A FOOL'S ERRAND IN LATIN AMERICA

The events surrounding the tragic downing of a missionary plane over Peru
last week were under review Monday by U.S. and Peruvian authorities
involved in the incident. But one overwhelming picture is already clear.
Given U.S.-led counternarcotics strategy in the region since
1994--including U.S.-Peruvian cooperative missions to halt cocaine
trafficking by air--this kind of tragedy was bound to happen.

The deaths of American Baptist missionary Veronica Bowers, 35, and her
7-month-old daughter Charity are unconscionable. That CIA-hired operatives
aboard a surveillance plane misidentified their small Cessna aircraft as a
possible drug-smuggling flight was bad enough. The fact the CIA operatives
tried to persuade a Peruvian fighter jet to make a positive identification
before shooting at the missionary plane is small comfort. A mother and
child are dead.

Wherever the culpability lies in this incident, the larger issue is whether
the U.S. strategy to use military interdiction in Peru, Colombia and other
Andean nations--while demand for cocaine still flourishs in
America--amounts to a fool's errand. The question is whether the U.S. is
being slowly sucked into local armed conflicts by concentrating on military
efforts against drugs.

President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld came into office
talking wisely about the need to curb demand in the U.S. rather than to
wage feckless war on foreign drug traffickers. The Bush administration,
though, has yet to pull back from such risky policies.

The U.S. is still pursuing its $1.3 billion Plan Colombia, a two-year
military effort to eradicate cocaine production while cracking down on
rebels using drugs to finance their war on the government. Congress is
considering an administration request for an additional $700 million for
next year for the Andean region, including $400 million to Colombia and the
remainder to other nations, including Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.

The Peruvian Air Force has shot down, forced down or strafed more than 30
aircraft since March 1995, while seizing a dozen more on the ground. The
Peru incident should set off alarms in the Bush administration about what
could eventually happen in Colombia as the U.S. becomes more involved with
intelligence and logistical support for nations using their armies to crack
down on drug traffickers.

Bush has suspended American flights in support of Peru's drug interdiction
efforts while the investigation continues. This is an opportunity to
rethink the whole strategy. Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has fled
the country and new presidential elections will be held soon pitting
Alejandro Toledo, the front-runner, against former Peruvian President Alan
Garcia, who recently returned from voluntary exile and is gaining quickly
in the polls.

As president, Garcia confronted the U.S. on economic policy while quietly
collaborating on anti-drug programs. He presided over hyperinflation, made
a failed attempt to nationalize banks and unilaterally limited debt payments.

Now he may become the Bush administration's new best friend in the fight
against drugs.

Mr. President, there's one more reason to rethink counternarcotics strategy.