Jaafari "has asked, in a letter to the Security Council, for a one-year extension of the multinational force," Iraqia television reported.

On May 31 the Security Council granted Iraq's request to keep the multinational force in Iraq "until the end of the political process."

Security Council resolution 1546, dated June 8, 2004, was to re-examine the presence of the military force in Iraq one year later upon the request of Iraq's government.

Top Iraqi officials have repeteadly said they want the US-led force to stay because the country's fledgling army and police forces are too weak to maintain internal order.

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