Walls don't work. … Instead of building walls to create security, we need to build bridges.

Stavridis contrasts “walls” (physical barriers and, by extension, isolationist policies) with “bridges” (alliances, diplomacy, trade, and interpersonal ties). The claim that walls “don’t work” argues that security is not achieved primarily by exclusion, because many modern threats—terrorism, cyberattacks, pandemics, climate shocks, organized crime—cross borders regardless of fortifications. “Building bridges” reframes security as something produced through cooperation: intelligence-sharing, joint operations, stable partnerships, and mutual understanding that reduces incentives for conflict. Coming from a career naval officer and NATO commander, the line also functions as a strategic maxim: durable national safety is more often the product of networks and coalitions than unilateral barricades.