Pubdate: Mon, 15 Apr 2002
Source: Charleston Gazette (WV)
Copyright: 2002 Charleston Gazette
Contact:  http://www.wvgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/77
Author: Lawrence Messina
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?203 (Terrorism)

U.S. ATTORNEY WARNER ADOPTS DRUG-TERRORIST IDEA

Southern West Virginia's top federal prosecutor agrees with President Bush 
that Americans put money in the pockets of international terrorists 
whenever they buy or sell drugs.

"We need to realize - right now - the war on illicit drugs and the war on 
terrorism are inextricably linked," U.S. Attorney Kasey Warner said Friday. 
"In many respects, they are one and the same war."

Warner's comments represent a major policy statement for his office, which 
oversees investigations and prosecutions for Southern West Virginia's 
federal court district.

With his comments, Warner has also embraced the Bush administration's 
effort to jump-start the so-called War on Drugs.

Even before Sept. 11, the Bush nominee placed drug prosecutions among his 
top priorities. With lengthy prison terms meted out under sentencing 
guidelines, federal courts have been an oft-used forum for drug prosecutions.

"[Attorney General John Ashcroft] is very concerned with drugs, especially 
drugs and young people," Warner said after the U.S. Senate confirmed him 
last year. "I believe we have a great problem with drugs."

Since then, the Bush administration has increasingly linked the domestic 
drug trade to global terrorism.

"Terrorists use drug profits to fund their cells to commit acts of murder," 
the president said at one point. "If you quit drugs, you join the fight 
against terror in America."

Before Bush appointed him, Warner was a Army colonel and chief legal 
adviser to the commander of the nation's Special Operations Forces. These 
elite troops play a major role in the government's fight against illegal drugs.

Special Operations Forces provide "intelligence, planning and training to 
countries actively engaged in countering cocaine cartels," one Department 
of Defense briefing said. "Counter-drug missions account for much SOF 
activity in Latin America and the Caribbean today ... They are present in 
nearly every country in the hemisphere."

The ongoing hunt for the culprits of Sept. 11 can demonstrate how drug 
dealers and users endanger U.S. military forces, Warner said.

"Many terror networks use drug sales as an important part of their 
financial infrastructure," he said. "Through our illicit drug use, we are 
directly funding those who fight our own military men and women in 
Afghanistan, the Middle East, Africa and in the Philippines."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Ariel