NATO is throwing a party and inviting new nations as guests – even though nobody has figured out how much it will cost or who will pay.

As the Senate prepares to open the second session of the 105^th Congress next Monday, some are rushing to ratify the inclusion of Poland, Czech Republic, and Hungary into NATO before basic cost questions are answered. This could leave U.S. taxpayers on the hook for unknown billions – even though expansion may be unnecessary and dangerous.

The Clinton Administration, NATO allies, and the potential new members continue to tap dance around the cost minefield. Total cost estimates, depending on military strategy and risk, range from the RAND Corporation estimate of $14 to $110 billion to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office’s figures of $61 to $125 billion. The Administration presents a rosier estimate of around $30 billion.

Dividing up this unknown total is an even greater cause for worry. The Administration expects current and potential new members to cover 85 percent of the costs. Others expect the U.S. to pay. According to French President Jacques Chirac, “France does not intend to raise its contribution to NATO because of the cost of enlargement.” New members, hardly economic powerhouses, would be expected to increase military spending by 60 percent under the Administration’s plan. According to former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jack Matlock, ” We’re going to have a dilemma that we either encourage them [new NATO members] to divert resources they don’t have or we end up fooling the American people about what it’s going to cost them.”

Many defense experts argue that expanding NATO would put the U.S. at additional risk. Russia views NATO expansion as a direct threat – especially because second-round enlargement plans include neighbors such as Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia and a NATO presence in the Black and Baltic Seas. Despite claims that Russia will quietly accept expansion, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Parliament’s Defense Committee makes no bones about it, stating, “we will be rivals.”