Commentary

From time to time, the Kerik Group will post articles and/or commentary authored by Bernard Kerik or others, which relate to the fight against terrorism and other matters of national security orRead More international concern.

December 31 , 2007 - Commentary
A Well Deserved Thank You
As the countdown begins to end the year of 2007, and with the press and media focused primarily on the 2008 Presidential primaries that begins in just days, I think it is important for us to remember that we are still a country at war and we still face serious threats against our national security.
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September 11 , 2007 - Commentary
9/11 Six Years Later
At 9:03AM on the morning of September 11th, 2001, I stood in the middle of West Broadway in lower Manhattan, just one block north of the World Trade Center, watching in disbelief as United Airlines Flight 175 exploded through the north side of the tower above me. The only thing more frightening than the massive explosion was the sight of innocent civilians jumping to their death from the two mammoth towers. Over the next 48 hours, I remember the feelings of horror, denial, anger and desire to hunt down those responsible.
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July 07, 2007 - Commentary
We Just Don't Get It
Two vehicles loaded with fuel, propane tanks and nails, much like the vehicle-born IEDs in Iraq today, are found in London’s Piccadilly Circus, our equivalent to Times Square. Then two Islamic radicals slam a car loaded with the same into the Glasgow Airport in Scotland, while the US Department of Homeland Security is reporting that the Al-Qaeda chatter indicates their desire to commit an act of terror against the west that is a “spectacular event”, much like the September 11th attacks. The investigation in the UK has moved quickly and has resulted so far in eight arrests, most of whom appear to be Muslim medical doctors.
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June 18, 2007 - Commentary
John Edwards Bumper Sticker
A message to John Edwards and those that think like him... The War against Terror is not a "Bumper Sticker"
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May 29, 2007 - Commentary
Agree or Not, At Least Say Thanks
Yesterday, I sat in New York City’s Central Park at a Memorial Day ceremony to honor the men and women who serve in our United States military today, who have served in the past and those who served and ultimately paid for our freedoms at the cost of their own lives. The keynote speaker for the ceremony was Admiral William J. Fallon, a 40 year veteran and Commander of the U.S. Central Command who oversees the battle in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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May 13, 2007 - Commentary
Credit Where Credit is Due
This week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey arrested and charged six men with plotting to massacre soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Four of them were ethnic Albanians from the former Yugoslavia, one from Jordan and one from Turkey. Three out of the six were in this country illegally.
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May 9, 2007 - Commentary
A Congressional Wakeup Call
Recently, the State Department issued a report that incidents of international terrorism have increased by more than 25 per cent over the last year, indicating that the most substantial increases in terrorism were in Iraq, Within days after that report, the government of Saudi Arabia, announced the arrests of 172 Islamic radical fundamentalists who plotted to use air attacks to bomb Saudi Arabia's oil fields and storm their prisons to free inmates.
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April 4, 2007 - Commentary
A Bad Week for the West
For the United States and the United Kingdom, this last week wasn’t a great one in the war against terrorism and radical fundamentalism with the exception of the release of the 15 British soldiers that had been held hostage by Iran for thirteen days. After ambushing their ship and taking the soldiers into custody, Iran went on to embarrass and humiliate them by having them read prepared statements as if the rest of the world was too ignorant to realize the words were those of the Iranian government and not those of the soldiers held in violation of the Geneva Convention.
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March 23, 2007 - Commentary
The Fight Against Evil
In the days immediately following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, as we all tried to comprehend the evil of those acts, an expression swept around New York City’s One Police Plaza from the 18th century philosopher, Edmund Burke; “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” I don’t know who started expressing this thought; I just remember that it seemed to clearly define the crisis we were in.
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February 16, 2007 - Commentary
Injustice at the Border
The criminal prosecution and harsh sentencing last year of two border patrol agents convicted of wounding an illegal immigrant trying to smuggle some 700 pounds of marijuana over the border has ignited a controversy that has people on both the right and left calling for an investigation.  Well, let the investigation begin.  And let’s hope that it results in a presidential pardon for agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean.
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February 13, 2007 - Commentary
Pariah Politics
Senator John Kerry, not content with disparaging our troops with his infamous “flubbed joke,” now goes to the World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland and disparages all of America, saying that we have become an “international pariah” under the Bush presidency, particularly because of the situation in Iraq.
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February 5, 2007 - Commentary
The Political Lower Rung
The failures of our intelligence agencies that came to light in the months following the attacks of 9/11 precipitated the largest re-organization of the federal government in fifty years with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Additionally, new laws were introduced to assist local, state and federal authorities and others to investigate and prosecute terrorists.  This rush of activity was a natural consequence of the dangers we faced and of our wholly disorganized approach to fighting the threat of terrorism, as exposed by the 9/11 Commission Report.
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January 18, 2007 - Commentary
Beware the Bully… Iran
You don’t stop a schoolyard bully by giving him your lunch money.  And you don’t stop a bully on the world stage by inviting him to that stage.  But with the conflict in Iraq still raging, it seems that pressure is building to reach out to terrorist sponsoring Iran to—let me understand this—stop the terrorism in Iraq? 
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January 18, 2007 - Commentary
The Real Threat of Radical Islam’s War Against the West
As we enter the sixth year without a terrorist attack on United States soil, the pain and devastation of 9/11 remains unforgettable.  But despite our memory of that day, there is danger that our success in thwarting additional attacks may eventually cause us to let our guard down. That’s just what the enemy is counting on.
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September 21, 2006 - Commentary
Treatment of Prisoners in a Post 9/11
The current debate about clarifying detention and trial procedures for terrorists is a good thing. Debate is the strength of this country.  But sadly, many people are unwilling to discuss the issue, preferring instead to indulge in shrill denunciations of the President and dire warnings about infringements on liberty. Drowned by the noise, the rationale for the President’s action becomes lost in the fog. But it should be given serious attention. Dead serious!
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September 18, 2006 - Commentary
Preventing Days of Infamy
On a day that has lived in infamy for 65 years, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, killing 2,400 Americans. The result was an unshakable commitment by the American people to defeat a daunting and resourceful enemy. Reassuring his country in a time of war, President Franklin Roosevelt said: "Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger."
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August, 2004 - Speach
2004 Republican National Convention
It is an honor to stand before you this evening, not only because of this Convention but because of the history that Madison Square Garden holds for me.
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Spring 2001 - Commentary
It’s Rudeness, Not Racism
Crime, police shootings, civilian complaints, officer corruption—all are at historical lows, giving the NYPD good reason to claim that it's more successful now than at any time in its history. Yet not everyone has a high opinion of New York's Finest. In particular, many of Gotham's black residents believe that the cops are racist. But I think they're mistaking something else for racism—something ugly, but entirely color-blind.
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