US seeks to extend its Iraq-policing mandate by a year

The US has circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution that would extend the mandate of the nearly 180,000-strong multinational force in Iraq for a year, a move that could face opposition from Russia and others.

The US draft to extend the forces' mandate for a full year, circulated on Wednesday, marked a change in practice before the council, because their mandate has been renewed every six months since the beginning of last year.

The current mandate authorizing the presence of the US-led force expires following parliamentary elections in Iraq on Dec. 15 -- the end point of the political process as defined by the Security Council.

This time, the resolution says the mandate would last until Dec. 31 next year and be reviewed eight months after the resolution passes.

The council would also "terminate this mandate earlier if requested by the government of Iraq," the resolution reads.

The change raised questions from Russia, which has called for security to be handed over to Iraqi forces as quickly as possible and the speedy withdrawal of multinational forces.

Russia's Ambassador Andrey Denisov, current Security Council president, said council experts started discussing the resolution on Wednesday afternoon.

"Of course it will not be automatic procedure," Denisov said. "It will be based on concrete and specific requirements by Iraqi authorities, of course. So that is why I feel that we should come to a solution which is acceptable to everybody."

protests

Meanwhile, Americans staged noisy demonstrations across the US to protest the policies of President George W. Bush on the first anniversary of his re-election.

Amid strong police presence, angry demonstrators on Wednesday chanted and waved banners and placards denouncing issues as diverse as the war in Iraq, Bush's economic polices and his administration's response to deadly Hurricane Katrina.

The protests in cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago were organized by a coalition of opponents to the administration called "The World Can't Wait -- ? Drive Out the Bush Regime" that urged employees to skip work and children to abandon classes to protest.

In the liberal West coast city of San Francisco, up to 4,000 marching protesters clogged the city's streets in a protest during which a firebomb was thrown at police. No-one was injured in the incident.

"Drive out the Bush regime!" the crowd shouted.