(CNN) -- Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama engaged in a pointed exchange over al Qaeda in Iraq on Wednesday. Sen. John McCain questioned Sen. Barack Obama's way of handling the war in Iraq. McCain questioned whether Obama was aware of the al Qaeda base. Obama's response was: "There was no such thing as al Qaeda in Iraq until George Bush and John McCain decided to invade Iraq." McCain was in Tyler, Texas, and Obama was in Columbus, Ohio. "I understand that Sen. Obama said that if al Qaeda established a base in Iraq that he would send troops back in militarily. Al Qaeda already has a base in Iraq. It's called al Qaeda in Iraq," McCain said.
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McCain questions whether Obama is aware of al Qaeda presence in Iraq
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Obama says there was no al Qaeda in Iraq until Bush, McCain decided to invade
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McCain statement: Comments during Democrats' debate were "timidity of despair"
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Obama: McCain has followed "George Bush into a misguided war in Iraq"
A statement by McCain's press office Wednesday said, "Is Sen. @placeholder unaware that al Qaeda is still present in Iraq, that our forces are successfully fighting them every day, and that his Iraq policy of withdrawal would embolden al Qaeda and weaken our security?"