Obama Compares Oil Spill to 9/11:

Outrage from Relatives of WTC victims

BY Kenneth R. Bazinet and Larry Mcshane, New York Daily News

President Obama, in a stark and striking comparison, said the devastating impact of the BP disaster on the national psyche "echoes 9/11."

The endlessly spewing oil rig off the Gulf Coast – like the terror attacks of 2001 – will influence the nation’s future long after the crisis passes, the President said in a provocative Oval Office interview with Politico.

"In the same way that our view of our vulnerabilities and our foreign policy was shaped profoundly by 9/11, I think this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment and energy for many years to come," Obama added in language that underscored his new sense of urgency about the disaster.

The interview, conducted Friday, was released Sunday – and sparked an instant debate among some 9/11 family members.

"I think he’s off-base," said ex-FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Riches, whose son died at the World Trade Center. "These were terrorist attacks, these 9/11 murders, not something caused by people trying to make money."

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