Pubdate: Sat, 11 Aug 2001
Source: Kansas City Star (MO)
Copyright: 2001 The Kansas City Star
Contact:  http://www.kcstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/221
Author: Michael Kerner
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?172 (Peruvian Aircraft Shooting)

SHOT DOWN IN PERU

I read the government's report on the shooting down of the missionary plane 
in the Andes (8/1, A-4, "U.S., Peru faulted for plane tragedy"). There was 
discussion of various procedural rules violated, implying that if we only 
follow the rules in the future, this would not happen again. Only those 
dastardly drug dealers will get shot out of the sky.

Well the rule to follow was written more than 200 years ago. It is part of 
the U.S. Constitution where it says that no one will be deprived of life, 
liberty or property without due process of law. You do not shoot a plane 
out of the sky, no matter what you think it is carrying, unless it is 
shooting at you. Shooting down a plane is premeditated murder. It also 
doesn't matter that we hired the Peruvian Air Force to do the dirty work 
for us. People who hire hit men go to jail in our country.

It is phenomenal how the "war on drugs" euphemism has gone as far as to 
make it seem OK to even think about shooting planes out of the sky on what 
can be, at most, suspicion. This is the insane result of the insane war on 
drugs. Let's end it now.

Michael Kerner

Lenexa
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager