Funding the "war on terror" could cost the lives of millions of Americans, says a senior doctor in this week's British Medical Journal (BMJ).
Professor Erica Frank argues that the US government's decision to shift funds away from basic public health services towards preventing terrorism has cut funding for common diseases and for disaster relief, resulting in enormous numbers of unnecessary deaths.
"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," she writes.
On September 11 2001, 3400 people died because of four horrific, intentional plane crashes. On the same day, 5200 Americans died from common diseases. A similar number of American deaths from these same causes has happened every day since then, she adds.
Concerns about disproportionate funding in the US have been building for some time. As early as 2002, many public health workers thought that the Bush administration's plan for smallpox vaccination was a misguided redirection of public health funds.
Although pressure to provide mass immunisation against smallpox has subsided, preparedness for bioterrorism still seems magnified well beyond its proportional risk. For example, in September 2002 New York was awarded $1.3m to reduce heart disease, the leading killer of New Yorkers, while $34m was awarded for bioterrorism preparedness in the state.