[Eric in the Ozarks]

Assuming Desert Storm and related expenditures were all about oil, the cost of a gallon of gasoline would be closer to $10 than about $1.

[Gordian Blade]

Where does the $10 per gallon number come from? I'd like to see the calculation; I doubt the number. Just for the sake of argument, we'll assume that the only benefit of Desert Storm was securing "the free flow of oil at market prices," as Rush says. Don't forget that the world economic powers chipped in for the cost of Desert Storm, so that the cost is spread over the entire world's consumption of oil. Also, the cost needs to be amortized over the approximately 10 years of stability it bought us. To be fair, you can add in the continuing cost of the no-fly zone and troop presence in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.