even bush! likes SAHAF'S style

[Haashim]

Bush likes Iraqi information minister's style

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Now that the campaign to topple Saddam Hussein appears to be over, even U.S. 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 Thursday. "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." Sahaf has developed a worldwide following. A Web site that sprang up called welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com was forced offline earlier this month 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 TV screens.