(Former NYPD Commissioner)Kerik will ride to the rescue in Iraq

NY Daily News | 5/16/03

[areafiftyone]

ormer NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik is heading to Iraq to help bring order to a ravaged nation plagued by looters and lawlessness.

Kerik, 47, confirmed yesterday that he has been tapped by new civilian administrator Paul Bremer to head up the interior ministry for the Iraqi government and said he will hold the title of senior policy adviser to the White House.

"I was surprised and honored that I'd be asked to do this," Kerik said.

His new office will help restore police, prisons, border security and other vital operations as coalition forces transfer control to an interim government.

Kerik was the city's top cop for the final 16 months of Mayor Rudy Giuliani's administration. He also previously headed the city Correction Department and was warden of the Passaic County Jail in New Jersey.

His résumé also includes work in Saudi Arabia, training security personnel and coordinating protection for the king and other heads of state. He knows a smattering of Arabic.

That experience, he said, also figured into his being selected. "I know the region, the culture, the people," he said. "I lived there for four years."

Kerik said he will leave within the next three days and will be there "in excess of six months, but no one really knows ... as long as it takes to get the job done.

"We have to build an internal infrastructure, carry out the plans of Ambassador Bremer," he said.

Since leaving the NYPD, Kerik worked for the Giuliani Partners consulting firm and started his own company, Kerik, Bellistri & Associates.

Bremer arrived in Baghdad on Monday and pledged yesterday to restore order to the chaotic nation. He is charged with guiding Iraq's transition to an interim government.

The country has been rife with looting and gunfire, with hundreds of shooting victims, since Saddam Hussein's dictatorship was toppled.

Bremer said the "serious law and order problem" in the capital is a priority. He said Saddam released 100,000 inmates were released from Iraqi prisons in October. "It's time those people are put back in jail," he said at a news conference.

[areafiftyone]

Here is the link CLICK

[sauropod]

Hmmm... If he can handle the culture shock, he should do a good job...

[MEG33]

He has my prayers and best wishes for success.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

I think this is a brilliant choice. He'll do a great job, and the symbolism (just a small dividend, but I have to mention it) will not be lost on anyone.

[wideawake]

He was a corrections officer in Paterson, NJ for a few years, I believe.

Dealing with the characters there (many of whom were probably Arabs, since the Paterson/Jersey City corridor is the most Arab town in Jersey) will probably give him some inkling.

[areafiftyone]

Bremer said the "serious law and order problem" in the capital is a priority. He said Saddam released 100,000 inmates were released from Iraqi prisons in October. "It's time those people are put back in jail," he said at a news conference.

He has the right attitude going in. I think it will work out well for him!

[firewalk]

bttt

[ConservativeMan55]

He worked in Saudi Arabia for years. He knows that part of the world very well.

[Carolina]

Former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik is heading to Iraq to help bring order to a ravaged nation plagued by looters and lawlessness.

And Saddamn had absolutely nothing to do in ravaging the nation.

[areafiftyone]

I think he means now - not when Saddam was in power. Apparently our soldiers are not cops and they shouldn't be used as such! We need tough street people there now to stop the lawlessness otherwise we will never get any further than where we are now! Apparently freedom to the Looters means a free forall. The good Iraqi people don't deserve to live in a lawless society ruled by criminals like they did before. They need peace and fair justice! This is a good tough cop going there - I personally think its a good idea! The tougher the better!

[Carolina]

We need tough street people there now to stop the lawlessness otherwise we will never get any further than where we are now!

You're right, of course. I have a knee-jerk reaction to news reports that somehow paint a picture of the coalition as disrupting a peaceful nation. My reaction arose from the use of the phrase "ravaged by..."

I suppose I need to learn how to measure my response better.

[areafiftyone]

Nah you were just expressing your opinion which is why we are here! :-)

[george wythe]

His résumé also includes work in Saudi Arabia, training security personnel and coordinating protection for the king and other heads of state. He knows a smattering of Arabic

Ma'a Salaama.

I hope he realizes that setting up a police academy with accelerated training is badly needed for local cops.

American soldiers should not be patroling the streets dealing with petty crimes and traffic control

[Wild Irish Rogue]

" If he can handle the culture shock "

His wife is Lebanese,if I recall correctly. I believe he met her when he previously worked in the ME( not sure if she is American, with Lebanese heritage or a native of Lebanon), so he has some familiarity with the culture.But,I'm sure nothing can prepare him for what awaits.

[dts32041]

You mean she is related to george mitchell?

[Jeff Chandler]

After working in New York, Baghdad should be a cakewalk.

[abclily]

He will be unusually successful if we keep him on our prayer lists.