TWENTYNINE PALMS - The White House said Sunday a new videotape by Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is authentic, citing intelligence officials.
"I just heard from the intelligence community that they believe it is authentic," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters in Twentynine Palms, where President George W. Bush visited US marines.
In the tape, which surfaced on Al-Jazeera television Sunday, Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden called on Muslim fighters to go to Sudan to wage war against "crusader thieves" and slammed the international isolation of the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
If the tape proves genuine, it would be the first from bin Laden since January 19.
04/23/2006 22:46 GMT