Pubdate: Mon, 05 Nov 2001 Source: Grand Rapids Press (MI) Copyright: 2001 Grand Rapids Press Contact: http://www.gr.mlive.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/171 TRAGIC FLAWS IN PERU: LATEST REPORT SHOULD MARK END TO DRUG INTERDICTION EFFORT A program for halting suspected drug-running planes in Peru has been indefinitely grounded by a recently released Senate report. The evidence demands this and more. The deaths of Veronica Bowers and her 7-month-old daughter last April revealed tragic flaws in the joint U.S.-Peru interdiction effort. This latest information adds to the argument for ending the program for good. The report from the Select Senate Committee on Intelligence offers new and even more disturbing evidence about the death of Mrs. Bowers and her daughter, Charity. Mrs. Bowers, her husband, Jim, and their two children worked for the Pennsylvania-based Association of Baptists for World Evangelism and drew much of their support from Calvary Church in Fruitport. Mrs. Bowers and Charity were killed when Peruvian and American officials mistook their association-owned plane for one of the area's drug-running flights. Among the most shocking findings in the Senate report is evidence that Peruvian authorities had all the information they needed to avert the tragedy. Instead, in a brief minute and a half, the Peruvian Air Force, along with partners in the Central Intelligence Agency, hastily pegged the slow-moving float plane flying in a non-suspicious pattern as a drug-hauler and opened fire. A Peruvian rider aboard the CIA plane that identified suspicious aircraft in the region had a list of all aircraft with valid Peruvian registration numbers. The missionary-owned Cessna float plane was on that list. A Peruvian fighter jet relayed the Cessna's tail number, OB1408, to his superior onboard the CIA plane. Inexplicably, the Peruvian failed to connect the two. The CIA agents aboard the plane serving as spotter for the jet consistently - -- and at points vociferously -- cautioned Peruvians that they were acting too quickly. Despite these efforts, the CIA's involvement in the whole operation deserves more scrutiny. The agents failed to manage the operation well or institute basic common-sense requirements, such as making sure they could understand the Peruvians and vice versa. Despite the CIA's observer-like role, the agency was complicit in the deaths. U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Holland, has already pushed to end funding for such interdictions. U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, sat on the select committee that issued the Senate report. He has called for drastic changes in the program, including empowering U.S. authorities to stop Peru from using lethal force, a step that probably would have saved the lives of Mrs. Bowers and her child. The United States explicitly refused that power when the interdiction program was established seven years ago. Authorities here wanted protection against legal liability in case innocent people were killed. That prophetic hesitation is a measure of the nation's uneasiness with the idea of shooting down suspected criminals without representation, trial or anything like due process. A better option than trying to revamp the interdiction initiative is to find other drug-fighting strategies. The United States must battle drugs on all fronts, from coca fields to clinics. But it must not miss the lessons of Veronica and Charity Bowers. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth