Obama Says Dependency on Foreign Oil Poses Terrorist Threat to U.S.

From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

(DAYTON, OHIO) Barack Obama used a little bit of fear today to get his point across of the dangers of U.S. dependency on foreign oil.

“The price of a barrel of oil is now one of the most dangerous weapons in the world,” he said at a town hall meeting on energy security.

As the price of crude oil crept to $144.17 a barrel today, Obama said hostile nations could use oil profits to fund terrorism.

“The nearly $700 million a day we send to unstable or hostile nations also funds both sides of the war on terror, paying for everything from the madrassas that plant the seeds of terror in young minds to the bombs that go off in Baghdad and Kabul,” Obama said. “Our oil addiction even presents a target for Osama bin Laden, who has told al Qaeda, “focus your operations on oil, since this will cause [the Americans] to die off on their own.”

Obama blamed the energy crisis, in part, on John McCain, calling on him to “look in the mirror” and acknowledge the failed policies. He said McCain blames Washington for the failed energy policies, adding that he agrees but, “the only problem is that out of those thirty years, Sen. McCain was one of those politicians in Washington for twenty-six. And during the 26 years that he was there he’s achieved little to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”

The McCain campaign quickly fired back in a written statement, “The difference is Obama’s ‘Dr. No’ approach believes that every energy source has a problem and John McCain believes that every energy source can be part of the solution Americans need right now.”