Testimony begins in Guantanamo war crimes trial

By Jim Loney

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden's driver was so close to al Qaeda's inner circle he knew the target of the fourth hijacked jetliner in the September 11 attacks, a prosecutor said on Tuesday in the first Guantanamo war crimes trial.

Hamdan's lawyer said the Yemeni, who was held for nearly seven years before his trial, was simply a paid employee of the fugitive al Qaeda leader, a driver in the motor pool who never joined the militant group or plotted attacks on America.

Prosecutor Timothy Stone told the six-member jury of U.S. military officers who will decide Hamdan's guilt or innocence that Hamdan had inside knowledge of the 2001 attacks on the United States because he overheard a conversation between bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

"Virtually no one knew the intended target, but the accused knew," Stone said.

Hamdan, a father of two with a fourth-grade education, entered a not guilty plea to charges of conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism on Monday, the opening day of the first U.S. war crimes trial since World War Two. He could face life in prison if convicted.

United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania. U.S. officials have never stated it was shot down although rumors saying that abound to this day.

Prosecutors have said Hamdan had direct access to al Qaeda's leaders. Stone told the jury that Hamdan earned the trust of bin Laden during a trial period from 1996 to 1998 and helped him flee after attacks on U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998 and the September 11 attacks.

"He served as bodyguard, driver, transported and delivered weapons, ammunition and supplies to al Qaeda," Stone said.  Continued...