It's sad to see America devoting hundreds of billions of dollars to a totally avoidable and seemingly unwinnable war in Iraq when that huge sum of money could be doing so much good in the United States and elsewhere in the world.

The money siphoned to Iraq could be used at home to reduce our growing national debt and help provide uninsured people with health care. Or it could be employed abroad to drill water wells, install sewer systems, construct roads and bridges, build decent housing and expand medical and family planning services for desperately poor people in developing nations.

America's unwarranted invasion and occupation of Iraq has greatly damaged our global image. Just think how it could soar — and rightfully so — if we devoted our overseas expenditures predominantly to peaceful purposes rather than waging a foolish war.

We had good reason to send troops to Afghanistan in pursuit of Osama bin Laden and his fellow goofball terrorists after 9-11, but venturing into Iraq was the biggest single blunder of a blunder-happy Bush administration.

In the 21st century, war and terrorism increasingly should be viewed as incredibly primitive ways to settle differences, much less win friends and influence people. But many folks of the "bring 'em on" mind-set prefer to duke it out.

Dark thoughts about such misplaced priorities entered my mind when I thumbed through the 2007 report on the "State of World Population" by the United Nations Population Fund. The report, subtitled "Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth," was released Wednesday.

It's sobering. But it also sheds light on the many opportunities that we embattled earthlings have to make the planet a better place to live if we'll just start thinking and acting more rationally, compassionately, unselfishly and peacefully.

Here are some report highlights:

In 2008, for the first time, more than half the world's population will live in urban areas. Poor people will account for a large part of the urban growth. Although the current global population is 6.6 billion and growing, the urban population alone is projected to hit 5 billion by 2030.

The global effort to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015 "will be waged in the world's slums," where 1 billion people live today. Ninety percent of slum dwellers are in developing countries.

"Inadequate shelter is at the core of urban poverty: A roof and an address in a habitable area are a first requirement and will particularly benefit women. It is the first step to a better life." People need such basics as "water, sanitation, waste disposal and (electric) power" in order to improve their lot.

Most of the world's urban population growth is from births rather than migration from rural areas. Rather than discouraging migration of poor people to cities, "the positive way" for nations to limit exploding urban growth is "by reducing poverty, promoting women's empowerment and gender equality and improving reproductive health services, especially for the poor."

"Cities must focus on the poor and above all invest in young people's education, employment opportunities and access to health services."

Going forward, America and the other 190-plus nations of the world must focus far more effort and money on fighting global poverty, and far less on fighting one another.

Peace.

Jack Z. Smith is an editorial writer for the Fort Worth (Texas)Star-Telegram.