TRAGEDY IN PERU

Shoot-first drug-war tactics invite attacks on the innocent

Veronica and Charity Bowers are casualties of the drug war. The American
Baptist missionary and her 7-month-old daughter were killed Friday in what
the Bush administration is calling a tragic error.

It was indeed tragic. Like all wars, the drug war claims its share of
innocent victims. Yet we keep on fighting it, despite overwhelming evidence
that the effort is and will continue to be a failure.

Mother and baby were aboard a plane that was attacked by a Peruvian fighter
jet Friday. The jet opened fire on the tiny private plane as it flew over
the Amazon River. Authorities in Peru say they thought the plane was being
operated by drug traffickers.

While relatives of the missionaries are saying the attack was unprovoked
and unjustified, Peruvian authorities are denying any responsibility,
arguing that their military followed well-established procedures. The Bush
administration, meanwhile, is being very cautious with its language, only
obliquely suggesting that the error was Peru's. A joint investigation by
U.S. and Peruvian officials is under way to resolve several disputed
questions of fact.

Whatever the outcome of that probe, the U.S. role in this trigger-happy
policy should be re-examined. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher
described it Monday as "an important program, a successful program over the
years to interdict drugs from coming into the United States."

What is the price of success? What possible risk would have been run by the
fighter pilot if he had taken longer to confirm the identity of the
single-engine Cessna? Clearly, the pilot of the jet was in no imminent danger.

U.S. anti-drug policy has always been tilted heavily toward inhibiting the
supply rather than retarding the demand for illegal drugs. Interdiction
programs, law enforcement, courts and prisons have absorbed far more
resources than efforts to treat and prevent addiction. The expense has been
enormous. The results have been miserable.

And every so often, a tragedy like this one occurs as a result of the drug
war. This time, a plane carrying innocent missionaries was attacked. Other
times, wrong addresses on warrants will lead to innocent families being
terrorized - or worse - in their own homes by SWAT teams.

Meanwhile, the flow of illegal drugs into the United States and
distribution to local communities continues apace. As long as there are
such huge profits to be made in the drug business, as long as the demand
for the stuff is strong, there will always be criminals willing to risk
being captured or killed by the authorities.

If the demand were diminished, the opportunity for profit would decline.
But public policy has always given short shrift to the demand side of the
equation. At least part of the problem is politics. No elected official
wants to be portrayed as "soft on drugs."

A big drug bust, with arrests and seizure of drugs and money, is a good
photo opportunity. But officials can't call a press conference to showcase
all the kids who did not take drugs today because of an effective
prevention program.

Don't look for any radical shift in drug-war strategy soon. And count on
hearing more sad tales of innocent victims caught in the crossfire.