BAGHDAD (RTTNews) -- On Tuesday, Iraq sent a letter to the UN Security Council asking for permission to extend the tenure of U.S.-led multinational forces, or MNF, to maintain security in the country for one more year, from December 31.

“The government of Iraq considers this to be its final request to the Security Council for the extension of the mandate and expects, in future, that the Council will be able to deal with the situation in Iraq without the need for action under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter,” the letter signed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said.
The letter also asks for a provision that the Security Council be allowed to end the UN mandate at an earlier date if so asked by Baghdad.
The MNF, with a majority of U.S. troops, invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple the Saddam Hussein regime and hunt for weapons of mass destruction that were never found. The foreign troops have continued to stay in the war-torn country ever since with the support of the Security Council’s subsequent mandates.
Chapter Seven of the UN Charter authorizes the use of force to deal with threats to international peace and security.
Nouri al-Maliki mentioned in the letter that Iraqi forces have successfully taken over security functions from MNF in eight governorates and is hopeful of reaching self-sufficiency in all 18 governorates by next year.
The Iraqi leader said recently that a new pact to govern the U.S. presence would be finalized before July 2008 and that any deal would then be “taken back to the Iraqi parliament, which will have the final word”.