Sen. Santorum calls Casey unqualified

Sen. Rick Santorum, who has been trailing his opponent for months, accused Democrat Bob Casey on Thursday of being unqualified for the Senate "at a very critical time in our nation's future."

In the first of a two-day series of speeches on national security, Santorum said Casey fails to recognize the growing number of worldwide threats.

"From everything I see, my opponent, Mr. Casey, is unready, unqualified for the office that he seeks at a very critical time in our nation's future," Santorum said in a speech at PRL Industries, a metal-castings supplier that counts the military among its customers.

Santorum said the U.S. must pay attention to escalating security threats from countries such as Iran, Venezuela and North Korea.

"We will have to face this threat because our enemies are fully committed to our destruction," Santorum said. "They will not stop until they destroy us or we destroy them."

Casey campaign spokesman Larry Smar called Santorum's comments "more fear-mongering from a politician who is desperately behind in the polls."