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. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens