RETHINK U.S. ROLE IN FOREIGN DRUG WAR

The Detroit News in an editorial: "President Bush has suspended U.S.
assistance for Peru's aerial drug-interception program pending an
investigation into the Peruvian Air Force's shooting down of a plane
carrying American missionaries. This makes sense.

But Mr. Bush should rethink . . . America's growing support for the
militarization of the drug war. In the most recent incident, a U.S.-owned
surveillance plane, full of CIA-hired personnel, spotted a
suspicious-looking Cessna aircraft over the Amazon River. The CIA
operatives radioed Peruvian authorities, who quickly dispatched a jet,
which shot down the Cessna . . . (killing) Veronica Bowers, a Baptist
missionary . . . and her infant daughter. . . . Peru's Air Force has a
history of shooting first and asking questions later. . . . The strong U.S.
response to an incident involving its own citizens will feed the perception
in Latin America that U.S. concern for due process is based not on
principle, but self-interest. Disregard for the civil rights of ordinary
citizens, however, is not something that is limited to the
aerial-surveillance program; it is endemic to the entire war on drugs."

Lancaster (Pa.) New Era in an editorial: "This incident would be difficult
enough to accept if those responsible told the full truth of what
transpired. . . . But U.S. and Peruvian authorities disagree on details. .
. . There is no reason to doubt the survivors' story.

They have absolutely no reason to lie. Peruvian and American officials, on
the other hand, have reasons to attempt to cover up their part in the
incident."

The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch in an editorial: "In recent years, the
Peruvian air force has shot down 25 to 30 suspected drug-smuggling
aircraft. . . . One can't help but wonder whether this is the first time
innocent lives have been lost. Former U.S. anti-drug czar Barry McCaffrey
says these shoot-downs have virtually eliminated airborne drug trafficking
in Peru. But even if those planes were ferrying illegal drugs . . . firing
on them can be a form of summary execution for the pilot or passengers, who
die without a trial or a chance for appeal.

This may be legal in Peru, but it violates fundamental principles of U.S.
justice."

The Baltimore Sun in an editorial: "Removing the CIA from the program would
invite narco-terrorists to resume their trade in madness and death.

But the CIA and U.S. military should suspend operations until assured that
such an atrocity cannot recur.

The need to stop drug traffic is no excuse for target practice on people
who are not drug smugglers."

The Courier-Journal, Louisville, in an editorial: "Shooting down
missionaries is bad PR. Luckily, it's also rare. But our anti-drug
operations in Peru and especially in Colombia are hurting people on the
ground in those countries every day. The use of airdropped defoliants on
coca crops in Colombia probably has little impact on the volume of cocaine
that eventually reaches the U.S. But it affects the livelihood and perhaps
the health of peasants who grow the stuff and have no other way to make a
living. We're making enemies, big-time -- without winning the drug war."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an editorial: "The Bush administration
acted quickly to freeze anti-drug surveillance flights in Peru. . . .
That's OK, as far as it goes, but President Bush should have taken the
opportunity to ask for a broad review of the longtime Washington policy of
assisting drug interdiction in foreign countries. . . . U.S. officials,
trying to justify U.S. involvement in the Peruvian shoot-down incident,
have said the cooperation between the United States and Peru in a
shoot-first-ask-questions-later policy has been successful in cutting back
the production of cocaine in Peru dramatically. But can anyone point to
data that show that shooting down planes over Peru has done anything to
stop even one addict in this country from using drugs? . . . The U.S.
government continues to spend billions in Latin America (to try to reduce)
production of marijuana and cocaine. This is a 'war' we cannot win."