AIDS is ‘Increasing Possibility of Terrorism,’ Frist Says
Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said at a luncheon in Knoxville, Tenn., on Tuesday that the AIDS pandemic is "creating an atmosphere that could foster terrorism aimed at America," the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports. Many children in Africa are growing up without the guidance of elders, such as parents and teachers, who are dying of AIDS-related diseases, and the absence of such figures in children's lives could create "a pool of recruits for terrorists," Frist said. AIDS is "increasing the possibility of terrorism," he stated, adding, "We're losing the battle as we move ahead" (Barker, Knoxville News-Sentinel, 5/29). Last week, Frist and Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) sponsored an amendment to the Senate version of the fiscal year 2002 supplemental appropriations bill that would allocate $500 million to purchase antiretroviral drugs to reduce the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission in developing nations (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/28).
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