rollo weeks

BASRA, Iraq (AP) ― Britain's prime minister announced plans Tuesday to withdraw more than 1,000 troops from Iraq by year's end, and Iraq said it will take over security from British forces in the southern Basra province within two months.

Brown was on an unannounced visit, which included a brief, private meeting with U.S. Commander David Petraeus and U.S. Embassador Ryan Crocker, before the British leader flew to Basra to meet with his forces and military leaders in the oil-rich region in the deep south of Iraq.

U.S. and Iraqi authorities have aired concerns that a British drawdown could jeopardize the region's rich oil resources and the land supply routes from Kuwait to Baghdad.

But Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said his forces "are prepared to take over security of Basra within two months and we will."

"Basra will be one of the provinces where Iraqi forces will completely take over security," he said after the meeting in his Green Zone office.

Brown confirmed al-Maliki's plans and said, "as we move to overwatch, we can move down to 4,500." Brown, who said he was optimistic the troops would be home by Christmas, spoke at the Green Zone residence of Britain's top commander in Iraq, Gen. Bill Rollo.

The White House said the Bush administration was comfortable with the British withdrawing 1,000 more troops by year's end.

"The Iraq security forces have been working with the British in Basra, and they've been working to get this point where the Iraqis said they are able to take over the security. It seems to me that the British are right on schedule with what they had planned several months ago," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.

"There still are going to be 4,500 British troops in the area right there in Basra and another 1,000 in the region."

Brown added that any further decision on British troop withdrawals would be made next year.

Later in Basra, the prime minister gave a five-minute speech to British, Australian and U.S. forces, commending their courageous service.

"You are building a democracy in this country by sustaining the people who want the people of this country and not terrorists to control the future of this country," he said.

British troops vacated their last remaining downtown Basra base last month, accelerating calls from the British public to reduce force levels further.

Britain currently has about 5,500 soldiers based mainly at an air base on the fringes of the southern city of Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad.

Britain's Defense Ministry said rocket and mortar attacks on their base at Basra airport had fallen sharply in the last month, with only a few attempted strikes.

Karim al-Miahi, the head of the Basra security committee and a member in the provincial council said, "The withdrawal of the British forces has had a negative effect on security in the city. Iraqi forces still are not able to control the situation which has deteriorated over the past three weeks. There has been an increase in assassinations of police and religious leaders. As for the areas around the British base, the situation is more stable. Shelling there has stopped."

Abdul-Maunim Karim, 50, a retired sailor who lives near the presidential palace now vacated by the British, agreed the area was quieter because the shelling had stopped. "But throughout the city violence remains at about the levels before the British troops left."

Ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair was greeted with a salvo of mortars as he made a final visit to the camp before leaving office in June. Soldiers at the time reported as many as 10 strikes a day.

Military leaders hope that Britain will remain in charge only of training Iraq troops and border guards, securing key supply lines and responding to emergencies when called on by local commanders.

The planned troop reduction in Basra came as the country saw record low casualty numbers for September, suggesting U.S.-led forces are making headway against extremist factions and disrupting their ability to strike back.

The U.S. military toll for September was 65, the lowest since July 2006, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press from death announcements by the American command and Pentagon.

More dramatic, however, was the decline in Iraqi civilian, police and military deaths. The figure was 988 in September ― 50 percent lower than the previous month and the lowest tally since June 2006, when 847 Iraqis died.

The Iraqi death count is considered a minimum based on AP reporting. The actual number is likely higher, as many killings go unreported.

On Tuesday, 11 people were killed, including two women, a child and four police officers, in five separate attacks, including a suicide car bombing at a police checkpoint near Khalis, 50 miles north of Baghdad. Frank Hadden outlined his determination to keep his squad "on their toes" after naming Scotland's starting line-up for Sunday's World Cup Pool C match against Portugal in St Etienne.

By recalling Dan Parks, Scott Murray, Marcus Di Rollo and Scott Lawson to his team, Hadden feels he has the right balance to overcome what is expected to be erratic but spirited Portuguese opposition.

There are greater challenges to come from the likes of New Zealand and Italy later this month, and players such as Chris Paterson, Ross Ford and Andrew Henderson - all missing from the starting XV for this weekend - will surely return.

But Hadden is happy with the side he is putting out to do a job against the World Cup debutants.

"We have a few weeks ahead of us and we want to get the right balance with this game, while keeping the squad on their toes," he said.

"We haven't got the deepest resources in the world so we have to try to create that intensity that happens so naturally in other countries.

"I like to keep my players on their toes. You cannot just expect to play for Scotland.

"You have to earn it and have to constantly work on everything you do. What we have tried to do is create a competitive atmosphere where players have to fight to play for Scotland.

"We wanted to get the balance and selection in this match as good as possible. We are not just here to give opportunities to players.

"The gloves are off."

Paterson, the dead-eye kicker who started at fly-half in both of the August Tests against Ireland and South Africa, will be on the bench on Sunday, giving Glasgow number 10 Parks another chance to impress.

"Dan has trained very well and is playing very well," Hadden said. "When we discussed the selection, we all agreed instantly and came to the conclusion that this is where we want to go in this match."

Elsewhere, Murray, Scotland's record cap-holder, resumes his partnership with Nathan Hines in the second row.

James Hamilton, who like Paterson started both warm-up games, drops out of the 22, with Scott MacLeod the cover at lock.

Marcus Di Rollo comes in for the injured Andrew Henderson (dead leg) at centre, while Scott Lawson and Allan Jacobsen are preferred to Ross Ford and Gavin Kerr at hooker and prop respectively.

Hadden has gone with what appears to be his favoured back row of Jason White, Allister Hogg and Simon Taylor, while the back three of the Lamont brothers - Rory and Sean - and Simon Webster is also kept intact.

Di Rollo has had to play second fiddle to Rob Dewey and Henderson of late, but the latter's leg injury has opened the door for the Edinburgh centre.

He is determined to take his chance, and told PA Sport: "I am absolutely delighted to be back in the side.

"It has been a long road to the World Cup and a lot of training, and it is these kind of days you have been waiting for.

"I now just want to put a marker down and show what I can do.

"It is nothing too serious from Andrew's point of view, but it is keeping him out of this game and it gives me an opportunity.

"This team has been picked to focus on doing well in this game. We will see where we go from there."

Scotland are expected to post a cricket score against the Iberian amateurs before returning to Murrayfield for the second group game, against Romania.

But Hadden remains wary, adding: "We are respectful of the progress Portugal have made, so it's very important we start the game well.

"I am aware that in the past, we have not been at our best when we are favourites in a match. We are used to being the underdog.

"But I think we have a different kind of power and strength available to us now, and we definitely want to see this bear fruit on Sunday."

AFTER at last resuming his role as Scotland's first-choice stand-off in the two Autumn Tests, Chris Paterson gave way to Dan Parks in Scotland's first match of the Rugby World Cup, the 56-10 win over Portugal eight days ago. Paterson is back in the team for tomorrow night's game against Romania - but on the left wing, as Parks will again play at No10.

The question now is when in this tournament will Frank Hadden decide the time is right to do what he has apparently been planning to do for a month or more, and field his most creative player in the most influential position on the park from the start?

Against the All Blacks in six days, when damage limitation might be the name of the game? Against Italy, in a game which should be claustrophobically tight? Or perhaps in a quarter-final against Argentina, which could also be a low-scoring game dominated by kicking and scrummaging?

Such questions inevitably present themselves when one examines the team announced by Hadden yesterday, for there is a plausible explanation for every other selection. The coach has, as expected, opted for fine-tuning rather than making wholesale changes: Paterson and three others who did not start the last match have been drafted in, and there is also a change of position for Simon Webster, who moves in from the wing to make his first international start at outside centre.

Webster replaces Marcus di Rollo, who is rested after being one of Scotland's least convincing players against Portugal. The other three changes are all in the pack, reflecting the strength of the Romanian forwards: Gavin Kerr starts at loosehead in place of Allan Jacobsen, whose calf injury eight days ago ruled him out of the World Cup; Ross Ford takes over at hooker from Scott Lawson; and Jim Hamilton is at lock instead of Scott Murray.

Like Jacobsen and Di Rollo, Murray has been left out of the 22, as has Rory Lawson, who came on at scrum-half in the Portugal match. Chris Cusiter takes Lawson's place, while the other two new names on the bench are Craig Smith, the Edinburgh prop, and Nikki Walker, the Ospreys wing.

Walker should be given a run-out in the second half when Paterson takes over from Parks, which may occur with 20 minutes to go if the game is in the bag by then. Since committing himself before the tournament to using both Paterson and Parks at No10, Hadden has shown no sign of changing his strategy.

"Both players will play in every game, from [the Autumn Test against] Ireland to our last match in this tournament," he said then. "It's just a question of who starts and how long he plays for. These are our two stand-offs and we need to manage them through the tournament, to use their strengths and weaknesses to our advantage."

Parks's kicking from hand may be longer, and there is little between the two defensively, but otherwise Paterson has the edge. One of the best place-kickers in world rugby, he has the rare asset of being able to create openings out of nothing. That asset can be enough to turn the tide in a tough game, something which kicking an extra few yards cannot do.

Parks is the conservative choice. For all that he was born in Australia, he epitomises the old-school, unadventurous Northern Hemisphere rugby which has been exposed as inadequate over the past couple of weeks.

Hadden's selection of his outside-half for the forthcoming games may be determined by how well the team fare tomorrow. He clearly does not want to go down as the first Scotland coach at a World Cup who could not get his side into the last eight, but the desire to evade that negative label could in fact force him down too negative a route.

The way the tournament is going, Scotland could find themselves in a quarter-final against Argentina, who are on course to win Pool D. Granted, the Pumas would be formidable opponents, but it remains to be seen how much a group that includes matches with France and Ireland will have taken out of them. The Scots would at least stand a chance of making the last four for the first time in 16 years, but to turn that chance into reality Hadden will surely have to field his most adventurous line-up; that is, the one capable of playing the most rugby.

Hadden explained that the reasoning behind this particular back line was the lingering leg injury which has ruled Andy Henderson out of the first two matches. "Jason White, [the Scotland captain] has three real lieutenants in the three-quarter line and they are Dan Parks, Chris Paterson and Andy Henderson," he said. "They are three guys who are capable of making the sort of strategic decisions on the hoof that need to be made during a match, and in Andy's absence I felt the need to get Chris and Dan on the pitch at the same time."

Henderson is up and running again, and will come into contention for the All Blacks game at Murrayfield on Sunday. If the inside centre is passed fit, and if Hadden judges Scotland have nothing to lose, Paterson could be handed the No10 jersey for that one.

But what if Scotland lose heavily? Will that be Paterson's chance come and gone? That would be cruel, but at present it is also all too conceivable.