U.S. Postpones Tribunals for 2 British Detainees

Bowing to British concerns, President Bush has decided to postpone military tribunal proceedings against two British nationals being held as enemy combatants at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, it was announced Friday.

The White House also announced that Bush would similarly delay proceedings against an Australian citizen under detention at the camp in Cuba, pending discussions next week between U.S. and Australian legal experts. Like Britain, Australia has been an unwavering U.S. ally in the Iraq war.

In a joint statement, Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said legal experts from both countries would meet next week in Washington to discuss how to handle the British cases.

“The president and the prime minister are confident that their experts will be able to agree on a solution that satisfies the mutual interests of the U.S.” and Britain, the statement said.

The detention of the two British citizens, captured during the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, has been a focal point of the criticism Blair has faced at home for his unstinting support of the war with Iraq.

Also Friday, Reuters news agency reported that 37 detainees have been released from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, where terrorism suspects captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere have been held without charges. A senior defense official said he could not confirm the number, but he acknowledged that some releases were in progress. More than 600 foreign nationals from Afghanistan and dozens of other countries remain at the prison.

By deferring to British sensibilities on the two detainees, at least for now, Bush appeared to be paying back a staunch ally that has stood with him since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- but especially during the current uproar over Bush’s prewar allegation, based on British intelligence, that Iraq had attempted to acquire uranium in Africa.

Blair visited Bush at the White House on Thursday and also drew a rousing reception during his appearance before a joint session of Congress. Before ending his brief visit to Washington, Blair also vigorously defended the decision to wage war to oust Saddam Hussein.

The White House announced Bush’s decisions while he was in Dallas to tout physical fitness at a local YMCA and attend an evening fund-raiser for his reelection campaign.

The president’s decisions on the detainees highlighted anew the legal debate over his administration’s use of extraordinary means against people captured in Afghanistan, including suspected Taliban supporters who may not have direct ties to terrorist activities.

Although the Bush administration has defended the Guantanamo Bay detention camp as humane, the policy has sparked widespread civil liberties concerns in Europe. Guantanamo prisoners, mostly suspected members of the Al Qaeda terrorist network, have been held and interrogated without being charged or allowed to contact lawyers.

The two British nationals are Feroz Abbasi, 23, and Moazzam Begg, 35, who were among the first to be identified by the U.S. as candidates for trial. The Australian has been identified by his government as David Hicks.

Many in Britain argue that military tribunals violate fair trial guarantees, and more than 200 members of Parliament have demanded that the British suspects be repatriated to face trial at home. Although the fate of Abbasi and Begg is now unclear, Bush has made little effort to mask his views toward them. During his White House news conference with Blair on Thursday, Bush said of the men: “The only thing I know for certain is that these are bad people.”

After attending the campaign fund-raiser here, the president and First Lady Laura Bush returned to their ranch near Crawford, Texas. Today, they are scheduled to attend another fund-raiser, in Houston. A spokesman for the Bush reelection campaign said the two events in the president’s home state are expected to raise $7 million. Earlier in the day, the first lady spoke at a $500,000 fund-raiser in Raleigh, N.C.

On Sunday, the president will play host to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at the ranch.