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Dear friends,
Last week we were honoured to host David Miliband, CEO of the International Rescue Committee and former Foreign Secretary, along with other experts, to discuss the political, security and humanitarian aspects of the Syria crisis. Despite significant Coalition progress in destroying ISIL’s so-called Caliphate in both Iraq and Syria, Syria’s civil war endures with no clear end in sight. Even more worrying, over the past few years, the US and the UK seem to have ceded leadership on the peace process to Iran and Russia.
The fall of Raqqa also raises important questions about the evolution of iSIL as it loses its physical Caliphate and shifts its centre of gravity more fully into the cloud in terms of plotting and inspiring attacks in different parts of the world. Andrew Parker, the MI5 Director General, revealed earlier this month that few of the 800 British foreign fighters were expected to return to the UK from Syria and Iraq. He nevertheless warned of the dramatic rise in the threat from Islamist extremist groups. We will continue to analyse these developments at RUSI, and provide practical policy recommendations. For example, earlier this month Emily Winterbotham, Senior Research Fellow, and Elizabeth Pearson, Associate Fellow, spoke at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly annual session in Bucharest on their research into women, gender and violent extremism.
I would like to highlight two unique events occuring next month. The first forms part of our commemoration of the Great War. Together with the Big Ideas Company, on 7 November, we will be hosting ‘Remembering the Unremembered’, an event that explores how the British Army drafted into its Labour Corps hundreds of thousands of men from across the UK, China, India, South Africa, Egypt, Canada, the Caribbean and other places in the British Empire. Their vital contributions are mostly forgotten.
The second is an ‘immersive event’ on artificial intelligence (AI) to be held on 8 November at The Platform Theatre. Experts from a range of fields – the creative industry, AI, and defence and security – will discuss the challenges, opportunities and realities of AI over the next 50 years, and ask what its use will mean for defence and security.
Earlier this month I was delighted to learn that General John Allen, former US Presidential Envoy for the Counter-ISIL Coalition and CENTCOM Deputy Commander, as well as Senior Associate Fellow at RUSI, has been named the next president of the Brookings Institution, a leading think tank in the US. We congratulate General Allen on his new role.
Finally, I am pleased to announce the launch of the Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History, named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington and the Founding Patron of RUSI. The Institute acknowledges, with gratitude, the assistance of the 9th and current Duke of Wellington. This award was formerly known as the Duke of Westminster Medal for Military Literature, and was created in 1997 with the support of the late 6th Duke of Westminster.
Karin von Hippel
Director-General, RUSI
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