Bush like Hitler says German minister

As Presidents George Bush and Saddam Hussein clashed again, America's relations with Germany hit new depths yesterday, with the White House expressing "outrage" at remarks by a senior German minister likening Mr Bush's tactics on Iraq to those used by Hitler.

Mr Bush heightened the war of nerves between Washington and Baghdad by formally asking Congress for authority to use force if needed to deal with President Saddam and protect US national security. The Iraqi leader's representative, pitching for support at a split UN, said his country had no nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. He accused Mr Bush of creating a crisis as a pretext for a military move to seize control of Middle East oil.

Herta Daeubler-Gmelin, the German Justice Minister, was quoted in the regional paper Schwäebisches Tagblatt as saying that Mr Bush "wants to divert attention from his domestic problems. It's a classic tactic. It's one that Hitler used."

Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, described Ms Daeubler-Gmelin's remarks, made ahead of the German general election on Sunday, as "outrageous and inexplicable".

The exchange will add to strains that have emerged as Gerhard Schröder, the German Chancellor, has criticised US policy on Iraq, saying Germany would have no part in any American "adventure" in the Gulf.