No cost determined for war on Iraq

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Colin Powell, on the eve of another faceoff at the United Nations over disarming Saddam Hussein, said Thursday the American people should be "prepared for a fairly long-term commitment" in Iraq.\nAppearing before the House Budget Committee, Powell said he could furnish no estimate of the cost of any war with Iraq. But he did say he thought that the Arab nation should be able to adjust quickly after a war.\nIraq has an effective bureaucracy, rich oil resources and a developed middle class, Powell said. "I would hope that it would be a short conflict and that it would be directed at the leadership, not the society," he said.\nOnce those goals are achieved, Powell said, the U.S. military leader in such a war would take temporary charge of Iraq. But that person would give way to a prominent American or international figure, whose own term would be limited with an eye toward turning over the government to the Iraqis themselves, the secretary of state said.\n"We would try to build as much as we can on the structure that is there," Powell said. "The challenge would be to put in place a representative leadership."\nAt another hearing, Sen. John Warner, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, asked whether U.S. forces were prepared for a possible war with Iraq while continuing the fight against terrorism.\n"Absolutely," replied Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.\nDefense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld also told senators he couldn't estimate the cost of a war, but added, "It would cost a heck of a lot less than 9-11 cost and 9-11 would cost a heck of a lot less than a chemical or biological 9-11," referring to administration concerns that Iraq could provide weapons of mass destruction to terrorists.\nAsked by Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., about the future of NATO following a dispute with allies over defending Turkey, Rumsfeld joked "I have a feeling you're trying to put me in a position of defending Germany or France."\nBayh replied: "It's hard to defend the indefensible."\nRumsfeld said that while he is disappointed by the dispute, he believes the alliance is important. He recalled that the alliance has survived past disputes. "It's never been perfect. it's always been bumpy," he said.\nPowell said Wednesday he intends to ask France and Germany whether they are opposing war with Iraq in order to get Saddam "off the hook."\nHis confrontation with officials of those two countries is set for Friday in New York. That's when chief U.N. weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei report on searches that have not turned up what the Bush administration has characterized as hundreds of concealed and illicit biological and chemical weapons.\nU.S. and Russian officials on Wednesday said international missile experts this week did find that an Iraqi missile exceeds the maximum 93-mile range allowed under U.N. resolutions. U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said it was now up to Blix to recommend what to do about the violation.