Bush Bids Farewell to Schröder

US President George W. Bush, putting aside lingering bitterness over Iraq, thanked outgoing German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder Thursday for his service to Germany, the White House said. "Mr. Bush called Chancellor Schröder to thank him for his service. While the two leaders had differences at times on policy, the president said that he enjoyed working with chancellor Schröder," said spokesman Scott McClellan. "The president expressed his and (First Lady Laura) Bush's best wishes to chancellor and Mrs. Schröder as he prepares to leave office," McClellan told reporters. Bush and Schröder broke sharply over the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, which Germany fiercely opposed, and over the chancellor's re-election campaign, which Washington saw as fuelled by anti-Americanism.