The U.S. military said it will try Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks, an Australian, on a charge of supporting terrorism within about four months. Hicks, who was captured in Afghanistan in 2001, will be arraigned within about 30 days, the Defense Department said in a press release. A military judge approved one charge of ``providing material support for terrorism.'' Previously, a U.S. official had said Hicks might also face an attempted murder charge. Hicks has been held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for five years without trial. His case has been a sore point in Australian-U.S. relations and a liability for Australian Prime Minister John Howard, an ally in President George W. Bush's war on terrorism. Pressure has been growing among Australian voters for Hicks to be formally charged and tried.
Howard last week urged the Bush administration to deal ``expeditiously'' with Hicks. Vice President Dick Cheney, who was visiting Australia last week, promised that Hicks would be tried soon and that if found guilty, he will serve his sentence in Australia. Sixty percent of 1,152 Australian voters said the government's stance on Hicks would affect how they vote in an election this year, according to a Newspoll survey published on Jan. 23.
The charge of supporting terrorism was approved by military Judge Susan J. Crawford. On Feb. 15, U.S. prosecutor Colonel Mo Davis told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that Hicks might also face a charge of attempted murder. The deadline for bringing Hicks to trial is four months after he is served with papers, and that will happen within days, according to Navy Commander J.D. Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman.