Bush told he is playing into Bin Laden's hands: Al-Qaida may 'reward' American president with strike aimed at keeping him in office, senior intelligence man says.

The book "Imperial Hubris" is due out in July and is written by an anonymous senior intelligence official. Among many criticisms, the writer espouses a widely held view that the US missed its biggest chance to capture Osama bin Laden at Tora Bora in the Afghan mountains in December 2001.

"Anonymous believes Mr Bush is taking the US in exactly the direction Bin Laden wants, towards all-out confrontation with Islam under the banner of spreading democracy."

It certainly appears that way.