US President Barack Obama puts the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico on par with the September 11 terrorist incident, saying the oil leak "echoes 9/11."
Taking part in an interview with POLITICO, Obama said both tragic incidents exposed our vulnerabilities.
"In the same way that our view of our vulnerabilities and our foreign policy was shaped profoundly by 9/11," Obama added in an Oval Office interview, reported USA TODAY on Monday.
"I think this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment and energy for many years to come."
Obama told POLITICO that he'll make a "bold" push for a new energy law to cut US dependence on fossil fuel and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"Now is the time for us to start making that transition and investing in a new way of doing business when it comes to energy," Obama boasted.
He also claimed that learning from the vast environmental disaster was among his "biggest leadership challenges." Obama, however, did not offer meaningful details on his new energy policy or what he has learned from the disaster.
BP has come under pressure to adopt measures to compensate victims for the loss its oil operation has inflicted on the people and environment of the disaster area.
Obama is on his way to the region for a fourth time to assess the disaster and make himself ready for his first Oval Office speech Tuesday night on the crisis. |