Pubdate: Tue,  9 Jul 2002
Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL)
Copyright: 2002 St. Petersburg Times
Contact:  http://www.sptimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/419

ABANDON SHOOT-DOWN PROGRAM

Just how many innocent people have to be shot out of the air before our 
government permanently abandons a program putting them at risk? In a move 
that embraces an irresponsible approach to law enforcement, the State 
Department is poised to restart a controversial "shoot-down" program in 
partnership with the governments of Columbia and Peru. Under the program, 
American agents cooperate with Latin American fighter pilots to force down 
- -- in fiery crashes if necessary -- suspected of drug-carrying planes whose 
pilots do not respond to orders to land.

A similar program sponsored by the CIA was suspended last year after 
Veronica Bowers, a missionary, and her 7-month-old daughter were mistakenly 
killed. They, along with Bowers' husband and son and a pilot, were shot 
down over Peru when their plane was wrongly presumed to be a drug courier. 
Despite having his leg shattered by bullets, the pilot was able to land the 
plane and prevent further deaths.

After the incident, a State Department inquiry found some of the safeguards 
put in place to prevent innocents from being attacked had, over time, been 
ignored. An investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee concluded 
that supervision of the program had been lax. There was evidence that a 
language barrier kept Peruvian fighter pilots from understanding a 
last-minute "don't shoot" plea from American pilots in charge of sharing 
intelligence on flights.

The State Department is reportedly working to address these failings, but 
mistakes in any law enforcement endeavor are inevitable. Here, the cost of 
getting it wrong is simply too steep to justify the risk. The program puts 
Latin fighter pilots and their American analysts in the role of judge, jury 
and executioner. In the United States, law enforcement's use of lethal 
force is justified only in the face of equal force. Why is a lesser 
standard acceptable for people traveling and working in Latin America?

The easy alternative to shooting down an unresponsive plane suspected of 
ferrying drugs is to follow it until it lands. Our government doesn't like 
this option, because it may give traffickers a chance to dump their illicit 
cargo over water and escape prosecution. But better some guilty drug 
runners go free than another Veronica Bowers tragedy occur. The State 
Department should recalibrate its priorities.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens