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The
Forum is a
foreign and defence affairs think tank was launched by
Lady Olga Maitland in 1983. It was then known under
its
campaigning wing, ’Families for Defence’ whose
remit was to
put the case for NATO’s policies of multilateral nuclear
disarmament in the face of vociferous voices from the anti-nuclear
protest groups such as CND.
The
chairman is Major General Patrick Cordingley, DSO, who commanded
the ground forces in the First Gulf War. Deputy Chairman is Rt Hon Sir
John Wheeler former Minister of State, Northern Ireland responsible for
counter terrorism. Lady Olga Maitland, former MP,
serves
DSF as its President.
DSF
is supported by a distinguished panel of honorary patrons lead by
Lord Lamont of Lerwick and Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham. The
purpose of DSF is to inform and brief members of the City, the
professions, diplomats and servicemen on current events in the field of
defence and foreign affairs. Bearing in mind the impact that
the
economies of the world have on international relations, DSF
keeps
a monitoring eye on trade relations and economic issues.
The
Gulf War and
Liberation of Kuwait
The
DSF achieves its goals in a variety of ways. In the first
instance by debating current issues on television, radio, in the press,
in university lectures and debates, conferences etc. Defence and
Security Forum organises public campaigns on major issues of the day as
they did in the months leading up to the Gulf War seeking to mobile
public support for the liberation of Kuwait.
Since
then Defence and Security Forum has played an active role in
highlighting the plight of the 605 Kuwaitis POWs in Iraq.
Pageantry
& Performance, Royal
Horseguards
DSF
has also assisted in the development of publications such as this
that celebrate British armed forces and particularly the guards of Her
Majesty the Queen.
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The
DSF has organised events with speeches from many distinguished
diplomats, politicians, journalists, military personnel and
academics.
The long list includes speeches to the DSF by:
- General
Sir Jeremy Mackenzie, GCB, OBE
- Japanese
Ambassador, Masaki Orita
- Sandy
Berger, Adviser President Clinton
- Sir
Christopher Meyer, KCMG
- Lieut
General Sir Christopher Wallace KBE
- Ukrainian
Ambassador, Igor, Mitiukov
- Admiral
Sir Michael Boyce, GCB, OBE, ADC
- Frederick
Forsyth, Author
- HRH
Prince Michael of Kent
- Former Pakistan Prime Minister
Benazair Bhutto.
Read
about the
latest events here.
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