UNITED STATES, PERU TRY TO MAKE SENSE OF TRAGEDY

Downing Of Missionaries' Plane Underlines Potential Costs Of U.s. Involvement

The United States and Peru are still trying to sort out the facts regarding
the tragic incident last week in which a Peruvian fighter jet shot down an
aircraft carrying U.S. missionaries. The attack resulted in the deaths of a
35-year-old American woman and her 7-month-old daughter.

The Peruvian pilot apparently acted on the mistaken belief that the pontoon
plane was involved in the drug trade. To date, the Peruvian military
continues to insist that the pilot of the light aircraft had not filed a
proper flight plan, and that he did not respond to attempts to establish
contact.

However, Americans aboard a U.S. surveillance aircraft that monitored the
drama suggest the Peruvian pilot acted precipitously, ignoring carefully
crafted rules of engagement. The survivors from the missionary plane
support that interpretation.

Undeniably, there is a reason why Peruvians and American are patrolling the
skies over Peru: These missions have hurt drug smugglers' efforts to move
their illicit goods.

This incident, however, reminds that we must count the cost - especially as
we move ever closer to heavy involvement in neighboring Colombia's drug
war. The drug trade takes a terrible toll, but so, too, may American
involvement in foreign theaters under conditions we understand imperfectly,
if at all.