She called the commercial a "desperate political attack" by GOP rival George Nethercutt, who trails in the polls.

The ad shows Murray telling an audience in 2002 that bin Laden had been at work in unnamed countries "for decades building schools, building roads, building infrastructure, building day care facilities, building health care facilities. And the people are extremely grateful," she says.

"He's made their lives better. We have not done that," she adds.

Nethercutt appears briefly on screen in the ad, saying he approved it "because winning the war on terror means fighting terrorists, not excusing them."

Nethercutt, a five-term House member, has consistently trailed Murray in the polls and lags behind his rival in campaign cash as well.

He launched the ad at a time when party officials and donors alike must decide which candidates deserve their strongest support in the final month of the campaign.

While the National Republican Senatorial Committee has already run independent television ads in a few key races, Washington is not among them.

Nethercutt's prospects for an upset are likely to depend in part on gaining strong financial support from the party.

Campaign rivals often clash over the war on terror, but even in the presidential race, neither President Bush nor Sen. John Kerry has suggested the other man views bin Laden as anything but an enemy of America.

The ad was posted to Nethercutt's Web site early in the day, and a spokesman said it was airing statewide.

Glass said the ad took Murray's remarks out of contest. She said the senator had voted to go to war in Afghanistan in the wake of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to bring bin Laden to justice and eliminate his terror network.

She said Murray planned a formal response in a conference call with former Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., a Vietnam veteran and triple amputee. © 2000 The Associated Press

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