WASHINGTON, NOV 23: Containing President Saddam Hussein in Iraq is costing a tidy sum for the Americans. The meter is running as the United States once again sends forces to the Gulf in response to a crisis it blames on the Iraqi President.

Even before Saddam halted UN weapons inspections, the Pentagon was running an annual tab in the hundreds of millions of dollars for containment operations against Iraq.How much will the latest infusion of forces cost? No one at the Pentagon seems to know, according to Navy Captain Michael Doubleday, a Pentagon spokesman.That uncertainty bothers some on Capitol Hill, who must find the money for unexpected military deployments.

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