MILWAUKEE, Feb 21: US President George Bush on Monday warned that US dependency on oil left the country ‘hostage’ to countries that may be hostile and urged new nuclear plant construction by 2010.

“Some of the nations we rely on for oil have unstable governments, or fundamental differences with the United States,” he said during a trip here, without naming the countries to which he was referring.

“These countries know we need their oil and that reduces influence. It creates a national security issue when we’re held hostage for energy by foreign nations that may not like us,” said Mr Bush.

Drawing on the examples of France, China, and India, the president pushed a 1.1 billion dollar program to promote the construction of new nuclear power plants, something the United States has not done since the 1970s.

“We ought to start building nuclear power plants again. I think it makes sense to do so. Technology is such that we can do so and say to the American people, these are safe — and they’re important,” he said. —AFP