Subject: British PM Brown arrives in Iraq

From: "Amparo Seymour" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:59:27 -0800

The visit comes as unconfirmed reports suggestedBrown was considering a reduction in the number of British troops in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Reports said as many as 2,000 troops could be home by the spring, according to the British Press Association. The Basra contingent could fall to little over 3,000 in the next six months, the PA reported, citing The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
 In early September Brown dismissed a suggestion that a withdrawal by UK troops from their base in the southern Iraqi city of Basra was a defeat, insisting it was an "organized" move. He made the comments as 500 British troops completed their withdrawal from Basra Palace.
 Carol Ann Gotbaum may have accidentally strangled herself while trying to get out of her handcuffs, Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said Saturday.
 In Asia on Tuesday, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 200 points to close up 1.19 percent at 17,047, its highest finish since August 9. Technology companies Sony (4.2 percent) and Canon (2.6 percent) and automakers Nissan (3 percent) were among the biggest gainers.
 "But I have seen him verbally and mentally assault many people," Allen told CNN. "He's good with mind games. He's good at twisting people's realities and manipulating people."
 Gotbaum was the mother of three young children and the daughter-in-law of longtime New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. 
 "The mother has cooperated with us," De Meo said. "We believe that the mother was not aware of anything that went on with this young girl. It was very sad for her to find this out." 
 "According to investigators, it appeared as though Ms. Gotbaum had possibly tried to manipulate the handcuffs from behind her to the front, got tangled up in the process, and they ended up around her neck area," he said.
 While handcuffed, the New Yorker became "disruptive" and she was taken to a holding room, where she was left alone, Hill told CNN affiliate KTVK.
 Witnesses told police that Gotbaum was "yelling and screaming" and running through the terminal Friday. She was arrested for disorderly conduct.
 Investigators said officers went to check on her five to 10 minutes later. Police policy requires that be done every 15 minutes.
 Finding Gotbaum "unconscious and not breathing," Hill said, officers performed CPR. 
 Allen said nobody realized the child had been abused.
 "Sometime during the time she went into custody, she went into medical distress," he said.
 Betsy Gotbaum called Carol Ann Gotbaum "a wonderful, wonderful person" and a great mother. She said the family was dealing with the situation "the best way we can." 
 A spokeswoman for the Maricopa County medical examiner said an autopsy would be conducted Monday morning.
 Authorities have identified Chester A. Stiles, 37, as the suspect in the tape. A  resident of Pahrump, Nevada, he remains at-large, De Meo said. Pahrump is about 60 miles west of Las Vegas.
(CNN)  -- Darren Tuck, the man who gave police a tape depicting the rape of a 3-year-old girl, turned himself in Sunday to Nye County, Nevada, authorities.
 Someone close to Stiles told investigators Stiles is a "survivalist type" and always carries a weapon, Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett said. 
 CNN and other news organizations did so until the child was found, and De Meo asked media to stop showing the picture. 
 Stiles was a distant friend of the girl's family, De Meo said. 
   Todd Allen, a Las Vegas resident, told CNN he once lived with the girl from the video and her mother. He said he recognizes his old apartment from scenes in the video. He said he knows the suspect because Allen's mother dated Stiles and the couple spent time together at Allen's apartment. Watch Allen describe Stiles and the girl ť
 "She's what you'd expect a little girl in elementary school to be like," he said. "You would never know something like that happened. Ever."