NATION : Allies Berated for ‘Free Ride’

House Democratic leader Richard A. Gephardt accused Germany and Japan today of getting a free ride in the Persian Gulf crisis and said Saudi Arabia should also pay more.

“I think that it’s entirely unacceptable that they are getting a free ride on Desert Shield,” the Missouri congressman said of Germany and Japan.

So far, the United States has spent about $6.5 billion on Desert Shield. Some estimates of the total cost of the operation top $30 billion for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

Since neither Germany nor Japan is committing troops, their contributions can be measured only in money. Germany has pledged $1.07 billion to help defray U.S. costs and about $2 billion for other nations. Japan has pledged $2 billion for the United States and $2 billion for poor front-line nations.

Gephardt, in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show, said the United States has not been tough enough in asking the allies to do their part. He calculated that Saudi Arabia would roll up $43 billion in extra revenue over 12 months because of the oil price surge after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. “They literally could pay for Desert Shield themselves,” he said.