So, what does 1.5 billion dollars buy these days?

Either about half of google's IPO, or one beautiful missile defense system (among other things) to defend the Olympics from attacks.
 
The patriot missiles kinda amuse me.  If I was a terrorist, a nice big truck bomb, some anthrax (not all that deadly but certainly paranoia inducing), or, best of all, some chemical weapons would be the best bet.  Launching a missile from my home base in Cyprus wouldn't be very high up on my "practical ways to attack the Olympics" list.
 
(Of course, just like you can't spend too much on health care, you can't spend too much on security either.  Even Wonderland now employs about 50 people at the front gates to check all bags, because nobody would think of tossing a weapon over the low fence to his buddy on the other side.  In Greece, there are hundreds of ways to attack the athletes for a determined would-be terrorist.  While I agree that it is important to stop the most obvious methods of attack, setting up a missile shield is tantamount to defending against ghosts and dreams.)