BOGOTA SET TO RESUME ANTI-DRUG FLIGHTS

Bush Reviewing Interdiction Program

The United States and Colombia are close to resuming U.S.-backed drug
interdiction flights by the Colombian military under a recommendation that
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell has made to President Bush, U.S.
officials said yesterday.

The flights, part of the U.S. effort to stem the flow of illegal drugs from
South America, were suspended in 2001 after the Peruvian military mistakenly
shot down a small aircraft over Peru. Veronica Bowers, an American
missionary, and her daughter, Charity, were killed in the incident. At the
time, the Peruvian military was operating under a similar program with U.S.
assistance.

After lengthy negotiations with Colombia, Powell late Monday recommended
that Bush authorize resuming the flights over Colombia under what one
official called a "very specific, very clear checklist" of procedures
designed to prevent a recurrence of the fatal 2001 incident. The official
said a decision by Bush is expected quickly.

State Department spokesman Philip T. Reeker did not confirm that Powell had
made the recommendation, but he made clear that the administration strongly
supports a resumption of the interdiction flights under the Air Bridge
Denial program.

"We hope to have the Air Bridge Denial program up and running again in the
very near future," Reeker said at a State Department briefing. "We want to
make sure that this is done safely, get it right."

In Crawford, Tex., where Bush in vacationing on his ranch, White House
spokesman Sean McCormack said the White House is "in the final stages of
review and evaluation" of the air interdiction program.

"The president's overriding concern is to support our allies in Colombia to
address the threat to their national security posed by illegal drug
trafficking while ensuring that procedures are in place to protect innocent
life," McCormack said.

Luis Alberto Moreno, Colombia's ambassador to the United States, said in a
telephone interview that some air crews have already undergone training and
that the interdiction flights should resume shortly after Bush issues a
directive authorizing them.

"We had a good program and we have made it much better," he said. "For
Colombia, it is critical to be able to seize planes that are carrying drugs
and arms."

The United States is still in talks with Peru to resume drug interdiction
flights over that country. The administration has said publicly that it
would like to resume operations in Peru by the end of the year. But an
official said those negotiations are taking longer because Peru does not
have as many resources as Colombia to invest in the program and because
Peruvian officials had not yet indicated that they sufficiently appreciate
how "delicate" the air interdiction flights are, particularly since the
deaths of Bowers and her daughter.

Under the program that was suspended in 2001, the CIA supervised the flights
in Peru and the U.S. Customs Service was in charge of the operation in
Colombia. Under the new program, the State Department will have
responsibility for the interdiction operation in Colombia.

An official said that most of the aircraft and the radar installations that
track suspicious flights belong to the United States. The aircraft will be
flown by the Colombian military, which will have final authority to decide
whether to intercept a suspicious aircraft. But U.S. personnel will be on
board the flights and if an interdiction takes place without their approval
and then "turns out badly," the United States could cancel the entire drug
interdiction program, the official said.

"We can't put anybody in jail, but that's a pretty big thing," the official
said. "They've wanted this program for a long time."

"There were not a great deal of checks and balances" under the old
interdiction program, the official added. "The program is now very
different. The rules and regulations will be so openly explained that even
very casual pilots will know what to do."