Bush regrets bellicose tones over Iraq

US President George W. Bush expressed regret on Wednesday over the use of aggressive language over Iraq and said he should have used a "different rhetoric".

In an interview published in the Times newspaper, Bush said his stance over Iraq had made the world believe that he was a "guy really anxious for war".

His use of phrases such as "bring them on" and "dead or alive" had indicated to people that "I was, you know, not a man of peace," Bush said.

But the truth was that he found it "very painful to put youngsters in harm's way" and that he had an obligation to make sure that those lives were not lost in vain.

Bush said he was concerned that policies by Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama might open divisions in Western attitudes towards Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The world ought to work together and "keep focused," Bush said.