TWO MORE VICTIMS

The latest victims of America's war on drugs were not drug kingpins or even
some harmless drug users. They were a young missionary woman and her infant
daughter. They were the latest innocents killed in our government's attempt
to keep individuals from engaging in behavior of which it does not approve.

Veronica Bowers, 35, of Michigan, and her 7-month-old daughter, Charity,
were killed Friday when a Peruvian A-37B Dragonfly attack plane fired on
the single-engine float plane in which they were riding over the Amazon jungle.

The U.S. government is claiming the Peruvian fighter pilot violated
established rules of engagement when it fired on the missionary plane. A
simple call to the air tower would have confirmed the plane was on a
legitimate mission.

Still, it was disturbing to learn of the involvement of U.S. personnel.

The location of the missionary plane was given to the Peruvian fighter
pilot by the crew of a CIA tracking plane. Although the U.S. government
claims the Peruvian fighter pilot was told not to fire on the plane, the
U.S. anti-drug team is still complicit in the deaths by its act of
initially radioing the location of the missionary plane to the Peruvian
fighter.

Ideally, the deaths of the Bowerses would cause the U.S. government to
reconsider the devastating toll its continued prohibition on drug use and
its effort to enforce that prohibition with military force is having. But
we won't hold our breath.

We were encouraged, however, to hear that U.S. drug interdiction flights
over Peru have been temporarily suspended.

It's time to end the failed war on drugs before another innocent person is
killed.