If we build it, they won't come

by Nikki Tundel, Minnesota Public Radio

Something there is that doesn't love a wall - at least according to poet Robert Frost. Still, people have always looked to walls for protection.

St. Paul, Minn. — President Bush says he's committed to putting up 700 miles of steel fencing along the border between the U.S. and Mexico. He says we need such a barrier to stop terrorists and illegal immigrants from sneaking into the United States.

Of course, the idea of walling oneself off isn't a new one. For thousands of years, people have been building fences and moats and anything else they could think of - all in hopes of keeping some people in and some people out.

Reporter Nikki Tundel recalls some of history's most memorable walls and looks at just how effective they were.