Bush: War talk could have been different

LONDON, June 11 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush, saying his language may have led some to think he favors war, told a British newspaper he regrets the Iraqi war's divisiveness.

"I think that in retrospect I could have used a different tone, a different rhetoric," Bush told The Times of London in an exclusive interview published Wednesday.

He said he wanted to leave his successor a legacy of international diplomacy, including a strategy to diffuse Iran's nuclear aspirations.

Phrases such as "dead or alive" may have led some to believe he was "not a man of peace," Bush said. Rather, the president said he is pained to have to "put youngsters in harm's way."

Bush, who will stop in Britain before returning to the United States, said he wants to spend his final months in office trying to secure an agreement that would establish a Palestinian state and "leave behind a series of structures that makes it easier for the next president."

He told the Times his successor -- likely to be Democrat Barack Obama, D-Ill., or Republican John McCain, R-Ariz. -- could assess "what will work or what won't work in dealing with Iran," but he would adhere with the current policy. The United States and the European Union agreed to a communique that calls for both sanctions and incentives to address Iran's nuclear program.

Turning to the presumptive nominees, Bush called McCain "an independent person who will make his decisions on what he thinks is best."

Asked whether the United States would be ready for a black president, Bush said, "I think the fact that the Democratic Party nominated Barack Obama is a statement about how far America has come."