The name James Yee probably has vanished from your memory, but the 2003 accusation that a Muslim chaplain in the US Army was a traitor may not have so vanished. James Yee, third generation Chinese-American, West Point graduate, Army chaplain and converted Muslim, was the accused. He has written a book, "For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire", about his experience as an American accused of being an Al Qaeda operative.
Yee's life as a Muslim chaplain in the US Army started out on a very high note; he was held in such regard by his superiors that he was trotted out to give interviews to NPR, MSNBC and other media outlets. Yet, after being arrested he was held in solitary confinement for 76 days and, until the day of his discharge, was prevented from speaking publicly by a gag order. While in custody, he was strip-searched. Further, his married life was destroyed by the Army's claims - very likely made of whole cloth - that he was an adulterer and pornographer.
He writes of "forced cell extraction" of the Guantanamo detainees. In these exercises six to eight MPs in riot gear were used to immobilize a detainee in his cell and move him to a maximum security unit. According to Yee and many others Guantanamo is on a war footing in line with the apparent military belief that the camp might be infiltrated by Al Qaeda by land, sea or air. I guess infiltration from within was added when they arrested Yee.
The serious charges (including espionage) were dropped within a month after Yee's arrest, but he remained in solitary. The charge of mishandling classified documents was dropped when the prosecution could not prove he ever possessed classified documents.
This seems to be another blot on the American way of war.
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