Bush warning: Caliphate planned for Iraq

GULF NEWS: Washington: US President George W. Bush vowed on Tuesday to prevent Al Qaida from setting up a violent, radical Islamic empire based in Iraq, which he said was Osama Bin Laden's ultimate goal.

Bush said Al Qaida's vision was to create a "unified totalitarian Islamic state that can confront and eventually destroy the free world."

Bin Laden has declared Iraq "the capital of the caliphate," said Bush, who has often faced criticism for trying to tie Iraq into the broader "war on terrorism. Bush warns of Al Qaida plan for 'Caliphate' based in Iraq

Mark Alexander