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Jason M. Blazakis

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki

Administrative note: this article was deleted (at Jason Blazakis) in March '21 and July '21, then repeatedly declined at AfC in October '22, January '23, September '23, September '23 (again), and then put directly in mainspace in May '24, then redraftified and salted (see history at Draft:Jason Blazakis). In September '25, this page was recreated at Jason M. Blazakis. jp×g🗯️ 20:25, 16 September 2025 (UTC)




Jason M. Blazakis
File:Jason Blazakis.png
Blazakis in 2018, just before leaving the State Department
Director of the Office of Counterterrorism Finance and Designations
In office
2008–2018
Appointed byUnited States Secretary of State
Overseen byBureau of Counterterrorism
Chief of the Narcotics Affairs Section at the United States Embassy in Kabul
In office
2004
Personal details
EducationBelvidere High School
Alma mater
AwardsRecognition of Teaching Excellence, London Institute of Business and Technology
Jason M. Blazakis
Born
💼 Occupation

Jason M. Blazakis is the former US government official responsible for deciding if any foreign individual or group was qualified to be officially designated as a "terrorist" or "terrorist group."[1][2][3][4][5] Notably, Blazakis was directly responsible for officially designating Basil Hassan as a terrorist in 2016, calling him the "most dangerous terrorist" that he had ever designated.[6][7]

After his service in government, Blazakis became the founding executive director of the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC) at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS).[8][9]

In 2023 and 2024, he ran a Democratic primary campaign for the United States Congress for the 7th congressional district of New Jersey.[10][11] He dropped out of the race, ceding his endorsement to Sue Altman.[12] After the election, he returned as a professor at MIIS and continues to be involved in CTEC. He also holds teaching positions at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Soufan Center.[13] He also served on the editorial board for the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence.[13]

Upon leaving his role in the government, Blazakis distanced himself from President Trump, saying: "The rhetoric at the White House, anybody watching the rhetoric of the president, this was discouraging people in government from speaking out. The president and his minions were focused on other threats."[14]

In 2023, he was sanctioned by the Russian government and Vladimir Putin for what he called an illegal war in Ukraine.[15]

Early life

Blazakis was raised in Harmony Township, New Jersey, and graduated from Belvidere High School.[16] His father worked for the New Jersey Army National Guard. His great-uncle was Spiros Blazakis, a man that the Greek government had designated an outlaw for fighting against the Nazis on the side of the Communists during the Greek Civil War.[8] During his youth, Blazakis worked in agricultural jobs, including fruit picking on local farms.[10]

After completing his undergraduate studies, Blazakis attended graduate school while working in the U.S. Congress as an aide, where he assisted in drafting legislation such as the Holocaust Awareness Act. Originally, his intention was to go into law practice.[3] The September 11 attacks, which he experienced while commuting on an Amtrak train between New York City and Washington, D.C., influenced his decision to become a government civil servant instead.[10][3] He had been living in New York at the time, attending classes for his second graduate degree at Columbia University.[8]

Career in government (2004-2018)

Before joining the State Department, he worked as a domestic intelligence analyst at the Congressional Research Service and as a national security adviser to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.[1]

He joined the U.S. Department of State in 2004, serving 6 months on deployment in Afghanistan, where he headed the U.S. Embassy’s narcotics affairs section, overseeing efforts to counter the Taliban’s involvement in heroin production and trafficking.[10]

Subsequently, he held posts in the Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR).[1] His posting at INR, as a member of the United States Intelligence Community, lasted for several years.

As the Director of the Counterterrorism Finance and Designations Office (CTFD) at the Bureau of Counterterrorism, of the State Department, he oversaw the designation of countries, organizations, and individuals under the "authorities" of; State Sponsors of Terrorism, Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.[1]

Mission to India and the first T.D.D. (2017)

File:Jason Blazakis and Munu Mahawar.png
The first-ever U.S.–India Terrorist Designations Dialogue in New Delhi was held December 18–19, 2017. Pictured here are Jason Blazakis and Munu Mahawar.

During his time running the CTFD, Blazakis was the first counterterrorism official in the history of the United States to hold a summit with his peers at relevant positions in India.[17]

In June 2017, President Trump and Narendra Modi emphasized counterterrorism cooperation as a central element of their bilateral agenda. One of the initiatives that followed was the creation of the U.S.–India Terrorist Designations Dialogue, which first convened in New Delhi on 18–19 December 2017. The Indian delegation was led by Munu Mahawar, Joint Secretary for Americas at the Ministry of External Affairs, while the United States delegation was headed by Jason Blazakis and his CTFD. Representatives from both the Department of State and the Department of the Treasury also participated.[17]

The CTFD was responsible for developing legal justifications and recommendations for the designation of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). These designations allowed the U.S. government to freeze financial assets, prohibit U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with designated groups or individuals, and provided the Department of Justice with a legal foundation to prosecute cases involving material support to terrorism. The office also worked with foreign partners and international bodies, including the United Nations Security Council's ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee, to strengthen global counterterrorism finance regimes.[17]

The 2017 dialogue established a framework for cooperation on designations policy and facilitated discussions on shared threats from groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Both countries agreed to hold the dialogue on an annual basis, with the next meeting planned for Washington, D.C., in 2018.[17]

Career in academia

File:McGowan building 8.jpg
CTEC is located on the 2nd floor of the McGowan Building at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in Monterey, California.

In July 2018, Blazakis left government service to become the founding executive director of a newly elevated program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), in Monterey, California (formerly known as the Monterey Institute). The name of the new program was the Center on Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism (CTEC). The program was the elevation of the former Monterey Terrorism Research Education Program, notably formerly directed by Russell D. Howard.[18]

Blazakis’ vision for CTEC came with a focus on understanding and explaining terrorism through the study of terrorist behavior, ideology, methodology, and operations. He identified three core areas that would guide the center’s research and analysis: threat finance and sanctions; extremist messaging and terrorist use of the internet; and the role of special operations in countering violent and extremist threats.[18]

He expressed hope that CTEC would grow into a mature research center capable of providing policy guidance and recommendations to domestic and foreign governments, multilateral institutions, and the general public. His stated purpose was to establish CTEC and the Middlebury Institute as centers of expertise from which students, faculty, and researchers could contribute meaningfully to the global dialogue on terrorism and counterterrorism.[18]

In 2019, only a year after leaving government service, he co-authored an article with Daniel Benjamin in Foreign Policy entitled: "The Muslim Brotherhood Is Not a Terrorist Organization."[19] Another article from 2019 he coauthored in Slate alongside Colin P. Clarke, entitled: "Why Trump Can't Designate Antifa as a Terrorist Organization."[20] In 2021, in an article for the Washington Post, he wrote: "I've concluded that the US 'war on terror' launched in the wake of 9/11 has left us unprepared for the domestic threat that grows day by day."[21]

Since the 2024 Presidential Election, he has become increasingly at-odds with the Second Trump Administration's decisions regarding their official designation of certain groups as terrorists.[22] In February 2025, he wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal entitled: "The Case Against Designating Cartels as Terrorists."[23] In April 2025, alongside Colin P. Clarke, he wrote that the Trump Administration is consistently ignoring terrorism on the far-right.[24] In May 2025, when the Trump Administration and Marco Rubio censored officials at the State Department from using the term "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism" (REMVE), Blazakis found himself in opposition against Sebastian Gorka, saying that the new policy was focused only on "threats that are seen as political winners in the MAGA movement."[25]

Failed congressional campaign

In 2023, Blazakis left his role as Director of CTEC to run for the United States Congress for the 7th congressional district of New Jersey.[10] In December, the organization New Politics endorsed Blazakis for his congressional bid.[26] It was also alleged that the Democratic Majority for Israel had endorsed Blazakis, but the lobby group denied this when they were contacted.[27] In 2024, Blazakis dropped out of the race and endorsed Sue Altman for the seat.[12] However, in the General election, the Republican candidate, Thomas Kean Jr., won the election.

During the election, MIIS professor Katharine Petrich assumed the role of Interim Director of CTEC.[28]

Blazakis resumed his full-time teaching roles after he dropped out of the election.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Blazakis, Jason M. "Jason M. Blazakis". Just Security. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  2. ↑ "Jason M. Blazakis". Defense One. 2024-07-03. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Yousef, Odette (2025-09-11). "What counterterrorism looks like in the U.S. 24 years after 9/11". NPR. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  4. ↑ "United States Department of State Telephone Directory" (PDF). 2009-2017.state.gov. January 25, 2017. p. OD-18.
  5. ↑ "Tidligere terrorchef: IS kan have været en del af Hedegaard-attentat". DR (in dansk). 2018-12-03. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  6. ↑ Zammit, Andrew (April 2020). "Operation Silves: Inside the 2017 Islamic State Sydney Plane Plot" (PDF). CTC Sentinel. Volume 13, Issue 4. p. 3.
  7. ↑ "Jeg skulle være klar til at sprænge mig selv i luften". DR (in dansk). Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Gudbergsdottir, Eva (2019-06-06). "The Terror File | Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey". www.middlebury.edu. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
  9. ↑ "Jason Blazakis". Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Archived from the original on 2019-02-17. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 "Jason Blazakis Announces Campaign Team for NJ-07 Congressional Campaign". InsiderNJ.com. August 28, 2023.
  11. ↑ Friedman, Matt (2023-08-10). "N.J. Democrats may regret not putting abortion on the ballot". POLITICO. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Wildstein, David (2024-02-06). "Blazakis withdraws, Altman is presumptive nominee vs. Kean". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Jason Blazakis". Johns Hopkins Advanced Academic Programs. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  14. ↑ Rotella, Sebastian. "Right-Wing Extremism Networks Are Growing, US Just Catching Up". thetriallawyermagazine.com. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  15. ↑ "Blazakis: Allegations Against Senator Menendez Put American National Security at Risk, Must be Expelled - Insider NJ". Insider NJ. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  16. ↑ "New Politics Candidates | Jason Blazakis". www.newpolitics.org. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Stachera, Stacey (February 2018). "A New Benchmark in U.S.-India Counterterrorism Cooperation" (PDF). statemag.state.gov. STATE MAGAZINE. p. 2.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 MANPTS '19, Eva Gudbergsdottir,Mary Chen (2018-10-05). "Jason Blazakis to Lead New Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism | Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey". www.middlebury.edu. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  19. ↑ Benjamin, Daniel; Blazakis, Jason (2019-05-17). "The Muslim Brotherhood Is Not a Terrorist Organization". Foreign Affairs. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  20. ↑ Blazakis, Jason M.; Clarke, Colin P. (2020-06-01). "Why Trump Can't Designate Antifa as a Terrorist Organization". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  21. ↑ "Terrorist threats redefined 20 years after 9/11". chinadailyhk. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  22. ↑ Lucas, Ryan (2025-01-24). "Trump wants to label drug cartels terrorist organizations. Here's what that means in practice". NPR. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  23. ↑ Blazakis, Jason M. (2025-02-19). "Opinion | The Case Against Designating Cartels as Terrorists". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  24. ↑ "Contributor: The Trump administration is ignoring far-right terrorism. That only makes it more dangerous". Los Angeles Times. 2025-04-09. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  25. ↑ Music, Morgan (2025-05-24). "Trump Admin Creates New 'Style Guide' Banning Use of Rhetoric Referring to Threat of White Supremacism". Latin Times. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  26. ↑ "NEW POLITICS ENDORSES JASON BLAZAKIS FOR CONGRESS IN NEW JERSEY'S 7TH DISTRICT - Insider NJ". Insider NJ. Archived from the original on December 20, 2023. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  27. ↑ Wildstein, David (2024-02-02). "A pro-Israel group steps in to boost Blazakis". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  28. ↑ "Katharine Petrich Announced as CTEC's New Interim Director | Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey". www.middlebury.edu. 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2025-09-14.



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