By JOSELYN KING
Political Writer
WHEELING - Congressional candidate Mac Warner said he "knows the difference between Sunni and Shiite, Iraq and Iran."
The Republican Warner, 55, describes himself as "a citizen, soldier and small businessman." He is also a West Point graduate who became an international attorney specializing in issues pertaining to Islam and terrorism.
The Morgantown resident is now seeking West Virginia's 1st District congressional seat, which is currently held by Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va.
"It's time to apply this tremendous talent that has been paid for by the U.S. Army," Warner said in reference to his military education. "It would be selfish for me to not put it to use. I'm properly trained and capable to represent West Virginia's interest in Washington."
A Charleston native, Warner graduated from West Point in 1977 and was commissioned as an artillery officer in the U.S. Army. In 1979, he was one of 25 officers selected to attend law school for the Judge Advocate General's Corps. He would receive his law degree from West Virginia University in 1982.
After a stint as a military defense counsel in Germany, he earned a master's degree in law through the U.S. Army's JAG School in Charlottesville, Va. In 1990, he received a master's degree in international law from the University of Virginia after writing his thesis on trying Saddam Hussein for war crimes.
Warner presently has a son serving in Afghanistan and a daughter who is a student at West Point.
He is the brother of former West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Kris Warner and former gubernatorial candidate Monty Warner.
Warner said current activity in Washington and actions by Mollohan inspired him to run for Congress this year.
"It was watching (Mollohan's) votes and seeing they didn't represent the values of West Virginians," Warner said.
He pointed to Mollohan's vote against cutting funding for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, and for his hesitance to take a stand regarding "cap and trade" legislation. Mollohan voted "no" on the climate control legislation.
Warner said he finds Mollohan's ACORN vote "particularly irksome."
"It was way out of touch with the average West Virginia voter," he noted. "And he waited until the last minute to vote against cap and trade when there shouldn't have been an argument."
Warner said Mollohan often votes with a Congress that is under the direction of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
"Nobody I know thinks Nancy Pelosi should be representing West Virginia," Warner said. "And that's what we have 98 percent of the time."
Other Republicans seeking the 1st District seat are Wheeling residents Cindy Hall, Patricia VanGilder Levenson and David McKinley; Sarah Minear of Morgantown; and Thomas Stark of Parkersburg.
Mollohan, meanwhile, faces a Democratic challenge from current state Sen. Mike Oliverio, D-Monongalia.