Muslim chaplain describes spy charges

By DOUG ESSER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire" by James Yee (PublicAffairs, 240 pages, $24)
James Yee answers the headlines with his side of how a Muslim Army chaplain was charged with spying for Al-Qaida at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.
In "For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire," written with Aimee Molloy, Yee says although he was a West Point graduate, as a Muslim chaplain he came under suspicion because of his religion.
"We say that the war on terror is not against Islam, but that's not how it felt most days at Guantanamo," Yee writes.
It was a desire to ease religious tensions that had led the third-generation Chinese-American from New Jersey into a career as an Army chaplain. He was serving at Fort Lewis, Wash., on Sept. 11, 2001.
The terrorist attacks presented Yee with more opportunity to bridge cultural differences. By November 2002 he was the Muslim chaplain for Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay, where about 700 enemy combatants were held -- all Muslims. He also served a small community of Muslim translators.
Personal struggle
Yee tells how prison conditions tore him between military loyalty and concern for brother Muslims. He describes how an us-vs.-them mentality led to everyday brutality in the cells. He reports complaints of abuse during interrogations amounting to torture.
Yee calls himself a no-nonsense guy, and his story is presented in an easy-to-follow, mostly chronological account that at times seems almost too objective.
Although Yee supported the mission, his attempts to encourage tolerance raised suspicions. He and other Muslims working on the base became known as a clique. Yee describes how he found out later that some suspected they were a spy ring.
He was pulled into the gulag Sept. 10, 2003, when leaving for a visit home to Olympia, Wash., where he was to meet his wife and daughter arriving from Syria.
Accused of spying
Yee describes how federal agents accused him of spying because some personal papers -- phone numbers, notes about Syria -- were mistaken for classified documents. He was taken to the Navy brig at Charleston, S.C., and held for 76 days in solitary confinement. It wasn't much different from Camp Delta, but now it was his skin the shackles were cutting into.
The charges, which carried a possible death penalty, eventual collapsed for lack of evidence. To cover its errors, Yee says, the military spitefully charged him with adultery and having pornography on his computer. The accusation pushed his wife to consider suicide.
Yee maintained a professional distance as a chaplain, and that distance is evident in the reserved voice of the book. He also says his religion helped him control his emotion, and the book has a controlled tone.
Faith strengthened
His faith in Islam was strengthened during the ordeal. Eventually, all charges were dropped. He hoped to continue as a Muslim chaplain at Fort Lewis, but he describes a hostile environment. He resigned, effective Jan. 7, 2005, and received an honorable discharge.
Yee's book is an indictment. "How can we expect nations to join us in our war against terror when we are denying the detainees the very rights we claim to be fighting for abroad?"
This is a powerful book that exposes how fear and ignorance can lead to an abuse of justice. Finally, it's a thumping good prison story, with elements of "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "The Shawshank Redemption."
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