UZBEKISTAN UPDATE: The State Department is evacuating families of workers there.

Meanwhile, Christopher Hitchens writes on Karimov — and I agree with this observation:

It has always to be remembered that such regimes will not last forever, and that one day we will be asked, by their former subjects, what we were doing while they were unable to speak for themselves. Better to have the answer ready now and to consider American influence in a country as the occasion for leverage rather than as the occasion for awkward silence.

Indeed. Perhaps Karimov is afraid we’ll do just that.

UPDATE: A reader emails:

I work with the State Dept and I haven’t seen anything saying that families have been evacuated. I see a travel warning and nothing else.

Hmm. I don’t know any more on this. Does anyone?

ANOTHER UPDATE: It’s official, now:

The Department of State has authorized the departure of non-emergency personnel and all eligible family members of U. S. Embassy personnel and urges all U.S. citizens to defer non-essential travel to Uzbekistan.

The blogosphere’s sources are just way ahead of the official version.