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2 Cuba detainees fed intravenously

SUMMARY:

Two of the detainees who embarked on a hunger strike at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were forced to take intravenous liquids overnight after officials determined they were getting dangerously dehydrated.

Less than a third of the 300 Taliban and al Qaeda detainees at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, continued their hunger strike Friday, two days after U.S. guards angered captives by forcing one prisoner to remove his turban while praying. (Full story)

In Kazakhstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that plans by the United States to send military experts to the former Soviet republic of Georgia to provide anti-terrorism training represents "no tragedy" for Russian interests. (Full story)

Meanwhile, the United States is prepared to send a small contingent of troops into the Middle Eastern nation of Yemen to assist the effort to root out al Qaeda and other terrorist cells, a senior U.S. official told CNN Friday. The emphasis of the still-evolving operation would be to train Yemeni forces and share intelligence, the official said. Yemen is located south of Saudi Arabia. (Full story)

Summary Update Key questions Who's who  CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

Nearly six months after the September 11 attacks, a standby U.S. government composed of senior federal agency officials remains in place at secure locations outside Washington as a precaution against a "catastrophic" strike on the nation's capital, a senior government official told CNN Friday. (Full story)

UPDATE:

Seventy-three of the 300 detainees in Cuba Friday morning refused to eat breakfast. The number is down from the 88 who declined their meals Thursday night and way down from the 194 who refused to eat at noon Thursday. The hunger strike was in response to what U.S. officials called an "unfortunate" incident when guards interrupted a detainee who was praying.

Yemen's President Saleh is under heavy U.S. pressure to crack down on al Qaeda operations in his country, and has asked for the U.S. assistance. President Bush in recent days approved the move, said an official who drew a parallel to U.S. efforts to help the governments of the Philippines and the republic of Georgia deal with terrorists within their borders.

The official was unsure of the number of U.S. troops likely to be involved except to say it was envisioned as "considerably less" than the roughly 600 U.S. troops deployed to the Philippines to help that nation's crackdown against the Abu Sayyaf terror network.

During a summit of leaders of former Soviet countries, Putin said of the U.S. military presence in Georgia: "It's no tragedy and it cannot be. "Why should they (the U.S. forces) be in Central Asia and not in Georgia?"

He added: "Every country, in particular Georgia, has the right to act in protecting its security. Russia recognizes that right."

The only sign of irritation was Putin's claim that Georgia had not informed Russia of the development.

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney has resumed a schedule that is "almost normal," as a senior official put it. The "shadow government" of "several dozen, roughly 100" senior government workers remains in place, using two secure locations in the eastern United States that were constructed for such a contingency.

Because President Bush has decided to leave the operation in place, agencies including the White House and top civilian Cabinet departments have rotated personnel involved, and are discussing ways to staff such a contingency operation under the assumption it will be in place indefinitely, the official said.

KEY QUESTIONS:

Who are the senior U.S. officials who would run the U.S. government in the event of a disastrous strike on Washington?

Is a bunker government in accordance with the Constitution?

Are members of al Qaeda in Yemen, and are they planning more attacks against U.S. interests?

How long will the Afghan war detainees be held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba?

Should U.S. military guards at Guantanamo Bay be force-feeding al Qaeda and Taliban detainees?

How much military presence will the United States have in the republic of Georgia?

Are al Qaeda fighters who fled Afghanistan hiding in Georgia?

WHO'S WHO:

Osama bin Laden: Saudi Arabian-born leader of the al Qaeda terrorist network who is accused of masterminding the September 11 strikes on the United States.

George W. Bush: U.S. president

Dick Cheney: U.S. vice president

Vladimir Putin: President of Russia