U.S. ATTORNEY IS A SPECIAL FORCE

Kasey Warner Was Aide To Commander Of Elite Army Troops

Considering he advised the commandos who now hunt Osama bin Laden and the
Taliban, Southern West Virginia's new chief federal prosecutor is a
spectacularly fortuitous choice.

Perhaps none of the nation's 92 other incoming U.S. attorneys can match the
training and background of Karl Kuldrian "Kasey" Warner, credentials made
all too relevant by the Sept. 11 attacks.

"If you're a student of military history, you know that terrorists start
this way," Warner said Friday. "The second step and third step is going to
the heartland and getting into the hearts and minds of the people there."

Warner, 49, will be sworn in today at the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse,
less than a week after he wrapped up his duties at U.S. Special Operations
Command.

For more than three years, Warner served as a key aide to the commander of
the country's elite armed forces. As a staff judge advocate, Warner likely
counseled some of the troops slipped into Afghanistan on the rules of
engagement, the laws of war and the standards of military conduct.

Warner's service with the nation's "unconventional forces" may prove
helpful in an era ushered in by terrorist attacks, anthrax fears and other
possible dangers.

"I spoke with the attorney general, and his concerns are the ones in the
newspaper: terrorism and weapons of mass destruction," Warner said. "It's a
new kind of war."

As U.S. attorney, Warner will be the Justice Department's top official in
West Virginia's southern federal court district. His office prosecutes
criminal cases, aided by federal, state and local law enforcement. It also
represents the U.S. government in civil matters.

The Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon will shape
Warner's policies and priorities as much as anything, he believes.

"I hope and pray that terrorism does not come to West Virginia, but I think
I know differently," Warner said. "I lost friends in the Pentagon, so this
is important to me."

With its rural population, insular college campuses and economic problems,
the Mountain State resembles the sort of areas historically exploited by
terrorist forces, Warner said.

"Nobody would suspect them in West Virginia," he said. "If you look at
small colleges, what better place to raise money? That's a potential
fertile ground for these people."

Warner stressed that he is aware of no specific threat against the state.
He also realizes that his office must tackle matters besides homeland defense.

"[Attorney General John Ashcroft] is very concerned with drugs, especially
drugs and young people," Warner said. "I believe we have a great problem
with drugs."

After more than 27 years in the military and outside West Virginia, Warner
also said that he has yet to set any specific agenda.

"I've consciously tried to shy away from coming up with a top-down approach
and setting priorities at the onset," he said. "I think I need time to
develop more of a bottom-up approach."

Warner has approached the veterans of his new office, other lawyers and
even members of the press to gauge "the lay of the land" in Southern West
Virginia.

Warner succeeds Rebecca Betts, a Clinton appointee who stepped down earlier
this year. Warner considers Betts a longtime friend who performed well
during her tenure.

"Rebecca Betts and I went to high school together at George Washington. I
think the world of her," the 1970 GW graduate said. "I've done some
intelligence work on this office, and I think I'm inheriting a great team."

Warner began his Army career with an appointment to the United States
Military Academy at West Point after high school. He contrasts the sorts of
patriotism he experienced then and now.

"You couldn't wear your uniform off-base," he recalled. "I remember once
going to a football game at Boston College, and getting spit on by someone
my age."

As an officer, Warner went to law school and afterward joined the
military's judge advocate general corps. Lawyers play a surprisingly
significant role in military affairs, he said.

"We review the battle plans and operational orders. We pass along the
guidelines from above," said Warner, who rose to the rank of full colonel
in the JAG corps. "We make sure the average soldier understands the rules
of engagement, the laws of war, his legal environment."

In the mid-1990s, Warner served as such an adviser during Operation Uphold
Democracy and Operation Restore Democracy, which upended the military coup
in Haiti and restored its elected leader.

Warner's duties varied. He helped set up an impromptu court system meant to
provide due process to jailed coup plotters. He even provided spot legal
opinions for such mishaps as an American tank crushing a street vendor's cart.

Warner often found himself at the side of Major Gen. David Meade, who
commanded the joint task force in Haiti. Warner now expects Meade among his
guests at today's 1 p.m. ceremony.

Warner had long since accepted President Bush's offer of a federal
appointment on Sept. 11. Still, he spoke wistfully of the current mission
of his now-former command.

"There was a certain amount of guilt and reluctance to leave," he said.
"You just don't want to walk away. I had the best job in the military."