The White House countered a threatening message from
Osama bin Laden on Saturday by accusing the al-Qaida 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 Saturday, bin Laden endorsed a new leader of al-Qaida 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.
The official said the United States was analyzing the contents of the message and working to determine the authenticity of the recording, which was not immediately verified.