US President George W. Bush's bid for re-election next year has won a major opinion poll boost from the capture of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The ABC News/ Washington Postpoll showed 60 per cent of Americans backed Mr Bush's handling of Iraq, compared to 48 per cent in mid-November - before Saddam's arrest on December 13th.
Mr Bush, battling to stamp out attacks on US-led forces that have killed more than 200 American soldiers since he declared major combat over on May 1st, held talks in Washington with Iraq's US governor Mr Paul Bremer and Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld.
The US military said a former general in Saddam's once-feared security services had been captured as US-led forces stepped up a crackdown on guerrillas in the wake of the toppled Iraqi leader's capture.
The White House said Mr Bush's special envoy Mr James Baker would travel to Asia next week to meet the leaders of Japan, South Korea and China to join an international drive to reduce Iraq's estimated $120 billion in foreign debt.
Iraq's Oil Minister Mr Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum said the country was steadily raising output, attracting foreign investment interest and hoped to restart its much sabotaged northern export pipeline by the end of March.
Iraq's energy production is suffering due to sabotage attacks and a flourishing black market, but Mr Uloum said shortages would ease soon due to deals with Iran and Syria to exchange oil products for crude oil.
Washington plans to hand power to an Iraqi transitional government by mid-2004 - but keep troops in Iraq until guerrilla activity has been wiped out.