Drug Warriors Shoot Before Asking Questions In Peru PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE DrugSense FOCUS Alert #207 Wed. April 25,2001 A seven-month-old baby and her mother were killed in the drug war last week as the Peruvian military shot down a plane carrying American missionaries while American CIA operatives watched. The plane was apparently mistaken as a drug runner, but conflicting reports relating to the incident indicate little attempt at confirmation was made before the shooting started. Several American newspapers have editorialized on the incident this week. Many say tighter precautions should be taken to avoid such a tragedy again, but few have dared to take look at the broader picture of counterproductive drug prohibition. Many newspapers accept official US reports that tough policies have helped to reduce the illegal drug trade in Peru. But more thoughtful journalists looking beyond the propaganda have shown that drug smuggling and drug corruption continue to run rampant in Peru (see the excellent piece by Kevin G. Hall at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n718/a09.html?5880). An editorial from the New York Times (below) touches on these issues, but somehow still concludes, "If cooperative drug interdiction can be resumed without continuing risk to innocent fliers, it should be." By its very nature, the drug war puts innocent people at risk, and it will continue to do so. Please write a letter to the NY Times and other papers that have editorialized on this situation to say that overly aggressive tactics are only part of the problem - the real issue is the drug war itself. NOTE: Would you like to be able to donate the equivalent of $52,800 to help bring about sensible drug policies and do so without spending a dime? See the Target Analysis below. PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, Phone, fax etc.) Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent letter list () if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to followsuit This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our impact and effectiveness. CONTACT INFO Source: New York Times (NY) Contact: EXTRA CREDIT Several newspapers have editorialized on the Peru shooting, many with a similar tone to the NY Times editorial. Please send your letter to some or all of these newspapers as well, or read various editorials and tailor your letters to each newspaper. US IL: Editorial: Only Losers In War That We Can't Win URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n718/a03.html Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Contact: US OH: Editorial: Casualties Of A Lost War URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n718/a12.html Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 Source: Cincinnati Post (OH) Contact: US FL: Editorial: Innocent Victims URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n717/a06.html Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL) Copyright: 2001 Sarasota Herald-Tribune US MI: Editorial: Drug War URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n717/a09.html Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 Source: Detroit Free Press (MI) Copyright: 2001 Detroit Free Press Contact: US NJ: Editorial: A Tragedy In Peru URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n723/a03.html Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 Source: Bergen Record (NJ) Contact: US TN: Editorial: Tragedy in Peru URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n723/a04.html Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 Source: Chattanooga Times & Free Press (TN) Contact: US IL: Editorial: A Fool's Errand In Latin America URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n722/a03.html Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Contact: US MA: Editorial: The Plane Truth In Peru URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n720/a05.html Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 Source: Boston Globe (MA) Contact: US CA: Editorial: Collateral Damage URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n720/a08.html Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Contact: ARTICLE US NY: Editorial: Peru's Reckless Shooting URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n717/a10.html Newshawk: M & M Family Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2001 The New York Times Company Contact: Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n714/a07.html PERU'S RECKLESS SHOOTING It should not have taken the tragic deaths of two innocent members of an American missionary family to force Washington to re-examine its cooperation with Peru's risky drug interdiction program. Although the facts of last Friday's incident are still being sorted out, the deaths raise serious questions about how Peru's air force has been carrying out a program involving help from the Central Intelligence Agency to fight drug trafficking. The White House is right to suspend the program's operations until it can be sure more reliable controls are in place. The official rules of engagement are designed to safeguard against mistaken identifications. They are also meant to compel drug trafficking planes to land rather than shooting them out of the sky. But Peru's record suggests a preference for more aggressive tactics. Several years before this program began, Peruvian jet fighter planes fired on a United States military transport, killing an American airman. Some 30 aircraft have been shot down during the six years of the joint program, although this is apparently the first time that American civilians have been killed. While the program is suspended, President Bush should ask for a review of the previous shooting incidents. Peru's pugnacious attitude seems to have been a critical factor on Friday. Americans working for the C.I.A. spotted an unknown aircraft flying through a zone frequented by drug traffickers and relayed the information to the Peruvian military. The Peruvian fighter pilot sent up to investigate apparently ignored precautions designed to prevent mistaken identifications and opened fire on the suspected plane, forcing it to crash-land in the Amazon jungle. The joint drug interdiction program, authorized by Congress in 1994, was designed to discourage the growing of coca leaf in Peru by making it more difficult to bring the product to market. The program has resulted in a nearly two-thirds drop in coca production in Peru since 1995. Much of that lost output simply moved to Colombia, and in recent years new marketing channels have opened up in Peru, relying on rivers and roads rather than the skies. But there is little question that fear of aerial interdiction has been a significant constraint on Peruvian drug production. Unfortunately, for most of the life of this program, military cooperation with Peru meant cooperation with its autocratic former president, Alberto Fujimori, and his corrupt intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos. Both men have now been evicted from power, and senior military commanders from that era have been replaced. But the aggressive approach they favored apparently remains. If cooperative drug interdiction can be resumed without continuing risk to innocent fliers, it should be. But until it can be certain that Peruvian pilots will not shoot first and ask questions later, Washington should keep the program in suspension and under an unbiased review. SAMPLE LETTER To the editor: In the wake of the missionary plane shooting in Peru, more than Peru's "shoot-down" policy needs to be evaluated. The whole counterproductive, rights-infringing, corruption-producing, budget-busting, violence-mongering, freedom-hating, race-baiting, lie-fueled war on drugs ought to be put on trial. Seven-month-old Charity Bowers is not the first innocent child killed in the drug war, and she won't be the last as long as we continue to accept the myth that force and violence are the best way to address drug problems. Stephen Young contact info IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work. TARGET ANALYSIS US News and World Reports NEW YORK TIMES Circulations 1,115,000 The New York Times is one of the most widely read and influential newspapers in the country A published letter of only 2 column inches in this paper has an equivalent advertising as if you bought a $52,800 advertisement on behalf of reform and had it published in the NY TImes. ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts 3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm TO SUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SEE http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm TO UNSUBSCRIBE SEE http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm Prepared by Stephen Young - http://www.maximizingharm.com Focus Alert Specialist

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