Once again, we see how our Government can barter away the threat of a long jail sentence and presto, there's the light of liberty at the end of the tunnel. The Guardian reports the U.S. and the two British detainees at Guantanamo (and perhaps one Australian) are in the midst of plea negotiations.

According to the report, which originated in the Wall Street Journal, here's the deal:

The two Britons, Moazzam Begg and Feroz Abassi, provide information to the U.S. They plead guilty to war crimes. They renounce Osama and terrorism. They say they were well treated at Guantanamo. In exchange, they get a reduced jail sentence.

That happens all the time in federal criminal courts. But this isn't federal criminal court. This is the military. The men are being held as enemy combatants. So here's the kicker: They have to make this decision on their own, without the help of a civilian defense lawyer. Because, as we know, the Administration holds that enemy combatants aren't entitled to a lawyer.

Clive Stafford Smith, a lawyer who has applied to the Pentagon to represent the British inmates, said the report confirmed what he had learnt - that the Mr Begg and Mr Abassi, were being put under pressure to strike a plea deal before they were allowed to see a civilian lawyer.

Major John Smith, a US military lawyer involved in the cases, denies there are ongoing plea negotiations, although he acknowledges plea deals are permissible under military tribunals. He says the men would be allowed to meet with a military defense lawyer and a civilian lawyer if they chose to do so before having to make a decision. He denies there have been any talks of pleas with the men.