Basra, Jul 17, (VOI) – Government officials and politicians in Basra have had varied reactions over a new report calling on the British government to pull out its troops from Iraq once Iraqi forces are trained, "regardless of the security situation."

The report, submitted on Sunday to the British government by a high-ranking commission that examined UK policy in Iraq, headed by Paddy Ashdown, highlighted the importance of British coordination with the United Nations and Iraq's neighbors in promoting the country's reconstruction and strengthening its armed forces.

The British troops' withdrawal rate "should be determined not by the security situation - which allows militias and insurgents to determine our withdrawal - but by the state of training of the Iraqi forces," said the commission, which was formed in the manner of the U.S. Baker-Hamilton commission, also known as the Iraq Study Group (ISG), which submitted a similar report to U.S. President George W. Bush in December 2006, urging Washington to change course on Iraq.

The report further added that there were "no good options left" in Iraq, indicating that the British government has to "redefine its objectives."

Interviewing a number of Iraqi parliamentarians and government officials over the report, MP Uqil Abdul Hassan from the Sadrist bloc told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) that the report cast doubt on Britain's intentions to arm the Iraqi army.

"We have heard a lot about linking withdrawal plans to the readiness of Iraqi security forces," Hassan said. Claiming that the British forces do not want the Iraqi forces to operate independently, Hassan said that the commission's recommendations were only made for media consumption.

On the internationalization of the Iraqi issue, Hassan said that the UN's role in Iraq is "marginal," urging the international organization to play a more active role and move away from U.S. influence.

Basra Governor Muhammad al-Waili told VOI that the Iraqi government alone can determine the readiness of its forces to take over security responsibility from the Multi-National Forces (MNF). "I think the Iraqi forces need a long time to be able to protect the city (Basra) and establish security," the governor indicated.

An informed source from Basra local government told VOI that a British commission, headed by the chairman of the House of Commons' Defense Committee, visited the province a few weeks ago to evaluate the security situation and met with a number of Iraqi politicians and social figures.

Abu Muhammad, an official from the Iraqi Communist Party Organization in Basra, said that it was not the right time to link troop pull-out to the readiness of the Iraqi forces.

"The occupying forces must first provide security and stability and deal with the chaos that it caused," Muhammad indicated.

Meanwhile, Major Matthew Bird, a media spokesman for the Multi-National Forces in southern Iraq, said, "The recommendations set by the commission will not change the British government's policy towards the Iraqi issue."

"The withdrawal of British forces is linked to the state of training of the Iraqi forces. The British forces are currently training the Iraqi army in all fields, and the Iraqi forces have made much headway," Bird explained.

Some 5,500 British troops are now stationed in Basra after 1,600 soldiers were withdrawn during the past few months. British forces are patrolling the border strip with Iran in the province of Missan, 390 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

A total of 159 British servicemen have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, a large number compared to the relatively small number of British troops in the country.