Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline reports Aug. 10 that three opposition parties—the Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, and a wing of the Socialist Party—issued a statement protesting limitations on freedom of the press in Tajikistan. The statement said that "political pluralism and freedom of speech, guaranteed by the constitution, have been subjected to pressure and risk over the past few years," noting the closure of the independent newspapers Ruzi Nav and Nerui Sukhan in the run-up to February 2005 parliamentary elections. On the day the statement was released, police arrested Nurali Mirzoev, an employee at an Internet cafe in Dushanbe, the capital, and charged him with membership in the outlawed Islamist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir. Police also confiscated Hizb ut-Tahrir leaflets and discovered the texts of the leaflets stored on computers at the cafe.

The Washington Post reports Aug. 8 that the Pentagon "has devised its first-ever war plans for guarding against and responding to terrorist attacks in the United States, envisioning 15 potential crisis scenarios and anticipating several simultaneous strikes around the country, according to officers who drafted the plans."

The Cuban government welcomed a decision by a three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to retry five Cubans convicted of spying. The five were sentenced four years ago to at least 15 years in prison on charges of spying on US military installations and exiles. However, the appeals court found that the original trial was unfair, citing a biased atmosphere against the Cuban regime in the Miami area. Cuba has campaigned intensively for the men's release, calling them the "Five Heroes." Last month, a United Nations panel also questioned the impartiality of the verdict and called the sentences unduly harsh.

Cindy Sheehan of California, mother of Spc. Casey Sheehan, killed in action in Baghdad, April 4, 2004, has written an open letter to George Bush, and is currently maintaining a vigil at the gates of Bush's ranch in Crawford, TX, where he is vacationing. Cindy is demanding that he explain to her, face-to-face, why her son had to die. Casey has been outside the ranch for fours days now, and Bush is refusing to come out. Cindy says she's staying until Bush talks to her or leaves Texas.

Iran has resumed operations at its Isfahan plant to enrich uranium ore for reactor fuel. The plant will convert yellowcake, or uranium ore, into uranium hexafluoride gas to be fed into centrifuges for uranium enrichment in the still-closed neighboring Natanz plant. Iran claims the program is purely for civilian purposes and is in compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency regulations. Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh, head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organizaiton (IAO), said that "the West must once and for all accept an atomic Iran." (DPA, Aug. 10) The move comes despite an effort by the European Union to offer Iran aid and other incentives not to resume the enrichment program. (FT, Aug. 9) It should be noted that Iran is still a long way from being able to produce a nuclear weapon. Several kilograms of uranium-235 are needed to reach the critical mass for a nuclear explosion, which would have to be processed from several tons of uranium hexafluoride using equipment the country doesn't currently have. (Nature.com, Aug. 8)

An Aug. 9 AP story (online at TruthOut) reveals that Judge John G. Roberts Jr., President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, was on a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that ruled last month to allow military tribunals for Guantanamo detainees. Lawyers for one detainee have now appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.

Haroon Rashid Aswat, a suspect in the London bombings, is in a British prison after having been extradited from Zambia. Authorities assert that he met with Osama bin Laden at a training camp in Afghanistan. He may also face extradition to the US on charges of seeking to establish a terrorist camp in Oregon. (London Times, Aug. 9)

More fodder for the conspiranoia mill is supplied by yesterday's front-page New York Times story (online at TruthOut) providing further confirmation that at least some of the 9-11 hijackers were under surveillance by the government.

Washington - More than a year before the Sept. 11 attacks, a small, highly classified military intelligence unit identified Mohammed Atta and three other future hijackers as likely members of a cell of Al Qaeda operating in the United States, according to a former defense intelligence official and a Republican member of Congress.