Ms. Juliette Kayyem
Ms. Juliette Kayyem is presently the foreign affairs columnist for the Boston Globe. She most recently served as President Obama’s Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) at the Department of Homeland Security. Juliette’s professional history positioned her well for her role at DHS, where policy, public safety, operations and politics often merge. She has previously spent nearly fifteen years in the counterterrorism, homeland security and emergency management arena, serving in key positions in and out of government on both international and domestic security policies.
As Assistant Secretary, Juliette was responsible for coordinated and consistent planning between the Department and all of its state, local, tribal and territorial partners. As a member of the Secretary’s senior leadership team, Juliette effectively enhanced the Department’s interaction with its state and local partners on a broad array of issues related to counterterrorism, immigration, border security, transportation security, military affairs and emergency management. On operational responses related to the H1N1 outbreak, the December 25, 2009 attempted terrorist attack, the Haiti earthquake and the British Petroleum oil spill, Juliette served as the primary liaison to affected jurisdictions and was responsible for facilitating the coordinated federal-state-local responses to these incidents.
In the immediate aftermath of the BP oil spill, Juliette was tasked to direct interagency and intergovernmental affairs for the National Incident Command, overseeing a diverse interdisciplinary staff for the White House and DHS to address unprecedented issues in the response, including public safety, public engagement, environmental remediation and health effects. As the response to the oil spill transitioned to recovery, Juliette led the preparations for the unprecedented number of gubernatorial transitions in the 2010 elections, ensuring that incoming state administrations have a solid foundation in homeland security and DHS efforts, programs and resources and are ready to manage any crises on day one. Juliette also served as the co-chair of the congressionally mandated Preparedness Task Force, a group that assesses the state of the nation’s disaster preparedness; represented the Department on President Obama’s Task Force on Puerto Rico; and was a member of the Council of Governors, a Department of Defense effort to align state and federal military planning domestically, especially on issues related to the National Guard and unity of command.
Before joining the Obama Administration, Juliette served as Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s Homeland Security Advisor, overseeing the National Guard and the commonwealth’s strategic security planning. She has been on the faculty at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government where she will return this Fall. She has also served as a national security analyst for NBC News; a member of the National Commission on Terrorism; and a legal advisor to then Attorney General Janet Reno. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She is married to David Barron, a Harvard Law Professor, and has three children.
What do you believe is currently the most pressing foreign policy issue?
The current US budget crisis affects all facets of US politics, including our country’s ability to implement effective policies aimed at upholding our national security. The current deficit and our inability to control the defense budget pose significant risks to our national security. At some point, our budget issues impact all potential threats to our national security, whether from terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, or unrest in the Middle East, to name a few. Currently, about $37 of every $100 allocated for discretionary spending are spent on non-war military funding.
What is your greatest accomplishment in the realm of international relations?
My work in government was predominately in defense and homeland security. In response to the BP oil spill, I worked closely with the National Incident Command. It was a great success for my department when Commander Thad Allen and his team, including RADM Peter Neffenger, worked to address the threat the spill had not only on the environment, but on the personal livelihoods of those residing in a region still affected by Hurricane Katrina. The spill left the residents of the region unsettled about themselves, their lives and the government. Our goal was not only to stop the well, but to portray some sort of grip on behalf of the government and to essentially bring calm to the confusion that ensued in the aftermath of the spill.
Personally, I am deeply proud of my work in helping to establish the Dubai Initiative through the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The Initiative set up a similar school of government in Dubai. Since its inception, it has become a well-respected think tank. It currently tracks developments surrounding the Arab Spring and is utilized by public policy and other experts to inform the US on how it should react to pressing issues in the area.
What are you reading right now?
I generally alternate between nonfiction and fiction reading; in the nonfiction genre, I just finished Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff. It was a fascinating description of a historical character that has been classically misrepresented by mostly everyone over time. As for fiction, I am currently reading A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, which recently won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It is an excellent and entertaining read that is great for the summer.
What are some of your favorite global resources online?
As you can imagine, I frequent the Boston Globe and the New York Times Global Edition. The Foreign Policy website is a wonderful resource for blogs and articles about current national interests. FP authors can be depended upon for outside the box perspectives and analysis. Al Jazeera English is a repository for robust representation on what is currently happening in the Middle East, from regional to international events, even sports and culture. It is a primary resource for accurate depiction of what is currently happening in that part of the world.
Why did you become a member of the Pacific Council?
When you leave government, it is often difficult to find a like-minded community that is interested in a similar set of issues. While I was in government, I was surrounded by national security and defense experts; it is great to be a part of a group that looks at international policy more broadly and focuses on a larger set of issues and regions. Also, I am from LA, so I have a historical affinity for the West Coast!
Recent articles from Juliette’s Boston Globe column:
Too soon to indict Khadafy: An analysis of the costs and benefits of the International Criminal Court’s recent indictments against Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi;
Bobbling an outbreak: An exploratory piece on the effects of the recent E. coli outbreaks on European cooperation;
Post-revolution uncertainty: A piece advocating a shift in focus from the Arab Spring to a post-revolutionary region and the challenges associated with this period in its history;
BC should hand over Irish archive tapes: An op-ed piece about Boston College’s role in a current controversy surrounding a project on Irish oral history; and
The game changer: An analysis of the BP oil spill one year on.
View Juliette’s twitter feed HERE. Twitter @juliettekayyem