State sponsors of terror, Saudi Arabia and Iran are among the world’s leading producers of oil. These economies are dominated by oil. In the case of both countries, oil represents more than 80 percent of national exports and nearly half of each country’s gross domestic product.

Oil income circulates to governments, businesses and organizations that then go on to fund terror attacks and global Jihad. For example, Osama Bin Laden’s wealth was accumulated in Saudi Arabia. Let’s not forget that Saudi Arabia was home to 15 of the 19 hijackers on September 11, 2001.

And then there’s Iran. Iran provides funding and weapons for two of the world’s most militant terror organizations, Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as insurgent groups within Iraq. Furthermore, Iran is explicitly using money accumulated from the sale of oil to fund its nuclear weapons program.

Today, more than 60 percent of the oil consumed in the U.S. is imported. The vast majority of oil consumed worldwide, and particularly in the West, is consumed by motor vehicles.

Western democracies realize the dangers of this situation. Recently, U.S. President Barack Obama has called for oil consumption to be reduced through the use of clean, renewable energy.

But the situation is likely to worsen before it gets better. Terror-funding nations and entities across the Middle East are likely to benefit from increasing oil revenues over the next ten years. Both the International Energy Agency and the Energy Information Agency of the U.S. Department of Energy predict that global demand for oil will increase until at least 2020.

As long as terror-funding entities continue to receive money through the sale of oil, the dangerous relationship will also continue: Consumers of oil—drivers—pay for the very terror attacks that target them.

The situation is both dangerous and ironic. And the organizers of terror are laughing all the way to the bank each time you go to the pump. While this idea is generally recognized, the extent of the problem must be made very clear to those in our communities. Concrete steps must be taken to reduce the West’s dependency on Middle Eastern oil. Some alternatives to gas include buying cars that are more fuel efficient and investing in green technology such as solar power.