REPORT: MISCOMMUNICATION HURTS US DRUG EFFORT IN COLOMBIA

WASHINGTON (AP)--Colombian troops trained and armed by the U.S. under a
counternarcotics program failed to rid an area of guerrillas before a U.S.
plane fumigating coca crops was shot down last month, a government
investigation found.

It also said troops weren't close enough to respond once the plane was
attacked.

U.S. State Department officials who sent the planes on the fatal mission
Sept. 21 were unaware of intelligence showing a heavy guerrilla presence in
the area, according to a summary of the report's final draft obtained by The
Associated Press.

The former head of the department's aviation program, John McLaughlin, cited
the report in requesting a congressional investigation of the
counternarcotics bureau, which oversees the spraying program.

"Aircrew lives are being put at risk without making use of all available
protective measures," McLaughlin said in an Oct. 9 letter to the House
Government Reform Committee. McLaughlin retired Oct. 3.

Referring to another incident, McLaughlin said in his letter that after a
U.S. contractor's plane crashed Feb. 13 in guerrilla-controlled territory,
rescue helicopters were kept on the ground with engines running for at least
15 minutes. By the time the helicopters flew over the crash site, guerrillas
had executed a U.S. citizen and a Colombian, and could be seen leading three
more U.S. citizens into captivity. The three haven't been released.

A State Department spokesman, Adam Ereli, said the government takes "the
safety and security of our pilots as the highest priority" and is studying
the accident report. "This is a dangerous business," he said, adding that
"no program is perfect - everything can be improved."

In the Sept. 21 downing, a twin-engine OV-10 spray plane crashed after
coming under fire in northwestern Colombia. The Costa Rican pilot, employed
by a U.S. government contractor, was killed.

The report listed five findings:

- -There were gaps in the plane's armor.

- -The Colombian Army didn't provide timely and accurate intelligence.

- -There were too few troops on the ground to clear the area before spraying.

- -The counternarcotics "quick reaction force" wasn't available and then was
slow to react.

- -The eradication program wasn't receiving intelligence from Colombian
surveillance planes.

"Known intelligence of a major FARC encampment existed within the Colombia
Army Intelligence Center and was not made available to operating forces
before the mishap," the report said.

FARC is the Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,
the largest rebel group. The No. 2 group, the National Liberation Army, took
responsibility for the downing.

The report said that while other troops provided support at the crash site,
"The troops identified for the (quick reaction force) were multitasked with
airfield security and did not board the aircraft for 45 minutes after
notification."

McLaughlin's earlier criticism of the air program prompted the chairman of
the House International Relations Committee, Republican Rep. Henry Hyde, to
call for the drug spraying program to be shifted to a law enforcement
agency.

McLaughlin also said the department lacks the expertise to run the program.