November 5, 2001

World Wide Web is proving to be useful source of information, understanding and certainty about Sept 11 terrorist attacks and all that has come after; some sites provide predigested information, but others specialize in links to raw source material, offering cornucopias of original reports about terrorism, State Department cables about Afghanistan or Justice Department indictments of terrorists, including Osama bin Laden; photos (M)

Companies re-evaluate Web site initiatives as economy slows, giving priority to projects that cut costs and bolster sales; such projects are often based on simple but powerful ability of Internet to connect to customers, suppliers and employees; companies are cutting back on initiatives with less direct impact on the bottom line, including exchanges and marketplaces that were meant to transform buying and selling between companies; drawing (M)

Tajikistan and US move toward agreement that could lead to American military strikes against Taliban forces from its territory; Tajikistan would receive millions of dollars in return; Pentagon officials say that if bases are found to be in satisfactory condition, warplanes could use them for bombing raids against Taliban forces in Afghanistan; say air field could be used by helicopter-borne Special Operations forces, and as hub for military supplies being sent to Northern Alliance and relief supplies being dropped to Afghan refugees by US Air Force; US military will also look at bases in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan; Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen Richard B Myers, says US is rushing supplies to Northern Alliance forces so they can fight through winter; photo; map (M)

Interview with Nelofer Pazira, Afghan-Canadian journalist who appears in Kandahar, film based on own effort to return to Afghanistan to aid friend; photo (M)

Growing number of voices in mainstream news media are raising, if not necessarily agreeing with, idea of torturing terrorism suspects or detainees who refuse to talk; some human rights advocates say weighing torture as possible course of action could begin process of legitimizing its use (M)