LONDON, April 2 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - In what seems to be a new show of division between the two war allies, British Prime Minister Tony Blair stressed Wednesday, April 2, that Iraq must be governed by Iraqis, not Americans, as soon as the war is over.

"Iraq in the end should not be run by the Americans, should not be run by the British, should not be run by any outside force or power," he told lawmakers in his weekly question period in the House of Commons.

"It should be run for the first time in decades by the Iraqi people," he said in his clearest statement yet on the shape of post-Saddam Iraq, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The statement puts Blair on a collision course with the U.S. administration whose officials repeatedly insisted that Americans should be at the helm in Iraq.

Facing tough public opposition, even among members of his own Labor Party, to joining the U.S. aggression against Iraq, Blair reiterated Britain's determination to see that any interim post-war administration in Iraq is endorsed by the United Nations.

Post-war Iraq should be run "by Iraqi people on basis of a broadly representative government that protects human rights and that is committed to peace and stability in the (Gulf) region," he asserted.

Under the plan, the government will consist of 23 ministries, each headed by an American.

Every ministry will also have four Iraqi advisers appointed by the Americans, according to British press reports.

The proposed government would take over Iraq city by city and areas declared "liberated" by chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Tommy Franks would be transferred to the temporary government under the overall control of Jay Garner, a former U.S. general.

But Blair believed that an Iraqi-ruled government is a public request in Iraq.

"I am quite sure that is what the vast majority of the Iraqi people want to see," he stressed.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was traveling Wednesday to Berlin, then on to NATO headquarters in Brussels, for talks focusing on post-war Iraq and its reconstruction.

The rift between London and Washington first surfaced when Blair met Bush at Camp David on Thursday, March 27.

Blair insisted that a new U.N Security Council resolution is needed to authorize an interim U.N. administration and release funds for reconstruction.

U.S. Undersecretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs Alan Larson claimed that the Bush administration’s decision to give American firms the lion’s share of these juicy contracts in Iraq was only to serve the interests of the Iraqi people.

"The awarding of these contracts was about how can we make sure that the Iraqi people get the help that they need quickly, not about who is going to get the economic benefits of post-conflict reconstruction in Iraq."

The rebuilding process may represent a pot of gold, with the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) estimating it will cost up to 30 billion dollars over the next three years.

On Tuesday, March 25, the U.S. army granted the main Iraqi oil-well firefighting contract to a unit of Halliburton Co., a firm once run by Vice President Dick Cheney, without any bidding.

The Center for Responsive Politics recalled that Halliburton had poured 17,6 million dollars into Bush's 2000 presidential campaign.

Two other U.S. companies have benefited from contracts worth a total of 11.9 million dollars, including one to manage the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has already opened bidding for eight major projects, ranging from infrastructure to public health.

According to British media, many bids by British companies have been denied.

France, on its part, is also "alarmed by reports that the Bush administration may award the lion's share of Iraqi reconstruction contracts to U.S. firms," said the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.