A U.S. military judge said a former driver for Osama bin Laden can be prosecuted by a war-crimes tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, rejecting the argument that the man is a prisoner of war and beyond the tribunal's jurisdiction. The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, said there is credible evidence that Yemeni prisoner Salim Ahmed Hamdan was bin Laden's personal driver from 1997-2001, occasionally served as a bodyguard for the al-Qaida leader, and sometimes picked up and delivered weapons. "The accused is an alien unlawful enemy combatant," Allred wrote in a decision issued Wednesday and released Thursday by military authorities.

Hamdan's lawyers argued he should be classified as a prisoner of war, with more legal protections than those granted to the unlawful enemy combatants who are to be tried before the military tribunals.

His trial is scheduled for March 3, but the defense plans to ask for a delay until May 28.

Allred's decision clears the way for Hamdan to become the first terrorism suspect to actually face trial at Guantanamo after repeated delays. David Hicks of Australia was earlier convicted in a plea bargain that returned him to his homeland to serve his sentence.

Hamdan, who U.S. military records show is about 37, faces up to life in prison if convicted by the tribunal of conspiracy and supporting terrorism. He was captured in a car with two surface-to-air missiles by Afghan troops in November 2001 and turned over to U.S. forces.

His military defense lawyer, Navy Lt. Lt. Brian Mizer, told The Associated Press he is disappointed with the decision and may make it part of an eventual appeal if Hamdan is convicted.

"I think the evidence was that he was a prisoner of war," Mizer told AP. "He was caught taking conventional weapons to a conventional force ... and it's not a crime to be a soldier."

The judge's decision was based on two days of testimony at a hearing at the Navy base in Cuba earlier this month.

The U.S. holds about 290 prisoners at Guantanamo and has said it plans to bring about 80 before the tribunals - the first to be held by the United States since the World War II era.

Written By BEN FOX