Wolff specializes in the prevention, management and settlement of ethnic and religious conflicts and in post-conflict reconstruction in deeply divided and war-torn societies.

In a war-torn society divided along class lines, the children of the rich dress down for survival and carry guns.

"A lifetime of exploding buildings, people injured and dying, war-torn societies?"

Basic system reform will be needed if the United Nations is to succeed in building sustainable peace in war-torn societies in the future.

The Voice of America first went on the air in 1942 to get reliable news to people living in closed and war-torn societies.

ARC began operating in Sierra Leone in 2000 to address the needs of returning refugees and a war-torn society.

"This incident could dramatically affect the prospects for badly needed humanitarian relief to this war-torn society," said Sadako Ogata, the organization's High Commissioner.

Sadly, he added, women are being raped in many countries, especially in many non-European war-torn societies.

They, like the children in war-torn, poverty-ravaged societies around the world, and maybe like many Americans, will have to grow up fast.

But it actually represents a post-conflict challenge, more like Afghanistan or the war-torn societies of sub-Saharan Africa - and therefore incredibly complex.