If we withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, the civil war will follow us home. Oh wait, that doesn’t make any sense. Alright, how about, if we withdraw from Iraq, al Qaeda will take over. No, that doesn’t make sense either.

OK, I’ve got it. If we withdraw from Iraq, the price of gas will triple. At least that's what Rep. Jon Porter (R-Nev.) said he heard from military leaders in Iraq last week. (via TPM)

The Nevada Republican, who returned Tuesday from his fourth trip to Iraq, met with U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Iraqi Deputy President Tariq al-Hashimi and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh.

“To a person, they said there would be genocide, gas prices in the U.S. would rise to eight or nine dollars a gallon, al-Qaida would continue its expansion, and Iran would take over that portion of the world if we leave,” Porter said Wednesday in a phone interview from Las Vegas.

Will Bunch ponders how this nonsense could make the talking-points list in the first place, while Kevin Drum wonders whether Porter is making the story up out of whole cloth.