US general hangs on as Guantanamo adviser

But Gen Hartmann left open the possibility that he could be forced to step aside if questions about his neutrality bog down other cases. "I am the legal adviser today. We take it one day at a time," he said.

A military judge barred Gen Hartmann from participating in the case against Salim Hamdan for ethical reasons last week, saying that he had aligned himself too closely with the case's prosecutors.

Defence lawyers have signalled that, arising from that judgement, they will allege improper influence in other cases as well, meaning that there could be a spate of objections to the long-delayed tribunals.

Gen Hartmann supervises the chief prosecutor at Guantanamo and has extensive powers over the tribunal system in his role as adviser.

At an April 28 hearing in Guantanamo, former chief prosecutor Air Force Colonel Morris Davis testified that Gen Hartmann had meddled in his office and had pushed for certain cases to be pursued over others, based on political considerations.

Col Davis resigned in October.

Gen Hartmann insisted that he had operated within his mandate by ensuring that prosecutors were properly trained and motivated in an office "that was not functioning at its peak."

The US says that it plans to prosecute about 80 of the roughly 270 men who have been held without charge or hearing at Guantanamo for several years on suspicion of links to terrorism, al-Qaida or the Taliban.