WORLD IN BRIEF : MIDDLE EAST : Gulf War Price Tab Pegged at $61 Billion

The Pentagon estimated that the Persian Gulf War will cost $61.1 billion, of which $7.1 billion will have to be borne by U.S. taxpayers. Although Congress has set aside $15 billion to pay for the war, the figures were the highest estimate yet provided by the Pentagon for the amount Americans may have to pay for ousting Iraq from Kuwait. The Pentagon statement came after a briefing at which Defense Department spokesman Pete Williams took issue with a General Accounting Office report that said the United States will collect $800 million more than it spent in the Gulf War if the allies pay what they pledged.