Washington: Now that the campaign to topple Saddam Hussein appears to be over, even US President George W Bush admits he is a fan of the public relations style of former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf.

"He's my man, he was great," Bush enthused in an interview with NBC's Tom Brokaw on April 24. "Somebody accused us of hiring him and putting him there. He was a classic."

Bush said he had made a point of watching Sahaf, as well as scenes such as the toppling of a huge bronze likeness of Saddam Hussein.

"I did watch some of his clips," he said. "I get a lot of things secondhand, but in the case of the statue or Sahaf, somebody would say, he's getting ready to speak and I'd pop out of a meeting or turn and watch the TV."

Message Board

Is the US acting as a sole superpower by snubbing UN? Post your views

Sahaf has developed a worldwide following. A Website that sprang up called welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com was forced offline earlier in April by a rush of global interest that drew as many as 4,000 requests a second for the page.

With his trademark beret, Sahaf became a cult figure on television with his daily briefings, appearing from behind a sea of microphones as he condemned the American "infidels" and at times flatly denied what viewers around the world saw unfolding on their television screens.