Senator blasts Guantanamo delays

Senator McCain made his criticisms after a visit to Guantanamo

A senior senator in the United States has criticised "unnecessary delays" in processing over 600 inmates at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay.

John McCain said conditions at the Cuba base were adequate but, after two years, "a decision should be made".

His comments come as David Hicks - dubbed the Australian Taleban - was expected to become the first detainee to be able to see his lawyer.

He is one of six men listed as eligible for trial by a US military commission.

The move has sparked speculation that Mr Hicks may be pondering a plea bargain to avoid a military tribunal.

But Mr Hick's lawyers have questioned whether they will be able to offer him a robust defence, having had no access to him for two years.

'Decision time'

Senator McCain told Associated Press news agency that "bureaucratic inertia and fear of making a wrong decision" had led to delays in deciding what to do with Guantanamo's 660 inmates.

"I think the conditions are adequate, in some cases more than adequate. But my concern is the disposition of the prisoners," he said.

Mr McCain was a prisoner of war for nearly six years during the Vietnam War.

"These cases have to be disposed of one way or another. After keeping someone two years, a decision should be made."

Mr McCain said he would be urging the Pentagon to move ahead.

Presents

Australian lawyer Stephen Kenny is set to be the first defence counsel allowed into Guantanamo when he sees his client David Hicks at the beginning of a five-day trip to the base.

Accompanying him will be Mr Hicks' military-appointed counsel, Major Michael Mori.

A typical boy who couldn't settle down David Hicks' parents Profile: The 'Australian Taleban'

Mr Hicks, 28, was captured by Northern Alliance troops near Kandahar in December 2001 - allegedly while fighting for the Taleban.

Mr Kenny flew out to Washington last Sunday for meetings with US military authorities and Australian embassy officials, and to meet Major Mori. He was also reportedly being briefed by Human Rights Watch.

Reports say Mr Kenny has taken vegemite, chocolate, a videotaped family message and a magazine on Australian fishing in his luggage for Mr Hicks.

According to the Australian newspaper The Age, Mr Kenny said he was banned from seeing Mr Hicks without Major Mori present and was still negotiating a US military demand that he not speak to the media without authorisation.

But Mr Kenny said he felt "able to work together" with Major Mori, and was "more concerned about the military commissions themselves".

Speculation

The sudden granting of access to his lawyer by US authorities has led to some speculation that Mr Hicks could be negotiating a plea bargain - that is, an offer to plead guilty in return for a reduced sentence or lesser charges.

Mr Kenny said he did not yet know if his client - who has not yet been formally charged - had agreed such a deal.

"It is common in the United States to discuss plea bargains, even at this stage, and I will assume that that will be one of the topics," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

But Mr Kenny also expressed concerns about "how we can provide a defence for someone who has been essentially locked in a cage for two years, the last six months in solitary confinement".