To some it may come as too little too late. But setting out on his final trip to Europe as president, George Bush has expressed regret that his rhetoric in the run-up to the war in Iraq may have created the impression that he was a warmonger.

"I think that in retrospect I could have used a different tone, a different rhetoric," Bush told the Times as he flew across the Atlantic on Air Force One.

The phrases he used to win support for the war such as "bring 'em on" and "dead or alive" he said, "indicated to people that I was, you know, not a man of peace."

But that impression, he insisted, was far from the truth.

"One of the untold stories of Iraq is that we explored the diplomacy a lot," he said. "We all wanted to solve this 'disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences' in a diplomatic fashion. After all, I went to the United Nations security council."

Bush, who met the German chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday on a tour that will take in Rome, Paris and London, also disputed the notion that the war had harmed the image of the US abroad.

"I don't buy into that theory," he said. "America is a force for good. America is a force for liberty. America is a force to fight disease. We've got the largest HIV/Aids initiative in the history of the world. We've got a malaria initiative that's saving babies."

Wearing an Air Force One flying jacket embroidered with George W Bush over his left breast, and with a china mug bearing the acronym Potus - President of the United States - at his side, Bush told his interviewers of the pain he feels at the casualties sustained by US forces in Iraq.

Noting that he finds it difficult "to put youngsters in harm's way", he added: "I try to meet with as many of the families as I can. And I have an obligation to comfort and console as best as I possibly can. I also have an obligation to make sure that those lives were not lost in vain." Bush's statements come as his presidency enters its final six months. They also come as the two presidential candidates spar over the differences between them, notably their stances in the build-up to the war.

While avoiding direct comment on the presidential race, Bush's remarks will be interpreted as a thinly veiled criticism of the Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

Bush suggested that Obama's stated intent to sit down directly with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, could undermine what he termed the "multilateralist" diplomacy he has been nurturing.

"I believe when people get in and take an assessment of what will work or what won't work in dealing with Iran, they'll understand the wisdom of having not only our friends and allies in Europe at the table but also China and Russia," he said.

Far from being a lame duck, Bush said he was full of vigour.

"There's plenty of energy on the democracy agenda, the freedom agenda, right now," he said.

While welcoming the nomination of an African-American candidate, describing it as "a statement about how far America has come", he argued that voters would be swayed by attributes such as experience.

"It's going to be important for the American people to figure out who can handle the task of the 21st century," he said. "It's a challenging job. It requires tough decision making, clear thought, and an experience level."

He did not pass up the opportunity to claim that he had campaigned on Obama's change agenda well before the Democratic nominee.

"I've campaigned for change ever since I ran for office," he noted, "except for 2004. Then I wasn't for change."