Pubdate: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 Source: The Herald-Sun (NC) Copyright: 2001 The Herald-Sun Contact: http://www.herald-sun.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1428 Author: Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?172 (Peruvian Aircraft Shooting) REPORT: US, PERU TO BLAME FOR INCIDENT The Associated Press July 31, 2001 4:09 am WASHINGTON (AP) -- A State Department inquiry has concluded that Peru and the United States share responsibility for the mistaken shootdown of a civilian aircraft carrying American missionaries, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. Citing several unamed sources familiar with the report, the paper said it does not assign direct blame to either country for the April incident in which a plane was shot down over northern Peru by a Peruvian Air Force fighter jet which targeted it as a suspected drug flight. The small private plane was tracked by a CIA surveillance plane flown by American contract employees who relayed information to the Peruvian Air Force. A Baptist missionary, Veronica Bowers and her 7-month-old daughter were killed and pilot Kevin Donaldson was seriously wounded when the plane was shot down. The Post said that although its sources declined to provide specific details of the report, they said it characterizes the U.S.-Peru drug interdiction program as having limited U.S. oversight and having evolved over the years into lax adherence by both countries to established procedures. Top department officials traveling abroad with Secretary of State Colin Powell said they were unfamiliar with contents of the report. The Post, which cited sources as saying a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence as reaching similar conclusions, said the administration inquiry has been withheld while officials try to figure out what to do about the program. It quoted an administration officials as saying a "collective" decision was made in June by "the most senior levels of this government" to withhold the report, pending a separate policy review. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe