White House: Osama Using Media To Further Iraqi Insurgency

The White House countered a threatening message from Osama Bin Laden by accusing the al-Qaeda leader of using the media to justify violence that is stalling the new Iraqi government's work to mend sectarian strife.

In an Internet posting yesterday, Bin Laden endorsed a new leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq and warned Shiites there against collaborating with the United States in battling Sunni insurgents.

"These terrorists offer nothing in their ideology and messages beyond future fighting, conflict and misery,'' the Bush administration said in a statement read by a White House official.

"If authentic, the tape demonstrates yet again that Bin Laden and al-Qaeda continue to use the media to justify their dark vision and war against humanity," the statement said.

It was Bin Laden's fifth audio message so far this year and his second in two days.

The White House offhandedly dismissed Bin Laden's message on Friday. "It's another Bin Laden audio tape," White House press secretary Tony Snow told reporters.

Yesterday's 19-minute recording from Bin Laden came as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, started a regional tour seeking support from Sunni Arab countries for his national reconciliation plan.

Bin Laden gave his support to al-Muhajer, the replacement for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a US airstrike June 7. In an attempt to boost the morale of al-Qaeda members in Iraq, Bin Laden said that the Islamic community was depending on them.