Three panelists dismissed from hearing Guantanamo cases

WASHINGTON -- The retired Army general overseeing the trials of at least four alleged supporters of Al Qaeda at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has dismissed three of the six officers who would pass judgment in those cases, after defense lawyers claimed potential bias.

The trials, called commissions by the military, will go ahead on schedule, the Pentagon said in a statement yesterday.

Because they need at least three panel members, proceedings will move on for Australian David Hicks and Yemeni Salim Ahmed Salim Hamdan on Nov. 1. Hicks is accused of fighting alongside the Taliban. Hamdan is accused of being one of Osama bin Laden's drivers.

The appointing authority for the commission, John D. Altenburg Jr., upheld the challenge to the three commissioners, but denied requests to dismiss two other panelists. A sixth commissioner was not challenged.

A Pentagon spokesman rejected any notion that the dismissals suggested the commission process was fatally flawed, as some critics have charged.

''We believe this decision validates the system," said Air Force Maj. Michael Shavers. ''It shows the system is flexible and can respond to change. We believe that the panel and presiding officer will fulfill their duty to provide a full and fair trial for the accused."

The military did not immediately identify which commissioners had been dismissed.

The officer presiding over the commission, Army Colonel Peter E. Brownback, will retain his post.

Brownback had been challenged by both prosecutors and defense lawyers because he had a prior friendship with Altenburg.

Altenburg and Brownback had worked together in Fort Bragg, N.C., and Brownback spoke at Altenburg's retirement roast and attended the wedding of Altenburg's son. Also, Brownback's wife worked in Altenburg's office.

Replacement commissioners will be appointed for the cases of Ali Hamza Sulayman al-Bahlul, a Yemeni accused of crafting propaganda for Al Qaeda, and Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al-Qosi, a Sudan national accused of being an Al Qaeda paymaster.

Last month, Brownback recommended the dismissal of two commissioners, including the only alternate, and the retention of two others challenged by defense lawyers.

The two men Brownback said should step aside were Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Timothy K. Toomey, an intelligence officer who was involved in the capture of suspects in Afghanistan, and the alternate, Army Lieutenant Colonel Curt S. Cooper, who acknowledged calling Guantanamo prisoners ''terrorists."