Blair and Bush were to begin their day by being briefed on the latest battlefield developments in Iraq before being joined by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and US Secretary of State Colin Powell for a joint session.

According to Blair's official spokesman, the session will cover "immediate post-conflict issues and how to move as soon as possible to a position where Iraqi people are governing themselves."

Britain reportedly wants the United Nations to oversee any interim Iraqi military administration while Washington seeks initial US-British military control.

The United States and Britain agree that the United Nations should play a role in distributing humanitarian aid and running the oil-for-food program to raise money for this.

Speaking late Monday, Blair's spokesman sought to play down suggestions of a rift between London and Washington over the United Nations' role in a post-war Iraq.

"The aim of all three voices in this, ourselves, the Americans and the UN is precisely the same -- an Iraq not run by us, not by the Americans nor by the UN, but by the Iraqis as soon as possible," the spokesman told reporters shortly after Bush's arrival in Belfast.

The war summit, the third in two weeks for the two leaders, comes as the post-Saddam-Hussein era seemed nearer since forces loyal to the Iraqi leader appeared to be crumbling in the face of US advances in Baghdad and British successes in Iraq's second city Basra.

Security was tight for the summit hastily announced last week, with police in Belfast responding Monday to three bomb alerts -- including one at the airport where Bush's plane landed.

The summit was being held at Hillsborough Castle, the official residence of Britain's minister for Northern Ireland, and which is situated about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Belfast.

After briefing the international media on Iraq at around 11:00 am, Bush and Blair are due to lunch with Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, before all three leaders meet with the heads of Northern Ireland's main Protestant and Catholic parties.

Though the Iraq war is topping the agenda, the Anglo-American summit is an opportunity to give a much-needed fillip to the stalled Northern Ireland peace process.

Significantly, the summit is taking place just before Thursday's fifth anniversary of the 1998 Good Friday peace accords that led to power-sharing between the province's Catholics and Protestants.

Thursday is also the deadline for proposals to be set out for restoring Northern Ireland's power-sharing government, suspended last October amid a row over alleged IRA spy activities.

Blair and Ahern are expected to present a blueprint of proposals to hold new elections, restore devolved rule and ensure full implementation of the Good Friday agreement.

The summit is also touching on the Middle East peace process, on which the United States and Europe have differences in the timing of a "road map" for steps to take.

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SPACE.WIRE