Bush will travel to Belfast on Monday and return to Washington Tuesday after discussing Iraq's future with Blair, his closest ally in the conflict, said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

"They will talk about the status of the ongoing military operation. They will talk about the humanitarian relief efforts. They'll talk about reconstruction. They'll talk about the role of the United Nations," he said.

"They will also talk about the peace process in Northern Ireland, and I think the subject of the Middle East could come up as well," the spokesman said.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell will also go on the trip, which comes just before the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Accord, to be marked on April 10th, said another US official, who declined to be named.

"Obviously, the focus will be Northern Ireland but they'll also be talking about the war and the Middle East. Blair is really keen to get the roadmap out," said that official, who also declined to be named.

Some 45,000 British troops are fighting shoulder to shoulder with roughly 250,000 US soldiers to disarm and topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Bush and Blair last met March 26 at the Camp David retreat. Prior to that, they held a day-long summit on March 16 with Spain and Portugal on the isolated Azores Islands.

SPACE.WIRE