Tuesday, December 7th, 2004
Bernard Kerik: "Political Criticism is Our Enemy's Best Friend"
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We take a look at Bernard Kerik, the man President Bush nominated to replace Tom Ridge as Homeland Security chief: From overseeing security for the Saudi royal family to Giuliani Partners consultant to New York police commissioner to Homeland Security Chief.
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President Bush nominated former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik last week to become the nation's new Homeland Security director replacing Tom Ridge. Kerik was serving as commissioner at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. More recently he has spent time in Iraq helping to rebuild Iraq's police force and he has worked as a consultant for former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's firm Giuliani Partners. Prior to becoming a New York police officer, he spent four years in Saudi Arabia overseeing security for the royal family. In one of his first moves after learning of his new job, Kerik had to sell off $5 million worth of stock in Taser, the stun gun manufacturer.
After President Bush's announcement last week, Kerik accepted the nomination.
Bernard Kerik, accepting his nomination as Homeland Security chief, December 3, 2004.
Kerik will oversee the massive department that includes 22 former agencies and offices. We are going to take a look at Kerik's record from overseeing security for the Saudi royal family to New York police commissioner to Homeland Security Chief.
Fred Kaplan, writes the "War Stories" column for online magazine Slate.com. His latest piece is called "Questions for Kerik." He is the author of "The Wizards of Armageddon" and a former staff reporter for the Boston Globe, having been its military correspondent, Moscow bureau chief, and New York bureau chief.
Ellis Henican, a columnist for Newsday in New York. His recent piece on Bernard Kerik is called Kerik Nomination is "A Ticking Time Bomb."
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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/07/1451239