DRUG WAR CLAIMS NEW VICTIMS

I am outraged by the deaths of Veronica and Charity Bowers (Page 1A, April
23). They were killed as their plane was fired upon by a Peruvian fighter
plane acting on intelligence supplied by the CIA. In effect, they were
convicted and executed for drug smuggling without benefit of trial.

This case reveals how the drug war is being waged, with the consent and
support of our government. We are aware of this incident only because the
victims were U.S. citizens engaged in missionary work. Even if the Bowers
had been drug smugglers, they would have been entitled to due process.

I will never be ashamed of the United States or the Constitution and the
beacon of justice that they represent. But I am ashamed of the U.S.
government and its abandonment of the principles that it is founded upon.
The drug war, and the insensitivity to humanity that it fosters, must end.

Andrew Gray

Berkeley