So I was talking to T about better ways to spend $200 billion dollars to insure the safety of Americans than fighting in Iraq. Here we define better as more likely to reduce American casualties. This is a short list, though I'm sure you'll have your own.

• reduce driving fatalities
  In 2003, there were 42,643 driving fatalities in the US (17,013 of which were alchohol related). Let's say that 200 million of the US's 297 million population are drivers (a high estimate), that's $1000 per driver to reduce fatalities. Do you think we could make a dint?
• reduce infant mortality
  In 2003, the total infant mortality reported by the CDC was 28,428. That averages 6.9 deaths per 1000. Think we could make a dint in that? Think of the children.
• reduce suicides
  According to the CDC, in 2001, suicide took the lives of 30,622 people in the US. In 2002, suicides led to 132,353 hospitalizations, and 116,639 trips to the emergency room which did not require an overnight stay. I'm sure we could do something for the emotional health of the 100,000+ people a year who hurt themselves (and impact our health costs).