to cross–or try to cross–a border. That isn’t what defensible borders means.
Example, rockets can hit Sderot from the Gaza Strip but not hit Tel Aviv because the latter city is too far for Hamas to hit from its side of the border. Can they get bigger ones? Yes but the bigger they are the easier they are to spot and the longer–even seconds count–a defensive missile has for shooting them down.
The further the border, the longer it takes for a terrorist squad to get to where there are a lot of people to kill. It’s best to stop them either before they cross the border or while they are on the way.
Geography matters also.
(seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East
(Wiley), and The Truth About Syria
(Palgrave-Macmillan). His latest book is Israel: An Introduction, to be published by Yale University Press later this year. You can read more of Barry Rubin's posts at Rubin Reports, and now on his new blog, Rubin Reports, on Pajamas MediaTechnorati Tag: Israel.
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