IT'S TIME FOR NATIONS TO MAKE GOOD ON WAR DEBT

Both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia owe more than a debt of gratitude to the United States for leading the coalition that forced Iraqi troops out of Kuwait and defended Persian Gulf oil fields. The two Persian Gulf nations are $5.8 billion short of fulfilling their pledge to help defray the costs of the military effort.

Kuwait had pledged $16 billion to assist in its liberation, while the oil-rich Saudis pledged $16.8 billion for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.

But there appears to be no legal requirement that countries make good on their financial pledges.

Still, President Bush and Congress should make it clear to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia that the U.S. expects those two nations to honor their financial vows. All the other major donors have paid up, although South Korea still owes about $130 million on its $355 million pledge.

The U.S. government has collected $48 billion of the $54 billion in worldwide pledges.

Major contributors who have made good on their financial pledges include Japan, which contributed $10 billion, and Germany, which paid out $6.5 billion.

It cost the U.S. Treasury an estimated $61 billion to protect Saudi Arabia and drive Iraqi troops out of Kuwait.

While the pledges of Kuwait and Saudia Arabia represent a much larger proportion of the two countries' resources than those of industrialized nations such as Japan and Germany, it is only right to expect Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to pay up.

Admittedly, Kuwait's economy was devastated by the Iraqi occupation forces, which torched valuable oil fields.

But the two nations owe much to the coalition forces, and particularly the United States, which shouldered much of the military and financial cost of halting Saddam Hussein's aggression and liberating Kuwait.

The fact of the matter is that without the actions of the U.S., Iraq would still be raping Kuwait, and Saudi Arabian oil fields might also be in the hands of Iraqi troops.

Simple thanks is not enough. The costs were too high to write off.

We know Saddam Hussein's word is no good. When it ~comes to their financial commitments, we hope that's not the case with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.