James Yee

James J. Yee (Chinese: or 余优素福, also known by the Arabic name Yusuf Yee) (born c. 1968) is an American, former United States Army chaplain with the rank of captain. He is best known for being subject to an intense investigation by the United States, but all charges were later dropped.

Yee, a Chinese American, was born in New Jersey and raised in Springfield Township, [Rivera, Ray. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002144979_yeechapter1.html "A Rising Star"] , "The Seattle Times", January 9, 2005. Accessed April 7, 2008. "Jimmy, as his parents called him, grew up Lutheran in the small New Jersey town of Springfield."] where he attended Jonathan Dayton High School. [Fonda, Daren. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,490718,00.html "Were They Aiding The Enemy?"] , "Time (magazine)", September 28, 2003. Accessed November 19, 2007. "One of five children born to devout Chinese Lutherans, Jimmy, as he was known at Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield, N.J., was a champion wrestler, an ace student and "a low-maintenance guy," according to his coach."] Yee graduated from West Point in 1990. Shortly afterward, he converted from Lutheran Christianity [ [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-05-16-yee-cover_x.htm The Ordeal of Chaplain Lee] ] to Islam in 1991, undergoing religious training in Syria and meeting his wife Huda, a Palestinian Arab, with whom he now has two children. [cite web|url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/dec2003/yeee-d17.shtml|title=Military’s "espionage" case against Guantanamo chaplain collapses|publisher=World Socialist Web Site|date=2003-12-17|accessdate=2008-05-01]

Guantanamo

In his appointed role as chaplain, Yee ministered to Muslim detainees held at Guantánamo Bay Naval base. Yee was awarded two distinguished service medals for his work there. [cite web|url=http://www.theportlandalliance.org/2006/jan/jamesyee.htm|title=James Yee: an unlikely enemy of the state|publisher=The Portland Alliance|date=2006-01-08|accessdate=2008-05-01]

When returning from duty at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, he was arrested on September 10, 2003, in Jacksonville, Florida, when a U.S. Customs agent found a list of Guantanamo detainees and interrogators among his belongings. [http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/11/muslim.chaplain.resigns/index.html "Muslim chaplain proposes to resign"] , by James Polk and Bob Franken, "CNN", 5 May 2004] He was charged with five offenses: sedition, aiding the enemy, spying, espionage, and failure to obey a general order. These charges were later reduced to mishandling classified information in addition to some minor charges. He was then transferred to a United States Navy brig in Charleston, South Carolina. The government did not name the country or entity for whom it suspected Yee was spying.

All court-martial charges against Yee were dropped on March 19, 2004, with Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller "citing national security concerns that would arise from the release of the evidence," [ [http://www.southcom.mil/pa/Media/Releases/PR040319Yee.pdf "Charges dismissed in Yee case"] , "United States Southern Command Public Affairs Office", 19 March 2004] and he was released to resume his duties. Yee was then accused of adultery and storing pornography on a government computer; the charges were dismissed in April 2004. He left the US military with an honorable discharge in January, but he is still seeking an apology.

After Guantanamo

In October 2005 Yee published his book, "For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire." [ Yee, James (2005). "For God And Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire". New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 1-58648-369-2. ] In it, Yee writes that he was kept in solitary confinement for seventy-six days, and that he was forced to undergo sensory deprivation. He also wrote that General Geoffrey Miller routinely incited the guards to hate the detainees. He alleges serious mistreatment of prisoners. [cite web|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-preview?article_id=18550|title=The Strange Case of Chaplain Yee|publisher=The New York Review of Books|date=2005-12-15|accessdate=2008-05-01] Yee argues that most of the detainees had little or no intelligence value:

In July 2006, Yee was stopped at the border while returning from a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, to see Cirque du Soleil. It was Yee's first trip outside the U.S. since he was discharged from the army. He was detained at the border for 75 minutes. Yee commented, "Perhaps this is an indication I'm still of interest to the federal government." [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/24/us/24yee.html?_r=2&oref=slogin|title=Former Army Chaplain Is Stopped at Border|publisher=The New York Times|date=2006-07-24|accessdate=2008-05-01]

On October 19, 2007, Syrian television broadcast its interview with Yee, in Arabic, where he repeated detainees' claims of Koran abuse on the part of the U.S. military. [http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1610.htm Former Muslim Chaplain of Guantanamo Prison, James Yee, Tells of the Desecration of the Koran during Interrogation] , [http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/1610.htm transcript] , Middle East Media Research Institute, October 19, 2007]

In December 2007 Yee made a statement on Australian Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks, who he regularly counselled while working at Guantanamo Bay. He said that he did not feel Hicks was a threat to Australia, and that "Any American soldier who has been through basic training has had 50 times more training than this guy." cite news
url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/31/2129131.htm?section=australia
title=Hicks not a threat: chaplain
publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation
work=ABC Online
author=Tom Miletic
date=2007-12-31]

Yee was a delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention from the 9th Congressional District of the state of Washington, pledged to support Barack Obama, and actually cast a nominating ballot. [ [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080520/ap_on_re_us/guantanamo_chaplain_delegate_3;_ylt=AgOLn1PBlyno.0uPTdRTgo9h24cA "Ex-Army chaplain cleared in Gitmo spy case is Obama delegate"] , Associated Press published on Yahoo News, 2008-05-20, retrieved 2008-05-20.]

References

External links

* [http://www.justiceforyee.com JusticeForYee.com]
* [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week906/interview.html Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly Deborah Potter interview] PBS October 7, 2005
* " [http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/06/1316240 Fmr. Army Chaplain James Yee on the Abuse of Prisoners at Guantánamo, His Wrongful Imprisonment and Anti-Muslim Sentiment in the Military] " - Democracy Now (audio/video) (1 hour)
* [http://news-nybooks.c.topica.com/maaefScabmoUubcG39lcafpMbU/ The Strange Case of Chaplain Yee] , "New York Review of Books" (December 15, 2005)
* [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/nation-world/jamesyee/ Suspicion in the Ranks, "Seattle Times"]
* [http://www.chinapressnewyork.com/20040310/shequ/sqimg/200403100193.htm 余上尉父母纽约筹款] chinapressnewyork.com.
* [http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/8254643.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp Mercury News article on the dropping of charges against Yee]
* [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-05-16-yee-cover_x.htm USA Today cover story on the dropping of charges]
* [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-05-16-yee-cover_x.htm The Ordeal of Chaplain Yee] "USA Today". (May 16, 2004)
* [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5861746 Muslim U.S. Army Chaplain Resigning, Wants Apology] , "Reuters." (Aug 3, 2004)
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/politics/19gitmo.html How Dubious Evidence Spurred Relentless Guantánamo Spy Hunt] , "New York Times." (Dec 19, 2004)
* [http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-guantanamo-muslim-chaplain,0,206250.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines Muslim Chaplain Recalls Guantánamo Ordeal] , Newsday, October 4, 2005 (or [http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/12817254.htm]
* [http://www.amafandvac.org American Muslim Armed Forces and Veteran Affairs Council (AMAF and VAC)]
* [http://www.progressive.org/radio_yee06 Download MP3 or listen to James Yee interviewed by The Progressive magazine]