Poverty not terrorism threatens peace

African and Latin American leaders at a World Bank conference in Shanghai say rich countries can do more to ensure security by fighting poverty and not wars.

In what appeared to be a veiled swipe at the United States, though it was not explicitly named, the leaders called on Wednesday on rich countries to fight terrorism and instability by sharing their wealth, rather than through military intervention.

The most basic right of all humanity, said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is to eat three decent meals a day.

"Hunger is actually the worst weapon of mass destruction. It claims millions of victims each year," Silva said. "There will be no peace without development and no development without social justice."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4F2163C3-338A-4FF4-9C28-038C844ABF9A.htm

Development Key to Sudan Peace

Really, I think it works the other way too. Conflicts create poverty. Armed conflicts disrupt normal economies, destroy people, families, whole societies in some cases, and it can take generations to recover from them. Of course, there are a very few who profit from war, and a few chestthumpers and those who enjoy bloody spectacle. The masses of people, however, suffer horribly.