Ahmed al-Darbi of Saudi Arabia will face charges that include attacking civilians and terrorism for alleged complicity in the al-Qaeda attack on a French tanker in October 2002 off Yemen that killed one civilian. He faces up to life in prison.
The charges were filed in August 2012 subject to approval by a Pentagon legal official.
The approval announced yesterday means al-Darbi must be arraigned within 30 days at the US base in Cuba.
Al-Darbi is married to a sister of one of the hijackers who crashed an airliner into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.