Schroeder Tries Again to Mend Ties

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Saturday that he deeply regretted “exaggerated comments” critical of U.S. moves against Iraq that soured his relations with President Bush.

In a further attempt to repair relations strained by his outspoken criticism, Schroeder said he was confident that the dispute over Iraq would not cause long-term problems between the United States and Germany.

“I deeply regret there were exaggerated comments -- also from Cabinet members of my previous government,” Schroeder told Der Spiegel magazine when asked if there were “grounds for self-criticism” for damage he caused to U.S.-German relations.

Schroeder and his center-left government had criticized U.S. steps against Iraq right until the war started March 20, and he angered Washington by refusing to send German troops to Iraq. In early April, he began making a slow retreat, saying he hoped that U.S.-led forces would win the war quickly.

Later in the month he said, “It is always good for mankind when a dictator is removed.”

In speeches during his reelection campaign last year, Schroeder derided plans to attack Iraq as a military “adventure” that would “set ablaze” the Middle East.

Tensions worsened just before the September election, when Schroeder’s justice minister, Herta Daeubler-Gmelin, reportedly compared Bush’s political tactics to those of Adolf Hitler -- an analogy she partially denied. Schroeder accepted her resignation shortly after he won a second term.

Bush pointedly did not congratulate Schroeder on his narrow victory. The two have not spoken since last year.