War crimes charges dropped against 5 in Guantanamo

The Pentagon has dropped war crimes charges against five Guantanamo prisoners tied to alleged terrorism kingpin Abu Zubaydah, an official of the Office of Military Commissions said today.

Four of the men, who had been facing charges of conspiracy and material support for terrorism, were reported accomplices of "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla, who was convicted last year of identical charges in U.S. federal district court in Miami.

Susan J. Crawford, a senior Pentagon judge overseeing the commissions in her role as convening authority, gave no reason for dropping the cases against the five -- all previously described by military prosecutors as dangerous and highly connected Al Qaeda warriors -- but dismissed the charges without prejudice, meaning they could be refiled later.

The action was expected to have no influence on the men's detention, as the Bush administration claims the right to indefinitely detain anyone it has branded an "enemy combatant," whether formally charged with war crimes or not.

Defense attorneys for the prisoners said prosecutors called the move procedural, contending they needed more time to prepare for trial following the resignation this month of a fellow prosecutor, an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel who branded the military tribunal corrupt and unjust.

Lt. Col. Darrel J. Vandeveld became at least the fourth prosecutor to walk away from the tribunal in protest of political manipulations and withholding of evidence from defense lawyers.

The military lawyers for two of the men also suggested the Pentagon might be attempting to clear the war-crimes court of controversial prosecutions ahead of the Nov. 4 election, as none of the trials could be completed before a new president is inaugurated in January.

Both Democratic hopeful Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain have said they want to put an end to the Guantanamo prison and war-crimes court, which have brought international condemnation of U.S. treatment of terrorism suspects.

"My hope would be that this doesn't survive the election and we recognize the commissions process for what it is -- a historical aberration and an embarrassment that should be put behind us as soon as possible," said Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, defense attorney for Saudi prisoner Jabran Said Bin Qahtani.

Qahtani is one of five detainees already expunged from the Pentagon's roster of war-crimes cases before the announcement early today by tribunal spokesman Joseph DellaVedova.