NEW YORK, March 23: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said that the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should be closed because the international community would view any trials there as tainted, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

He argued that terrorism suspects should be tried in the United States to make the proceedings more credible, the Times said.

In an exclusive report the newspaper said that Vice President Dick Cheney, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others argued against bringing detainees into the United States, and the discussion ended when President Bush agreed with them.

The newspaper quoted administration officials as saying. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had joined Gates in pushing for the facility to be closed, administration officials told the newspaper.

Indefinite detention and allegations of mistreatment at Guantanamo, which the US military denies, have tarnished the U.S. image abroad. Many countries, including US allies, have urged the camp be closed.

One official said the issue may come up again if Gonzales is forced to step down because of the battle over fired U.S. attorneys.

"Let's see what happens to Gonzales," the senior administration official told the Times. "I suspect this one isn't over yet."

The newspaper said the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were recounting confidential conversations.

The United States has brought charges against just one of the 385 foreign captives at Guantanamo. Australian David Hicks, 31, has been accused of providing material support for terrorism by fighting for al Qaeda _Afghanistan.

Hicks is charged under a new system of war crimes trials authorized by the US Congress last year.

The United States has declared its intention to try 60 to 80 of the 385 foreign captives held at Guantanamo, including 14 "high-value" prisoners sent there in September from secret

Some administration lawyers oppose bringing the captives into the United States because that would give them more constitutional and statutory rights, the newspaper said.