U.S. Charges Australian Linked to al-Qaida
The Pentagon said Thursday that David Hicks, an Australian held at the U.S. naval prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be tried for alleged al-Qaida activities in Afghanistan. Hicks is charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy, the Pentagon said in a news release. He will be tried before a military commission but will not face the death penalty, according to terms the United States agreed to last year in negotiations with Australia. The charges allege that Hicks attended several al-Qaida training courses at camps in Afghanistan and fought alongside al-Qaida and the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks until his capture in December 2001. Full Story