SHOOTDOWN: DEAD MISSIONARY AND CHILD INNOCENT VICTIMS OF DRUG WAR

The war on drugs has many casualties, sometimes civilians and noncombatants.

The downing of a small plane of American missionaries by the Peruvian air
force on Friday after the aircraft was mistakenly identified as carrying
drugs is but one example of how innocent people suffer because of the
illegal drug trade.

Baptist missionary Veronica "Roni" Bowers and her infant daughter, Charity,
were tragically killed by Peruvian gunfire after their plane was falsely
identified by an anti-drug U.S. surveillance aircraft, operated by the CIA,
as one possibly carrying drugs. Bowers' husband and small son survived the
incident, as did the pilot, but many questions remain that must be answered
by objective investigation.

Since accounts of the fatal incident conflict, somebody is confused or
lying or both.

George W. Bush's pledge for a full inquiry must explain how a plane
well-known as the missionaries' aircraft could have been wrongly identified
as a possible drug plane. Did the missionaries file a flight plan? Did the
Peruvian pilots act responsibly before shooting down the plane?

Finally, what role did the CIA aircraft play in the tragedy, and what is
the weight of its responsibility, if any?