About Our Mission

The Defense Forum Foundation (DFF) is
a non-profit, tax-exempt educational
foundation that was founded during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan for the purpose of educating Congressional staff about the need to re-build America’s defense. DFF’s founder, Chadwick R. Gore, began in the 1980’s a series of briefings on Capitol Hill that are known today as the Congressional Defense and Foreign Policy Forum. He formally established DFF in 1987 to continue these bi-partisan forums to provide the opportunity for expert speakers to come to Capitol Hill to address defense issues critical to our nation and our allies. Ambassador J. William Middendorf, II, became Chairman
of DFF in 1988 and Suzanne
Scholte, a founding Board Member,
became President of DFF in 1989.

In the early years the forums focused
chiefly on national security and defense issues but over the years the programs expanded to encompass foreign policy and human rights issues because the greatest threats to the United States are always from regimes that terrorize their own people. As a result, DFF began programs specifically to promote freedom, democracy and human rights abroad. In this area, DFF has been the leading organization in the United States in promoting human rights for the North Korean people and in promoting selfdetermination for the people of Western Sahara.

In recent years, DFF’s Forums focused
on how to win the war on terror and how to protect the United States’ homeland from terror attacks. DFF continued its work as a leading advocate in the promotion of freedom and human rights for the people of North Korea and on self-determination in Western Sahara.

In this capacity, DFF continued to work
closely with the North Korean defectors
living in South Korea as well as help and support the underground railroad which assists North Korean refugees to escape to freedom. This year the documentary Seoul Train in which DFF president Suzanne Scholte appears, aired on PBS throughout the country. DFF’s close friend and colleague, Sin U Nam, an architect from Pennsylvania, continued to head DFF’s rescue fund in which 100% of the contributions are utilized for rescues and for helping North Koreans with food and clothing.

Regarding Western Sahara, DFF continued to work closely with Ambassador Moulud Said of the Sahrawi Republic and Carlos Wilson of California, who is the Executive Director of DFF’s U.S. Western Sahara Foundation.

The following is a listing of news organizations in which DFF has been cited or interviewed:

Networks: ABC News; Asahi TV; Associated Press TV; BBC, CBN; CBS News; CNN; Cspan; EWTN; Fox News; KBS TV; MBC TV; MSNBC; NBC Nightly News; NHK Broadcasting; SBS TV; TBS; VISNEWS; WKTV; YTN.

Programs: ABC News Primetime; ABC Nightline; Dateline NBC; Dayside with Linda Vester (FOX); Greta Van Susteren On the Record (FOX); News with Brian Williams (MSNBC); Oprah Winfrey Show; 60 Minutes I, 60 Minutes II.

Wire Services: Associated Press; Kyodo News; Reuters; United Press International, Yonhap News Agency.

Newspapers: Arab News; Asahi Shimbun; Asian Wall Street Journal; Chicago Tribune; Chosun Daily; Chosun Ilbo; Dallas Morning News; Dong-A Ilbo; El Pais, Far Eastern Economic Review; Hearst Newspapers; JoongAng Ilbo; Korea Daily, Korean Economic Daily; Korea Times; Kyung Hang Daily News; London Times; Los Angeles Times; Mainichi Newspapers; Miami Herald; New York Sun; New York Times; Nikkei Shimbun; Orange County Register; Philadelphia Inquirer; San Francisco Chronicle; San Francisco Enquirer; USA Today; USA Journal; Washington Inquirer; Wall Street Journal; Washington Post; Washington Times; Yomiuri Shimbun.

Magazines, Periodicals: Defense Daily; Defense News; Inside the Pentagon; Monthly Chosun; Mother Jones; National Review; Sea Power Magazine; Time Magazine; US News and World Report; Village Voice; World Journal.

Radio Networks, Programs: John Batchelor; Dennis Prager Show; Doreen and Darlene Show WROK-Boston; Radio Free Asia; Voice of America; B-Q View Show

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