Start of Guantanamo trial may be delayed

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, July 18 (UPI) -- A U.S. military judge at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said Friday he might delay the start of trial for Osama bin Laden's former driver.

Keith Allred, a Navy captain assigned as the judge on Salim Hamdan's military commission, said that Lt. Commander Brian Mizer should be given access to seven "high-value" detainees, including Khalid Sheik Mohamed, the alleged planner of the 2001 terrorist attacks, The Miami Herald reported. That would give Mizer a chance to determine if they can provide information favorable to his client.

Allred said that the government has a choice -- allow access or change the travel plans of jurors and witnesses.

''You're going to have to have this resolved over the weekend,'' the judge said. ``You're the guardians of this nation's classified information and also the guardians of the checkbook. Make your election and we will respect this.''

A federal judge in Washington refused Thursday to delay the start of Hamdan's trial, which it had been scheduled to begin Monday at the U.S. base in Guantanamo.

Hamdan's lawyers say that he was not a terrorist and only worked for bin Laden to get the paycheck.