Schroeder says Bush's religious talk worried him

Berlin: Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has written in a new book that George W. Bush's frequent references to God in their meetings before the Iraq war had made him wary of the US president's political decisions.

Schroeder wrote in an advance excerpt of his memoirs that Germany had stood by its vow of "unlimited solidarity" after the September 11 attacks in 2001. But Germany stayed out of Iraq, causing a breach in US-German ties.

He said in Decisions: My Life in Politics, published yesterday in Der Spiegel magazine, he was alarmed by Bush's talk of God, which made him fear religion influenced decisions.

"What worried me, despite a relaxed atmosphere to our talks, and to a certain degree what made me sceptical was how much it came through that this president saw himself as 'God-fearing' and saw that as the highest authority," Schroeder wrote.

Schroeder, a Social Democrat who left politics after his party lost a 2005 election to end his seven years in power, said he had no qualms over Bush's Christian faith but could not escape a fear religion was a driving force behind his decisions.

"I can well understand if someone is devout and strives for a dialogue with God, in this case prayer. The problem that I have with that starts when the impression arises that political decisions are the result of a dialogue with God."