DMZ and Berlin Wall

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

A few years ago, one of my very best friends came back from North Korea where she did her military training. When she returned, she brought me back a framed piece of "The Wire Fence from DMZ".

The frame includes a picture map of Korea where the division line is clearly visible. A rusty,
8-inch piece of wire from the original barbed-wire fence is centered in the frame separating North and South Korea. The genuine wire was removed from the DMZ on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Korean War in hopes of world peace.

When I received this gift and read about it, I was instantly reminded of the Berlin Wall in Germany. I couldn't help but wonder exactly how many other countries have been split apart by US intervention and American control (?) I'd like to know the actual number...and not just countries controlled and divided by the US, but by other outside powers!

I am interested in learning more about such divisions in our world history. Unfortunately, I am not very educated in World history, but I'd like suggestions from any of you about books that discuss this.

There is Ronald Takaki's A Different Mirror, but I want a subject-specific book. Please send me suggestions. They will be greatly appreciated. [Edit by="rflores on Jul 29, 9:52:12 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Well not that this is a definitive list but, as far as I am aware one of the first examples of a country attempting to physically divide itself from outsiders through the use of fortications, walls, or fences would have to go to the Chinese during the Han dynasty aroun 220 BCE. Their wall was much farther North than the Great Wall seen today--part of the Ming dynasties effort to keep the Mongols and others from the steppe from taking control of China.

Although one could make a good argument that the Greek city states, most noteably Athens did erect large defenses to keep invaders out. Yet these city walls did not encompass all Athenean territory.

In modern times you have sighted perhaps the best two examples--Berlin in Europe, with its division along political lines at the end of WWII, and Korea at the DMZ (38th parallel).
Another example of a DMZ can be found on Cyprus. The UN has mainatined this buffer zone to keep Greek and Turkish nationalists from being at each other's troats since the mid-1970's.

From time to time counties such as Haiti and the Dominican Republic and Guatemala and Honduras have had tensions along their borders that have led t the militarization of these areas--but to my knowledge no extensive set of defenses were ever erected.

Today the US maintains Guantanamo Bay Cuba throught the use of a perimeter fence, and Spain guards its remaining provinces in Morocco, Ceuta and Melia, in much the same way. A physical barrier, manned with guards seperates these areas from adjacent territory.

And as a last note, if immigartion debates maintain their trajectory, US efforts to seal its souther border with Mexico may lead to yet another highly guarded and militarized zone across this area. News reports have for months reported on the progress of these barrier walls, and netion guard troops have been pressed into service to help construct these.

I am sure there are other examples out there that I have missed.[Edit by="chellmold on Jul 29, 1:57:38 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Careless me I forgot of a couple of other good examples. Don't know how they escaped me at the time of my last posting.

Another obvious one is the defensible positions and fortifications that seperate Isreal from Palestine and the West bank. This system of check points, fences, walls, barricades, and military outposts is very heavily fortified and well gaurded. It is not uncommon for it to be shut down completely as to not allow any passage into or out of the Palastinian controlled territories.

Pakistan and India have a long standing tension over their borders. Particularly along the highly contested Kashmir border. It was not until 2005 that tensions eased somewhat and the fortification and militarization of this border somewhat disipated. Before this both India and Pakistan woould regularly tussle against the other from fire bases high in the Himilayas, while down at the border crossing, border guards would on a daily basis carryout a rather pompt filled ceremony of mutual disgust and national bravado at both the opening and closing of the border.

One could argue that in Iraq today may also be dividing into defended enclaves following religious lines. Sunni and Shi'a sectors each segregating one from the other. SImilar events occurred in Lebanon in the 80's when Christian and Shi'a's divided Beirut.

One last example, would be the Maginot and Alpine lines built by the French between WWI and WWII. This defensive line did not extend the entire length of the French border, but it did encompass quite alot of it. These lines were intended to prevent German and Italian invasion. Although quite extensive and formidable, the German army circumvented its power by annexing Poland and attacking from the North--there by rendering the line ineffective. Through this flanking tactic, the Germans managed to attack the line from the rear and easily destroy it--lack of foresight had the guns only face east, and did not allow them to point back into France.

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