Bush, Blair to Meet to Discuss U.N. Role in Postwar Iraq
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is expected to arrive in Belfast, Northern Ireland, this hour for a war summit with his staunchest ally, the British prime minister, Tony Blair. The two men are divided over how big a role the United Nations should play in a postwar Iraq. CNN's senior White House correspondent, John King, has already arrived in Belfast. He's joining me now live. When I say they're divided, John, how significant of a division is there between the president and the prime minister?</s>JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it depends on who you ask in both administrations. In Washington and London, we are told by senior officials that the difference is more on emphasis, that the British are very happy and very eager to talk about a large U.N. role. The Bush White House much more skeptical of the United Nations, talks about a more limited role. But what both camps say is that many of these questions simply are not answered yet. So it's hard to say there's a rift about something they haven't quite decided what should be yet. That is one of the goals here in these Belfast talks. Prime Minister Blair arrived just moments ago. President Bush left the White House early this morning and he is on his way. Both in London and in Washington, they say they envision a major role for the United Nations. What the White House is adamant about is that the United Nations not run the show. After recent conflicts in Kosovo, in East Timor and in Afghanistan, the United Nations took a lead role, the lead role, in administering an interim government. The White House says that will not be the case in Iraq. And earlier today, the White House view received what seemed like an endorsement from the U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan, who says the situation when it comes to Iraq is quite different than those other conflicts.</s>KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: Each crisis has its own peculiarities. Iraq is not East Timor and Iraq is not Kosovo. There are trained personnel. There is a reasonably effective civil service. There are engineers and all this, who can play a role in the -- in their own country. And as we've said before, Iraqis has to be responsible for their political future and to control their own natural resources.</s>KING: Now, what the White House wants is for a U.S.-led civil administration to go in when the shooting stops and then to hand power gradually over to an interim Iraqi authority. The White House is saying it would welcome U.N. assistance in that, especially on the humanitarian side. The White House clearly does not want a major political role for the United Nations in postwar Iraq. The British government has talked more openly of a larger consultative role, at least, for the United Nations. So the two leaders, here in Belfast, will try to hash that out. Although officials are telling us don't look for anything conclusive out of this summit, but hopefully the two leaders, they say, will come to a broad outline of what postwar Iraq, post-Saddam Iraq would look like and what subset role the United States would take in that -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: John, there's also another element of the postwar strategy, especially important to Prime Minister Blair but also important to President Bush, namely the so-called road map for Israeli/Palestinian peace negotiations to once again get off the ground. I understand that's going to be a significant item on the agenda in Northern Ireland, as well?</s>KING: It is, because Prime Minister Blair believes, and many European leaders believe, that one way to calm down all the Arab opposition to this war, the opposition to the war across the Arab world, is for the United States to step forward quickly and prove that that it is willing to push for peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis and prove that the Bush administration is willing to pressure the Sharon government in Israel to make the concessions necessary to get the parties back on the path to peace. The White House says President Bush is prepared to do that, is prepared to lay the road map out. First, they say, though, they need to see proof that the new Palestinian prime minister gets his government up and running and has day-to-day management authority. White House official saying that delays now are on the Palestinian side in getting that government up and running. Once it is up and running the president promises to put out that road map for peace. And we know full well from British officials Prime Minister Blair will press him here to keep that promise and to put the road map out as soon as possible -- Wolf?</s>BLITZER: John King in Belfast, Northern Ireland, getting ready for this important summit between the president and the prime minister.