The Big Bill

The world's encirclement of Saddam Hussein is intended to throttle his economy and force his army out of Kuwait, but the price is heavy for the alliance arrayed against him. Mustering its defensive force in Saudi Arabia in August and September cost the U.S. $2.5 billion. The Pentagon's estimate for the continuing buildup to an offensive force had been $15 billion in fiscal 1991; the escalation announced last week will clearly boost that bill. If a shooting war begins, some Washington analysts speculate costs could rise to $1 billion a day.

"We are more than willing to bear our fair share of the burden," Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jock Covey said in Washington last week, "but we also expect others to bear theirs." Since mid-September, when Secretary of State James Baker and Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady circled the globe raising funds, 54 countries have made pledges totaling $20 billion, which will be divided between military support and economic assistance to states in the region.

Not surprisingly, the biggest contributors are Saudi Arabia at $8 billion, which includes transportation, water and fuel for the troops poised there, and Kuwait at $4 billion. Under pressure from the U.S., Japan doubled its pledge to $4 billion, while Germany and the European Community have each provided $2 billion. In Rome last week, the 24-nation Gulf Crisis Financial Coordination Group agreed to provide $13 billion in aid to nations that have suffered the worst financial damage from trade sanctions on Iraq.

Each month the U.S. intends to use $1 billion of the total $20 billion in contributions to help support its military operations in the region. With $13 billion of that earmarked for economic aid, and with the size of the U.S. force growing significantly, a shortfall will develop if the confrontation continues for many months. If that happens, Baker says he will go back for more.

It might not be so easy. Washington had to twist arms in Tokyo and Bonn the first time around, and would encounter strong resistance if it asked for more. Even some of the smaller allies are not chipping in eagerly. Washington asked South Korea, itself once a victim of aggression from the north, to contribute $450 million. Seoul stalled until it was warned that the U.S. Congress would remember that the next time it considered funding for U.S. troops based in South Korea. The Koreans then came up with some money -- half of what Washington had requested.