Washington, Nov. 9 : Agents of the United States Security Service have squarely blamed Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin for the death threats against president-elect Barack Obama.

According to the agents, Palin’s repeated questioning of Obama’s patriotism sparked off the death threats from white supremacists.

According to The Telegraph, Palin attracted criticism for accusing Obama of "palling around with terrorists", citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.

The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling "terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.

But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.

The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid-October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Palin''s attacks.

Michelle Obama, the future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: "Why would they try to make people hate us?"

The revelations, contained in a Newsweek history of the campaign, are likely to further damage Palin''s credentials as a future presidential candidate. She is already a frontrunner, with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to take on Obama in four years time.

Intelligence analysts Stratfor has already warned that Obama is a high risk target for racist gunmen. 

"Two plots to assassinate Obama were broken up during the campaign season, and several more remain under investigation. We would expect federal authorities to uncover many more plots to attack the president that have been hatched by white supremacist ideologues," it said.

Aides to Republican presidential candidate John McCain blame Palin for losing the election. They have branded her a "diva" and a "whack job".

Palin has decided to counter these attacks by saying that those undertaking them are cowards, cruel and mean-spirited.(ANI)