Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama will sign an executive order, possibly as early as today, to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 12 months, said an intelligence official who requested anonymity.

The order would come a day after the Obama administration, asserting “the interests of justice,” moved to suspend military war crimes trials of suspected terrorists held at the U.S. naval base in Cuba.

The American Civil Liberties Union distributed what it said was a draft of the order that called for shutting Guantanamo. The camp “shall be closed as soon as practicable and no later than one year,” the order said. ABC News said the order may be signed as soon as today along with two other orders setting rules for the treatment of detainees.

Obama plans to meet with retired military officers this morning to discuss executive orders on detention and interrogation policy, according to the White House schedule.

Two military judges yesterday granted requests by the administration to delay war crimes tribunals to give the new government time to examine its policies. There are 21 cases now before the military commissions.

The developments on Obama’s first full day in office reflected the administration’s determination to quickly reshape the U.S. policy on trying detainees at Guantanamo.

Obama has repeatedly vowed to shut the camp. The prison has spurred criticism of the U.S. from allies in Europe such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

In one of the postponed trials, a military judge approved the government’s request to freeze the case against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described architect of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and four other detainees accused of participating in the plot.

In the second case, a different judge postponed the murder trial of Omar Ahmed Khadr, a Canadian who was 15 when he was taken into U.S. custody in 2002 and later accused of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan with a grenade during a fire fight. The judge’s action was confirmed in court papers released by the Office of Military Commissions.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters yesterday the pause in the tribunals would permit “a comprehensive review” of the Guantanamo cases. He declined to say whether it would be the first step toward closing the prison.

Directive Issued

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush administration, issued the directive seeking the delays on orders from Obama.

Military prosecutors said in court papers the purpose of the directive is to “permit the newly inaugurated president and his administration time to review the military-commission process.”

The evaluation will determine whether prosecution of detainees ineligible for release or transfer to another country “may be warranted,” the papers said. Prosecutors have said they may bring charges against as many as 60 other detainees at Guantanamo.

At Senate confirmation hearings last week, Eric Holder, Obama’s nominee to be attorney general, said some of the 245 detainees at Guantanamo may be tried in federal court. Military commissions, which Obama has previously criticized as flawed, would only be used if “substantially revamped” to provide detainees with more due-process rights, Holder said.

‘Benefit of the Accused’

Military prosecutors said in court papers that “changes in the military-commissions process might inure to the benefit of the accused.”

Khadr’s lawyers didn’t object to the delay. Human rights activists say he shouldn’t be tried because he is accused of committing war crimes as a child.

Mohammed and his fellow defendants in the Sept. 11 terrorist case have offered to plead guilty and face the death penalty.

The judge in that case, Army Colonel Stephen Henley, decided yesterday that the government’s arguments in favor of suspending the trials “outweigh the best interests of the accused and the public in a prompt trial.”

Henley had previously declined to accept any guilty pleas while he examines the mental state of two of the defendants, Ramzi Binalshibh and Mustafa al Hawsawi. The judge is trying to determine whether the two have the mental capacity to knowingly waive assistance of defense counsel.

To contact the reporter on this story: James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 22, 2009 00:02 EST