AP Photo/HO, Assoc. of Baptists for World Evangelism)
Jim and Veronica Bowers with son Cory and baby Charity
Posted on 02/03/2010 11:58:20 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Video shows fighter jets shooting down US missionaries
Anne Barrowclough
An extraordinary 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 plane, which has been 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 first, 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.
In fact, the plane was carrying Jim and Veronica Bowers and their children Cory, 6, and 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 house-boat near Iquitos where 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
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
AP Photo/HO, Assoc. of Baptists for World Evangelism)
Jim and Veronica Bowers with son Cory and baby Charity
Guess someone wasn’t monitoring 121.5.
Ditto.
This is 9 year old news. It was a tragic mistake.
That doesn't really wash after watching the video. It looks like a Peruvian military bungle in which the CIA was trying to stop, but couldn't since as the one op said, "it's not our call, but..."
Just my assessment based on the video.
I guess, as per the article, the news is of a video contradicting the CIA’s original claims, made 9 years ago.
Tragic, no doubt.
Everything I saw and heard had the CIA advising caution and then trying to stop the shooting. Why are they claiming it is the CIA’s fault?
Actually the real bungle was made by the pilot of the plane that got shot down. He wasn’t listening to the radio as he should have, or he would have heard the “surrender or be shot down” warnings. That’s the real screwup here.
It was the CIA that called in the shooting plane. That is why they state “That is BS. I think we’re making a mistake.”
CIA had no control over shoot/no shoot, they could only advise, as was mentioned. The Peruvian pilot also gave warnings on the international GUARD channel, but apparently the guy at the controls of the seaplane decided that listening to someone or something else on another frequency was more important.
Aircraft have two or more radios for a reason. You always keep one tuned to 121.5MHz not only because that’s the international distress frequency but because that’s the channel that MEN WITH GUNS AND MISSILES THAT CAN BLOW YOU OUT OF THE SKY will use when they want to talk to you.
If anybody was gung ho, it was the Peruvian pilot, not the CIA.
Blaming the CIA as they did, I wonder if they even listened to the tape?
I call BS on any allegations of a cover up.
From an August 2001 New York Times article on the incident, “the report shows how a series of seemingly small errors on what should have been a routine flight cascaded into the fatal shooting. State Department officials played a videotape of the incident made by a camera in the American surveillance plane that was working with the Peruvian fighter, and they released a transcript of the radio conversations.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/03/world/mistakes-cited-in-downing-of-plane-in-peru.html
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/04/21/peru.plane.02/
I guess the $8 million they received earlier wasn’t enough?
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/02/rep_pete_hoekstra_calls_for_ci.html
That’s a really unfair story by the BBC anchor. The Peruvian fighter pilot was trigger-happy and the CIA operators in the surveillance plane were trying to get him to back off.
The CIA called in the Peruvian AF. Then they try to avoid responsibility and say, “It’s not my call.” They should have checked out the Cessna first.
If drugs were legal this wouldn’t have happened...or so goes the story of any killing south of the border.
“Aircraft have two or more radios for a reason.”
Every light aircraft I flew or flew in had one radio.
Blaming the victims?
Spout you’re hate on some other site.
Post 9/11, having just one radio is a huge liability. Even the little training helicopters I get lessons in have two radios now.
While this incident was pre-9/11, after Iran Air Flight 655 got shot down by the Vincennes in 1988, *YOU MAKE SURE YOU LISTEN TO 121.5!*
So, if someone is diddly-bopping along with small headphones in their ears in a dark area, rocking out to a music player, and ignoring a cop shouting at him “STOP OR I’ll SHOOT!” repeatedly, you’d blame the cop?
The situation is exactly parallel.
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