Pubdate: Wed, 20 Jun 2001
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2001 The Miami Herald
Contact:  http://www.herald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262
Author: Frank Davies
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?172 (Peruvian Aircraft Shooting)

U.S. TO REVIEW ANTI-DRUG PLAN

With skepticism arising in Congress over a program to intercept aerial
drug shipments in Colombia and Peru, the State Department has named
Morris Busby, a former ambassador to Colombia, to oversee a ``broad
review'' of the policy and delayed a final report on the April
shoot-down of a missionaries' plane mistaken for a drug flight.

On Capitol Hill, where support for the aerial interdiction program has
eroded since the accident, Busby can help defend the seven-year program
to track and intercept drug flights, a big part of the drug war in Peru
and Colombia, said two GOP staffers involved in drug issues.

Members and staffers also said Tuesday that the delay in releasing the
report on the shoot-down of the missionaries' plane could buy time for
the State Department and other agencies to revamp and promote the
program.

Busby is a respected ex-foreign service officer and counterterrorism
expert experienced in dealing with Congress. He helped secure massive
U.S. aid for Colombia during the war on drug kingpins in the early
1990s.

July Deadline:

His review, along with the results of the investigation of the accident,
will be released in late July, a State Department official said Tuesday.

``We need to make sure that every possible safeguard is in place to
prevent the accidental loss of civilian life as a result of the
anti-drug program in the Andes,'' said the official, speaking on
condition of anonymity.

A CIA surveillance plane on April 20 provided data to a Peruvian air
force plane on a suspected drug flight. The Peruvians shot down the
pontoon plane over the Amazon, killing Baptist missionary Roni Bowers
and her baby, Charity. Bowers' husband Jim, their son Cory and pilot
Kevin Donaldson survived the attack.

After the accident, President Bush suspended the surveillance and
interception program so it could be reviewed. U.S. officials had hailed
the program as a successful partnership in deterring drug flights,
noting that coca production in Peru was cut 70 percent, with much of it
shifting to Colombia.

The delay in issuing the report was greeted with mixed reaction.

``It's appropriate to look at the broader context of the policy at the
same time this tragic incident is fully investigated,'' said Sen. Bob
Graham, the Florida Democrat who chairs the Senate Intelligence
Committee. He said he would ``withhold evaluation'' of the merits of the
interception program, but others were not reticent.

Rep. Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y., citing recent Colombian reports of an
upsurge of drug flights in the region, said: ``We need to do all we can
to get this program up and running as soon as possible.

``While not excusing or minimizing the tragedy, we must bear in mind
that nearly 16,000 Americans lose their lives each year from the use and
sale of illicit drugs, many of which originate in the Andean region,''
said Gilman, a former chairman of the House International Affairs
Committee.

But Rep. Peter Hoekstra, a Michigan Republican who represents the Bowers
family, said he was ``not pleased with the decision'' to delay the
report.

``There are families and organizations that want a resolution on this,''
Hoekstra said. ``We ought to get closure on what happened in the
accident and then have the policy debate, which could be quite
lengthy.''

Hoekstra, a staunch conservative, said he will not support any revival
of the interdiction program that includes shoot-downs as a last resort.

Seeking Data:

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Porter Goss
of Sanibel, said he is seeking recent data on whether there has been a
big increase in drug flights with the program in ``stand-down mode.''

But he said he hopes the interdiction program can eventually resume.

``It's a shame what happened, but this is a war, and unfortunately there
are casualties,'' Goss said.
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