Posted on 03/10/2003 12:48:15 PM PST by knighthawk
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Defense Minister Peter Struck criticized a senior aide on Monday for saying the United States was behaving like a "dictator" over Iraq, but said he would not punish the official for his remarks. Junior minister Walter Kolbow was widely reported at the weekend to have said unilateral U.S. decisions on Iraq looked like the actions of a dictator, remarks unlikely to help already strained relations between Washington and Berlin.
"The minister said Kolbow's formulation of a dictatorship based on unilateral decisions was exaggerated and inappropriate but does not see any need for consequences," a defense ministry spokesman told a regular government news conference.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's spokesman Bela Anda told the news conference the German leader backed Struck's position.
"The Chancellor shares the view of minister Struck... Clearly this formulation is open to misinterpretation," Anda said."
Kolbow spoke to the U.S. ambassador in Berlin, Daniel Coats, on Monday to clarify the issue, the ministry spokesman said.
Germany's relations with the United States have suffered over Berlin's fierce opposition to war on Iraq. Washington has vowed to attack Baghdad with or without United Nations approval, accusing it of developing weapons of mass destruction.
Last year, Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin reportedly compared President Bush's political tactics with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's.
Schroeder did not reappoint Daeubler-Gmelin to his new cabinet after winning an election in September but Washington took a dim view of his decision not to fire her immediately.
Kolbow's remarks were made to Social Democrats gathered at a traditional Ash Wednesday political rally in the Bavarian town of Mainbernheim.
"The Americans look more and more like dictators with their unilateral decisions," several newspapers quoted Kolbow as saying. He told Reuters those reports were accurate.
However, Kolbow denied a version of his speech printed in one newspaper which said he had called Bush a dictator, rather than the Bush administration.
Kolbow said his remarks referred to the U.S. stance on Iraq and environmental issues, specifically to the phrase used by U.S. leaders: "Anyone who is not with us, is against us."
He also said rallies were often spirited affairs. "You tend to express yourself a bit more strongly at the Ash Wednesday rally in Bavaria than you do at a gathering of diplomats."
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