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.