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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush has picked as his homeland security secretary former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik, who helped the city respond to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and trained Iraqi police, administration officials said.

The officials said on Thursday that Bush chose Kerik to replace Tom Ridge, who announced his resignation on Tuesday, to lead U.S. efforts to protect the country from Sept. 11-type attacks. An announcement could come as early as Friday.

As Bush continued a broad overhaul of his second-term Cabinet, there were indications that he was close to nominating a replacement for Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, who has announced his resignation.

In addition, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson appeared close to announcing his anticipated resignation.

Kerik, 49, rushed to the site of the World Trade Center towers moments after the Sept. 11 attack and helped then-New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani during the Sept. 11 crisis, to coordinate rescue efforts, restore order and develop a plan for securing the city.

New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer issued a statement of support for Kerik, whose position must be confirmed by the Senate.

"Coming from New York, Bernie Kerik knows the great needs and challenges this country faces in homeland security. He has a strong law enforcement background and I believe will do an excellent job in fighting for the resources and focus that homeland security needs and deserves in our post-9/11 world," Schumer said.

Kerik has been a strong Bush supporter, and Bush's re-election campaign turned to him to react to charges about homeland security thrown at the president by his Democratic opponent, Sen. John Kerry.

"Kerik spent a lot of time on the campaign trail with Bush and was a real political asset," said Scott Reed, a Republican strategist.

Kerik was Iraq's interim minister of the interior and served as senior policy adviser for then-U.S. envoy Paul Bremer. Later he joined the ex-mayor's consulting firm, Giuliani Partners, and spent three months in Baghdad in 2003 helping train Iraqi police.

An Army veteran, former undercover narcotics cop and black belt in tae kwon do, Kerik published in 2001 a memoir, "The Lost Son: A Life in Pursuit of Justice," in which he described how he came from a broken home in Newark, New Jersey.

In the book, he said his parents divorced when he was 3 and his mother, an alcoholic and prostitute, was murdered when he was 4.

Miramax has purchased the movie rights.

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I didn't think it was too politically explosive, but I thought it was sort of funny that Miramax has already purchased movie rights...

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We were all impressed when Ja'Deth Issar Ka'bael wrote:
Maybe this guy will actually do something useful with the DoHS. DoHS needs some serious work to make it a viable operation.

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He's a bulldog to say the least. I don't see him fitting in well in DC, but that also means he won't be nearly the yes-man that Ridge was hopefully.

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Talonus probably says this to all the girls:
He's a bulldog to say the least. I don't see him fitting in well in DC, but that also means he won't be nearly the yes-man that Ridge was hopefully.

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Exactly what I'm hoping for. Ridge was a pansy, and he had the attitude of a concussed duckling.

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Everyone wondered WTF when Ja'Deth Issar Ka'bael wrote:
Maybe this guy will actually do something useful with the DoHS. DoHS needs some serious work to make it a viable operation.

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The DoHS could definatly use the new blood at the top, and a new attitude in some of its opperations, such as immigration. Hopefully this will be one of those refreshing changes that encourage progress.

In fact, I'm certain I heard something about that like two years ago.

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Karnaj had this to say about pies:
And then Trogdor smote the Kerik, and all was laid to burnination.

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Dammit! You stole my joke

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Ja'Deth Issar Ka'bael probably says this to all the girls:
Exactly what I'm hoping for. Ridge was a pansy, and he had the attitude of a concussed duckling.

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Don't expect a real change though. There's still a lot of work to do on the Department of Homeland Security. During the first administration it made some real strides (getting setup in the short timeframe for one), but it fucked up a lot too (the crayola warning system that basically had Ridge calling wolf every other week).

I suspect the administration will keep Kerik on a tight leash. While I don't think he'll be a lapdog, I don't think he'll make waves either. I also think the administration will still abuse the crayola warning system for political means, even if Kerik disagrees with it at times. Then again, that's just my opinion. Not an expert on the subject by any means.

Talonus fucked around with this message on 12-03-2004 at 01:02 PM.

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We were all impressed when Talonus wrote:
Don't expect a real change though. There's still a lot of work to do on the Department of Homeland Security. During the first administration it made some real strides (getting setup in the short timeframe for one), but it fucked up a lot too (the crayola warning system that basically had Ridge calling wolf every other week).

I suspect the administration will keep Kerik on a tight leash. While I don't think he'll be a lapdog, I don't think he'll make waves either. I also think the administration will still abuse the crayola warning system for political means, even if Kerik disagrees with it at times. Then again, that's just my opinion. Not an expert on the subject by any means.

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Here's the problem I had with DoHS as it stood at creation:
1. There was a strong need for leadership. The DoHS is supposed to coordinate information between agencies that have historically not played well with one another. Part of the answer there is a capable leader with strong will and a willingness to push to get things right. I personally think that the White House has everything to gain by giving the DoHS a kick in the pants.

2. There needs to be a better definition of the DoHS' operations. The Lifesaver Alarm system in and of itself wasn't bad. Color coding is fine so long as you define what citizens should do during heightened periods of alert. Unfortunately, they just wave a color at us and it doesn't even create fear. It creates confusion. This may or may not be something a new head can fix. It comes down to gathering information to disseminate to people who can apply it properly to situations like the color coded alert system.