Trial headache for US

Marines are carrying pictures of al-Qaeda leaders

By the BBC's Mike Fox in Washington

US marines are scouring the mountains around Kandahar in an effort to hunt down key members of the Taleban and al-Qaeda.

Every marine above the rank of seargant is carrying a set of photos of the key members.

The problems of a trial suggest the US might be happier if Bin Laden and Omar were killed in some way in Afghanistan

If they do manage to catch them, the United States then has to decide what to do with them.

So far senior figures in the US administration, from President George W Bush downwards, have avoided spelling out exactly what should happen to Osama Bin Laden and the Taleban leader Mullah Omar.

They also have not said publicly how more junior commanders would be treated as well.

The US may have decided what to do, but every option seems fraught with difficulties.

If the two men are tried in an open court, officials fear that pictures or information from the proceedings would be twisted by supporters or sympathisers of the Taleban, and used as propaganda against the US.

If Mr Bush decides to hold any trial in a closed military court, that will prove very controversial and will attract criticism from civil liberties groups both at home and abroad.

When the administration gave itself the powers to set up closed military tribunals in November, it came under sustained criticism for undermining the rights of defendents, and this is bound to be repeated if the two key men are tried behind closed doors.

The closed trials were also criticised because one of the tenets of democracy is people should be tried in public.

Trials abroad?

The US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, has recently indicated that it might be acceptable to "bring them to justice" in another country, if suitable arrangements can be made.

This could involve Mullah Omar being tried by the new government of Afghanistan which takes power later this month.

Before the surrender of Kandahar, interim leader Hamid Karzai had suggested the Taleban leadership would get some form of amnesty along with the footsoldiers - but he has now said Mullah Omar must be tried for the harm his regime did to Afghanistan.

Mr Rumsfeld suggested Bin Laden could face trial in his native Saudi Arabia.

Even such trials would be problematic for the US. It will want to ensure that it is seen as a fair one, and that any punishment matches the expectations at home.

That may be difficult to achieve, given the continuing sympathies towards the Taleban in the general populations of both countries.

Potential martyrs

Mr Rumsfeld has said it would be unacceptable for Mullah Omar to "live in dignity" somewhere in Afghanistan.

The problems of a trial suggest the US might be happier if they were killed in some way in Afghanistan.

The danger for the US then is that their supporters could turn them into martyrs.

The problems of the war in Afghanistan may be nearly over, but the pursuit of the two men could prove even more difficult to prosecute.