Khilafah.com

The Times

Anne Barrowclough

A video has emerged showing a bungled CIA operation that led to the shooting down of a light plane carrying American missionaries in Peru.

The dramatic footage, taken from a CIA surveillance aircraft and shown on America's ABC News, shows Peruvian fighter jets opening fire on the missionaries' seaplane even as its pilot screamed for help.

Although the Peruvian pilots issued a warning, the pilot of the missionaries' plane was on a different frequency and could not hear it.

The Peruvian jets shot down the missionaries despite CIA officers expressing serious doubts that the people they were shadowing were drug dealers.

The aircraft was carrying Jim and Veronica Bowers and their children Cory, 6, and their adopted baby Charity, who were returning from a routine trip to Brazil. Mrs Bowers and seven-month-old Charity were killed in the attack.

The emergence of the video has led to renewed accusations that the CIA lied to Congress and covered up its role in the 2001 deaths of Mrs Bowers and Charity.

Senator Pete Hoekstra, who has campaigned for the Bowers family, told ABC News: "If there's ever an example of justice delayed, justice denied, this is it."

Mr Hoekstra, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, added: "The [intelligence] community's performance in terms of accountability has been unacceptable. These were Americans that were killed with the help of their Government, the community covered it up, they delayed investigating."

On April 20, 2001, the Bowers were returning from Brazil to the remote houseboat near Iquitos on which the family lived during missionary work with Indian tribes. The jungle region is heavily travelled by drug traffickers and since 1995 the CIA and Peruvian airforce had operated a joint programme to intercept drug aircraft, shooting them down if necessary.

On this occasion, the CIA aircraft came up behind the Bowers's plane, piloted by Kevin Donaldson. Believing it was a drugs aircraft the CIA alerted the Peruvian Air Force, which scrambled a fighter jet. Over the next two hours, as doubts set in, the CIA pilots repeatedly expressed their concern over the true identity of their target but did nothing to prevent the Peruvians from shooting down the missionaries.

In the footage, conversation between the Peruvians and the CIA, and the missionaries' pilot's last desperate screams are clearly heard.

When the Peruvian Air Force jet arrives it issues a warning to the target aircraft, saying: "We will shoot you down," but it is on the wrong frequency and goes unheard by Mr Donaldson.

The CIA pilots start to have doubts, with one saying "This guy doesn't fit the profile," and ask a Peruvian Air Force contact on the ground: "Are you sure is bandito? Are you sure?"

"Yes, OK," says the Peruvian.

"If you're sure," says the CIA operative. Then one of the CIA men whispers to his colleague in his aircraft: "That is bull****. I think we're making a mistake."

"I agree with you," says the other operative.

A minute and a half later the gunships open fire and Mr Donaldson screams in Spanish for the jet to stop.

"They're killing me. They're killing us," Mr Donaldson yells on the tape.

"Tell him to terminate," says one of the CIA operatives to the Peruvian ground contact. " No. Don't Shoot. No more, no mas."

The Peruvian ground contact shouts at the pilot, "Stop! No mas, no mas, Tucan no more."

"God," says one of the CIA pilots.

By then Mrs Bowers and Charity are dead from a bullet that pierced the Cessna's fuselage, passing through her back and lodging in the baby's skull.

The pilot, his legs mangled by a burst of heavy-calibre bullets, managed to crash-land on the piranha-filled river. Mr Bowers and Cory watched Mrs Bower's body float away as they clung to the wreckage.

Yesterday, the CIA said that its nine-year investigation had determined that 16 CIA employees should be disciplined, including the woman then in charge of counter-narcotics. In a statement, the agency appeared to blame the blunder on the Peruvian Air Force.

"The programme to deny drug traffickers an 'air bridge' ended in 2001 and was run by a foreign government," the CIA said. "CIA personnel had no authority either to direct or prohibit actions by that government. CIA officers did not shoot down any airplane. In the case of the tragic downing of April 21, 2001, [sic] CIA personnel protested the identification of the missionary plane as a suspect drug trafficker.

"This was a tragic episode that the Agency has dealt with in a professional and thorough manner. Unfortunately, some have been willing to twist facts to imply otherwise. In so doing, they do a tremendous disservice to CIA officers, serving and retired, who have risked their lives for America's national security."

Mrs Bowers's mother, Gloria Luttig, told ABC News: "I want somebody to have to stand up and say I was responsible. I want him to know what a mother's heart is like."

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