Are you sure? And what if our 007 licensed-to-kill types fail to get Saddam with that exploding cigar or poisoned hummous? Could an angry, still-alive Saddam subsequently kill more people than would have died in any war to take him out?
Wars kill people, yes, but so do crazy dictators. Especially if they are given years and years to do their thing. So it's not as clear which will kill fewer people, and fewer Americans in particular, as you seem to think.