Schroeder and Merkel spar over Turkey on radio program

German Prime Minister Gerhard Schroeder has accused his opponent in the upcoming elections, Angela Merkel of the Christian Democrats, of making the same mistake regarding Turkey's prospective EU membership as she made with Iraq. Yesterday, in a program carried over the country on the Metropol FM radio station, Schroeder and Merkel sparred over issues, while answering questions on a number of subjects.On the question of Turkey, Schroeder said "Merkel is making the same mistake with Turkey that she made with Iraq. She believed in the war in Iraq, and supported it. Now I am happy that she has given this perspective up. But she is now making the same mistake with Turkey. This is her mistake: You cannot turn a security issue, a foreign policy issue, into a subject for national dispute. We cannot allow this to happen. It goes against the national interests of Germany." Â