WASHINGTON - PRESIDENT Barack Obama says he is restarting US military tribunals for a small number of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo though with several new legal protections for defendants.

Mr Obama said in a statement on Friday that his approach is 'the best way to protect our country, while upholding our deeply held values.'

VIDEO Obama to revive Gitmo tribunals (1:28)

The decision puts Mr Obama in the position of reviving a Bush-era trial system he once assailed as deeply flawed - and opposed as a senator.

The move is certain to face criticism from liberal groups, already stung by his decision on Wednesday to try to block the court-ordered release of photos showing US troops abusing prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. That decision marked a reversal of his earlier stand on making the photos public.

'It's disappointing that Mr Obama is seeking to revive rather than end this failed experiment,' said Jonathan Hafetz, a national security attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union.

'There's no detainee at Guantanamo who cannot be tried and shouldn't be tried in the regular federal courts system. Even with the proposed modifications, this will not cure the commissions or provide them with legitimacy. This is perpetuating the Bush administration's misguided detention policy.'

Answering liberal complaints, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters: 'First and foremost, the president does what is in the best security interest of the United States.'

Thirteen detainees - including five charged with helping orchestrate the Sept 11, 2001, attacks - are already in the tribunal system.

The president said that immediate rule changes governing the trials, carried by out executive authority, will begin to bring them 'in line with the rule of law,' most significantly by altering some rules of allowable evidence.

Mr Obama also is asking Congress to change the 2006 law creating the current, on-hold tribunal system to enact more sweeping reforms. -- AP