The Gulf War: Off the Hook?

U.S. taxpayers may finally have something to cheer about. Despite dire predictions, government auditors announced last week that incoming payments from foreign allies should cover most U.S. expenses for the gulf war.

Sean O’Keefe, the Defense Department’s comptroller, told the House Budget Committee that the war and its aftermath are expected to cost $60 billion. So far, American allies have given the U.S. $37 billion out of $55 billion in pledged assistance. Any difference between those contributions and actual expenses, said O’Keefe, would be paid out of the $15 billion that Congress approved in March. But those funds may not be needed: the General Accounting Office believes that the cost of the war will be lower than Pentagon estimates. If so, allied contributions should cover the whole bill.