Bernard B. Kerik

Bernard Kerik exemplifies a twist on an old adage: Police a nation now, and you keep its citizens safe today. Teach them to police themselves, and they live safely for a lifetime.

As New York City’s former Top Cop, Kerik, helped transform one of the world’s toughest cities into one of its safest.

Today, he’s leading the charge in one of the world’s deadliest countries, teaching Iraqis how to protect themselves in war’s aftermath.

The former New York City Police Commissioner best known for maintaining order in the city after September 11, was working in the private sector when he was asked to help Iraq create and train a police force. For Kerik, 9/11 was a prime motivator in accepting this new role. "Being the police commissioner after September 11," he recounted, "is painful, is heart-wrenching, but also it clearly demonstrated to me that it is in fact the best job that you could ever have because of the people who work for you."

The experience strengthened him. And, to the surprise of no one, he is undaunted by the enormity of today’s task.

"Let’s learn from the terrorists," Kerik recently told the Associated Press. "These guys had the ability because they had patience. They waited for us to be complacent. If we don’t have the patience to complete this mission, we will fail and they will win and that can’t happen. It’s not going to be easy but we have to do it."

Kerik visiting with the wounded in Iraq

Kerik is no stranger to tough missions, especially personal ones. In his book "The Lost Son: A Life in Pursuit of Justice," he talks candidly of a shattered home of criminal and runaway parents. Remarkably, his father eventually returned to save his life from an abusive stepfather. Then, growing up in New Jersey with his father, young Bernard began stealing and dropped out of high school.

It wasn’t until he discovered his passion for martial arts and joined the military that he found direction. Kerik spent three years in the U.S. Army as an MP, assigned to Korea and to the 18th Airborne Corps, where he trained Special Forces personnel at the John F. Kennedy Unconventional Warfare Center in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

"I was a man when I came home from Korea. It was as simple as that," he wrote in the book. "The military had transformed me, taken all the random parts-toughness and resolve and a vague desire for something larger than myself-and crafted a soldier. The army put me on a path that I’m still on today."

But "Lost Son" also revealed a deeply painful side that still affects Kerik. "The trouble, the poverty and crime, these feel like dreams themselves. But this other dream is the one that haunts me. These vivid memories, of an abandoned boy, of a lost son waiting for his mother’s return...this is my deepest mystery, a hole in the center of myself," he wrote.

It drove him in becoming a leader, seasoned by the streets, even deferring personal gain to serve others. He took a 50% pay cut to join the New York City Police Department in 1986, where he was later assigned to narcotics. He participated in the most substantial investigations in the history of the Department, resulting in the conviction of more than 60 members of the infamous Cali Cartel.

Kerik then rose through the ranks to become Commissioner of the NYC Department of Correction. He is credited with dramatically improving the safety of the city’s jail system, reducing inmate-on-inmate violence by 93% over five years, and staff use of force by 76%.

"Bernie understands what leadership is all about. He knows how to inspire others to the highest level of performance, and expects others to rise to the same level," said Rudolph W. Giuliani, when he first tapped Kerik as Police Commissioner.

The New York City experience-replacing a reputation of a crime-riddled metropolis to becoming one of the nation’s safest cities-has given Kerik an important understanding of how to create an effective police department in Iraq. He preaches patience and confidence.

"It took eight years and I had every resource available - information technology, a readymade staff - I had everything you could imagine and it took eight years. We’ve only been here for 100 days and you want what? Come on!" he told the Associated Press.

No doubt the people of Iraq will need help transitioning itself for some time to come. But brandishing a 9mm pistol, surrounded by South African bodyguards, and protected by a bulletproof vest, Kerik predicts his job will be completed in two months, and then he will leave.

With the seeds planted properly, the Iraqi people will see the results in the years ahead… And Bernard Kerik will have achieved yet another victory in an extraordinary career of success tackling the toughest assignments around.

Buy a copy of Kerik’s book