The White House on Sunday dismissed Al-Qaeda threats to attack President George W. Bush during his Middle East trip, saying the radical group offers "nothing but death and violence."
"Al-Qaeda offers nothing but death and violence," said Gordon Johndroe, White House national security spokesman, who told AFP that the president's visit this week seeks to "offer the ideology of hope" to "people who seek a better life."
In a message posted online on Sunday, an American member of Al-Qaeda urged militants to target Bush "with bombs" during his trip to the Middle East starting Tuesday. Bush should be welcomed "not with flowers and applause, but with bombs and car bombs," said Al-Qaeda operative Adam Gadahn, a convert to Islam who has been indicted for treason by a US jury.