WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) was not surprised to hear
a news report on CNN where a “senior Bush administration official” revealed
that the Peruvian Air Force shoulders most of the blame for the shoot-down
of a missionary plane that resulted in the death of two innocent Americans.
The official stated that an investigation into the incident showed that
the Peruvian Air Force pilot did not follow proper procedures.
“It
is because of the U.S.-Peruvian shoot down policy that two innocent Americans
are dead. For the U.S. government to forego most of the blame for
the shoot-down of the missionary plane and only point fingers at the Peruvian
Air Force misses the point that it is our policy that is misguided,” Schakowsky
said.
Schakowsky,
who is a critic of the U.S-Peruvian force-down aerial intercept program
and the use of private military contractors in the Andean region, has repeatedly
made requests of the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency
about the incident. And in a June 6 meeting with James Mack, Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs and others, Schakowsky requested additional materials
pertaining to the taxpayer funded private military contractors in the Andean
region. To date, no information has been provided.
“The
Bush Administration, the State Department, and the CIA have not been forthcoming
with the American people and members of Congress. They’ve stonewalled,
delayed, but mostly ignored demands for answers about the shoot down and
the use of private military contractors in the region,” Schakowsky said.
“It
is ironic that members of Congress receive more information from the media
than they do from this Administration and its State Department,” Schakowsky
concluded.
Schakowsky
is the author of the Andean Region Contractor Accountability Act (ARCAA),
legislation that would prohibit the federal government from funding private
armies in the Andean region. Currently, taxpayer funds are used to
pay private companies hundred of millions of dollars to fight the war on
drugs in the Andean region. |