WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- The world's leading terrorist mastermind has unwittingly promoted a U.S. anti-war book into one of the nation's best sellers by recommending it in his latest verbal attack on the United States.

    Since Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden mentioned "The Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower" in his tape on Thursday, Washington historian William Blum's book has gone from 205,763 on the Amazon.com list of best sellers to number 27, U.S. media reported Monday.

    In an audio tape broadcast last Thursday by the Qatar-based Aljazeerza television, he told Americans that "it is useful for you to read the book 'The Rogue State.'"

    Bin Laden then quoted parts of Blum's book which says that if the writer were the U.S. president he would "give an apology to all the widows and orphans and all those who were tortured. Then I would announce that American interference in the nations of the world has ended once and for all."

    The CIA has identified the voice in the tape is that of bin Laden.

    Blum, 72, said he was quite surprised and amused at bin Laden'scomments on his book.

    The historian made it clear that there was no justification for the terror attacks, but that they were "an understandable retaliation against U.S. foreign policy."

    "If he (bin Laden) shares with me a deep dislike for the certain aspects of U.S. foreign policy, then I'm not going to spurn any endorsement of the book by him. I think it's good that he shares those views and I'm not turned off by that," he said.

    Blum's 320-page book, which was published in 2000, begins with a chapter titled "Why Do Terrorists Keep Picking on the United States."

    The first sentence says, "Washington's war on terrorism is as doomed to failure as its war on drugs has been."

    Blum said that up to last Thursday, "The Rogue State" and his other book "Killing Hope" have sold about 150,000 copies in English and other languages.

    A son of Polish immigrants, the historian once worked for the U.S. State Department in the 1960s, but the Vietnam War turned him a war critic. Enditem