NPR’s ‘Morning Edition,’ PBS Documentary Examine ‘Soft’ Terrorism Issues, Including HIV/AIDS

NPR's "Morning Edition" today includes an interview with Bruce Hoffman, vice president for external affairs of the RAND Corporation and director of its Washington, D.C., office, about how so-called "soft" social issues such as HIV/AIDS, hunger and poverty can provide a "fertile ground" for terrorist recruitment. Hoffman said that although "you can't point to any one accelerant for terrorism," HIV/AIDS could "play into" a "wider societal malaise," as children lose parents to HIV/AIDS and security forces are "incapable of maintaining order" because soldiers and potential recruits are often HIV-positive (Williams, "Morning Edition," NPR, 4/14). The topic will also be addressed in a PBS documentary series, titled "Avoiding Armageddon," that begins tonight and airs nightly through Thursday. The concluding episode of the series, "Confronting Terrorism: Turning the Tide," will examine how Africa is experiencing "destabilizing conditions of crisis proportions" and how HIV/AIDS is ravaging much of the continent's government and military. Uganda, the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to reverse its HIV/AIDS prevalence rate, is an example that "perhaps states need not fail," according to PBS (PBS release, 4/14). Check local PBS listings for show times. The full "Morning Edition" segment is available online in RealPlayer.