A U.S. State Department spokesman apologized on Tuesday for his comment about Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

"I understand that my personal comments were perceived as a personal attack. These comments do not reflect U.S. policy and were not intended to offend. I apologize if they were taken that way." State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said.

Crowley had said on Wednesday that his comment about Libyan leader was not intended to be a "personal attack."

Muammar Gaddafi , in a February 25 speech, called for a "jihad"-- armed struggle-- against Switzerland. A day later, Crowley commented on Gaddafi's remarks, saying "lots of words and lots of papers flying all over the place, not necessarily a lot of sense."

Libyan government threatened last week that the comment could hurt U.S. business interests in the country.