"War on Terra" saves few lives, expert says

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Randall <rvh40 () insightbb com>
Date: September 8, 2005 10:24:54 PM EDT
To: Dave <dave () farber net>
Subject: "War on Terra" saves few lives, expert says


http://tinyurl.com/d5pl6
"War on terror" saves few lives: expert
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent 6 minutes ago

The U.S. "war on terror" is saving fewer lives than just spending the
money on disease prevention and research, and has probably caused deaths
by taking money away from basic services, an expert said on Thursday.

The accusation is not new, but Dr. Erica Frank of the Department of
Family and Preventive Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in
Atlanta said she has calculated the cost, in terms of lives, of the Bush
administration's terror policies.

"The most recent effects of these diversions of funding have been seen
in the unfolding tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the
surrounding area," Frank wrote in a commentary published in the British
Medical Journal.

"Governments must protect their citizens, and anticipating these
possible future threats is appropriate and could prove essential to
Americans' health."

Frank warned there is a threat that because of the U.S. government's
policy, enormous numbers of Americans will die unnecessarily.

On September 11, 2001, 3,400 people died because of the four intentional
plane crashes in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. But 5,200 other
Americans died that same day from common diseases, according to Frank.

To estimate how many Americans died of routine causes on September 11,
Frank used national estimates of mortality from various causes.

"Predictable tragedies happen every day. We know strategies to reduce
deaths from tobacco, alcohol, poor diet, unintentional injuries, and
other predictable causes. And we know that millions of people will die
unless we protect the population against these routine causes of death,"
she wrote.

Yet more money is spent to protect against deaths that are not likely to
happen.

"For example, in September 2002, New York was awarded $1.3 million to
reduce heart disease, the leading killer of New Yorkers, while $34
million was awarded for bioterrorism preparedness in the state," Frank
added.

Proponents have argued that bioterror preparedness would build up the
public health structure in general.

"If this is an improvement it sure is frightening to think what this
might have looked like before," Frank said in a telephone interview.

She cited numerous reports showing the federal government cut spending
to reinforce the levees built to protect New Orleans from the flood that
has devastated the city.

"Since the point of investing in counterterror is to protect American
lives, the question is a dollar better spent in Iraq or is it better
spent here?" she asked.


--
"We've got the hatemongers who literally hate this president, and that
is so wrong. . . . The people who hate George Bush hate him because he's
a follower of Jesus Christ, unashamedly says so and applies his faith in
his day-to-day operations." -- Rev. Jerry Falwell, on C-SPAN's
"Washington Journal"



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