Nobody took more heat over the downing of TWA Flight 800 than Jim Kallstrom.

The then-assistant chief of the FBI's busy New York bureau, Kallstrom led a painstaking investigation into all possible causes of the July 17, 1996 tragedy - a probe that looked at any and every terror group and any and every possible mechanical issue.

Witnesses stepped forward, saying they saw what looked to be a rocket hit the New York-to-Paris flight in mid-air. Rumors, photographs and videos all circulated - backing the idea that anti-American terrorists were responsible.

Bit by bit, piece by piece, the plane was plucked out of the waters off Long Island and reassembled. Witnesses were interviewed, worldwide. Tests were run. And still, the rumors and theories ran rampant.

And then Kallstrom made an announcement:

Following 16 months of unprecedented investigation ... we must now report that no evidence has been found which would indicate that a criminal act was the cause.

He took the heat but held his ground: There was just no evidence terrorists were involved.

Kallstrom headed up an organization that put Ramzi Yousef and Sheik Abdel Rahman, the blind cleric, behind bars for terrorism. Yet, he wasn't afraid to tell a public full of skeptics when evidence pointed to a spark in a gas tank rather than an evil plot. He called it like he saw it.

Kallstrom left the FBI after decades of rousting mobsters and terrorists, of emerging as one of New York City's top cops with a federal badge. A month after Sept. 11, 2001, he took the job running New York State's Office of Public Safety. Two major airports, one of the world's largest, pristine open water supplies, major bridges, tunnels and stadiums became his focus.

Now that Bernie Kerik has withdrawn his name as the president's nominee to run the Department of Homeland Security, the time might be right for another former top cop from New York City.

In an era when we don't know whether to fear an orange alert or make fun of it, it might help to have a guy in charge who's not afraid to to let everybody know what he thinks.