Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE= 04/07/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=BUSH / BLAIR OVERNIGHT (S)

NUMBER=2-301899

BYLINE=SCOTT STEARNS

DATELINE=BELFAST

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: President Bush is in Northern Ireland where he will meet Tuesday with British Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss how to administer Iraq once the fighting is finished. V-O-A's Scott Stearns reports, they will also discuss efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland and the Middle East.

TEXT: With U-S troops now in the Iraqi capital, Secretary of State Colin Powell says Bush administration officials will go to Iraq this week to begin preparing for an interim authority that he says will represent "all elements of Iraqi society."

President Bush and Prime Minister Blair meet Tuesday to discuss the nature of that authority and United Nations involvement in supporting it. While Secretary Powell says the U-N will certainly have a humanitarian role, he says the U-S and British-led coalition must take the lead because it has taken what he called "the political risk" and "paid the cost in lives."

Some in the president's war council oppose a larger U-N role after the Security Council failed to back this invasion under threat of a French veto and objections from Russia and China.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair meet privately Tuesday before taking questions from reporters. They will then sit down with Northern Ireland leaders to discuss a five-year-old power-sharing deal between Catholics and Protestants. They are also expected to talk about power sharing between Israelis and Palestinians as part of a plan for Middle East peace leading toward a separate Palestinian state. (SIGNED)

NEB/SS/MAR