Napolitano reviews northern border security
Janet Napolitano, the new Department of Homeland Security secretary, had a busy second full day on the job Friday, asking staff to quickly pull together status reports on the department's northern border and cyber security strategies, and announcing key members of her staff.
Meanwhile, President Obama named Janet H. Lute to be Napolitano's deputy.
Napolitano said she wanted a preliminary update on Canada border vulnerabilities and efforts to eliminate them, including programs, budgets and timelines, by Feb. 10, with a final report due Feb. 17.
| Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano is escorted into Coast Guard Headquarters by Adm. Thad Allen as she arrives for a briefing on current operations Jan. 22, 2009.(U.S. Coast Guard photo/PA2 Dan Bender |
The requests follow five directives issued on Napolitano's first day in office seeking updates on critical infrastructure protection, risk analysis, intelligence sharing, partnerships with state and local governments, and transportation security as she evaluates the department's strengths and weaknesses. The former Arizona governor also ordered staff to immediately open clear lines of communication with state and local governments.
Lute served under two presidents on the National Security Council. She is the United Nations assistant secretary-general charged with coordinating efforts to build sustainable peace in countries emerging from conflict. Previously, as assistant secretary-general in both the U.N. Department of Field Support and Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Lute managed and provided critical support to all U.N. field missions, peacekeeping operations, and special political missions in over thirty countries around the world.
Lute also headed the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict and was a senior public policy fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Prior to working at the White House, Lute served in the United States Army, including service in the Gulf during Operation Desert Storm.
Napolitano named Noah Kroloff, her former deputy chief of staff in Arizona, to be her chief of staff for policy, and Jan Lesher, her former chief of staff, to be chief of staff for operations.
The secretary last week also visited Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen and senior officers at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington. She toured the National Command Center and was briefed on the sea service's operations, including the anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.