Pubdate: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 Source: Savannah Morning News (GA) Copyright: 2001 Savannah Morning News Contact: http://www.savannahnow.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/401 VICTIMS OF STUPIDITY Savannah Morning News LAST WEEK'S downing of a civilian plane and the subsequent deaths of an American missionary and her infant daughter are reasons to question the efficacy of one aspect of the American anti-drug effort in South America. Whether the deaths of Veronica "Roni" Bowers, and her 7-month-old daughter, Charity, were the result of a trigger-happy Peruvian military team, miscommunication or some other error, the Bush administration's decision to stop the flights and review the program is a wise one. In this situation, shooting first and asking questions later is pure idiocy. American and Peruvian officials have jointly conducted these interdiction flights for eight years, except for a brief halt and review in 1994. The results speak for themselves. In Peru, the cultivation of coca plants, from which cocaine is refined, has been reduced by about 70 percent since 1996. At the same time, the cost of smuggling has increased. Pilots once charged $30,000 for a smuggling flight. After the air interceptions began, the cost rose to $180,000, payable in advance. A videotape of last week's interception shows CIA pilots on an accompanying plane. At first, the Americans don't seem anxious about the Peruvian military plane's approach of the civilian aircraft, possibly since they assumed the Peruvian crew was simply trying to read the plane's registration number for confirmation purposes. The Americans became concerned, though, when the jet made closer passes at the civilian plane -- an easy target -- and began shooting. What's unclear is if the Peruvian crew followed a previously determined sequence of events to establish that the civilian plane was innocent or could be involved in a drug smuggling operation. Observers said the civilian plane was flying on a straight and level course, not attempting evasive actions often used by drug smugglers. The videotape shows that the American crew had problems communicating with the Peruvian official on their plane because they spoke little Spanish. That's inexcusible. How can anyone expect to share information, before the bullets start flying, when there's no common language? It appears, too, that some involved in the anti-drug effort have a motto that assumes guilt: "You fly, you die." The policy of shooting down suspected drug smuggling planes will undergo an investigation by the CIA, National Transportation Safety Board, Drug Enforcement Administration and other U.S. agencies. It's doubtful, given the past success of the program, that the review will recommend flights be permanently discontinued. With so much money, time and energy invested in the anti-drug program, it's politically impossible to stop it. And the Bowers deaths were the first innocent victims in the program's history, officials say. So it's not as if there's been a continuous problem. Nevertheless, tighter, stricter safeguards must be put in place to ensure that other innocents aren't killed by pilots with itchy trigger fingers. If not, this interdiction effort should become a casualty itself.