U.S. apologizes to Libya for dismissive comments

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department apologized on Tuesday for dismissive comments its spokesman made about Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's call for "jihad," often translated as "armed struggle," against Switzerland.

"I understand that my personal comments were perceived as a personal attack on the president," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, who made the comments, told reporters. "These comments do not reflect U.S. policy and were not intended to offend. I apologize if they were taken that way."

In apologizing, he appeared to be trying to end a dispute that prompted the head of Libya's state oil company to summon executives from Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), ConocoPhillips (COP.N), Occidental (OXY.N), Hess (HES.N) and Marathon (MRO.N) last week and warn them the row could hurt U.S. businesses in Libya. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Eric Walsh)