BOOK REVIEW Another casualty of the 'war on terror' For
God and Country: Faith and Patriotism under Fire by James Yee
and Aimee Molloy
Buy this book
Reviewed by Imran Andrew Price
Former army captain James Yee, a West Point graduate and Muslim chaplain to 660
prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, has written an absorbing
autobiography detailing his September 2003 arrest for espionage and subsequent
dismissal of all charges against him.
His book, written with journalist Aimee Melloym, is a searing indictment of the
Bush administration's "war on terror" by one of its many innocent victims. As
we approach the fifth anniversary of
the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US, the American public is now becoming
more aware of the high costs they are paying for the "war in terror". But it's
not only the official price tag of US$440 billion (a credible independent
estimate pegs the cost in excess of $1 trillion) and the more than 2,000
American dead and 16,000 injured.
There's also the damage done to America's reputation due to: the invalid
grounds used to justify the war on Iraq; the Abu Ghraib prison torture scandal;
the "extraordinary renditions" saga in which suspected terrorists are taken
into US custody but delivered to a third-party state; the Valerie Plame/Joe
Wilson affair (she was outed as a Central Intelligence Agency operative after
her husband dismissed the Bush administration's claim justifying invading Iraq
that Saddam Hussein's regime was trying to buy yellowcake, used to make a
nuclear weapon, from Niger; the domestic spying scandal in which President
George W Bush signed a secret order in 2002 authorizing the National Security
Agency to eavesdrop on US citizens and foreign nationals in the United States;
and the ongoing issue of Guantanamo Bay and prisoner rights.
Yee's experience at Guantanamo was frightening. Despite exemplary service over
many years and nearly 12 months in Cuba under difficult circumstances, he was
charged, as he went on leave, with espionage and being part of a terrorist ring
of fellow Muslim soldiers. Authorities suggested he took classified and
confidential information, such as a map of the base and information about
prisoners. But he denied those charges and the prosecution never presented any
evidence to support them.
Details of the charges were leaked by US government sources even before he was
informed of them or faced trial. They created a huge media storm that reflected
badly not only on him but on the American Muslim and Asian-American
communities. Numerous critics such as Daniel Pipes had a field day with
conjecture about how the charges were symptomatic of even greater threats of
disloyalty and danger ("Pentagon jihadis", New York Post, September 29, 2003).
After being in solitary confinement for 76 days, possibly facing the death
penalty, the charges were dropped, and instead he was charged with adultery and
having pornographic materials on his computer. Those charges were also
subsequently dropped, and he was given an honorable discharge from the army.
The process not only ruined his career and almost caused his wife to commit
suicide, but also put a huge strain on their marriage.
Yee accuses the authorities of targeting him purely for his religion and is
particularly critical of Major-General Geoffrey Miller, who was put in charge
of Guantanamo shortly after Yee arrived and subsequently became known worldwide
after his transfer to Baghdad for his role in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse
scandal. No action has been taken against Miller for the procedures he allowed
the intelligence services to adopt in either Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib. It is
public knowledge that his transfer to Iraq was in order to "Gitmo-ize" the
intelligence-gathering process in Iraq after his "success" in changing the way
prisoners were treated at Guantanamo.
As part of his responsibility as Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo, Yee reported up
the chain of command on various practices he deemed in contravention of the US
Army's standard operating procedures and American values. He believes he was
targeted because of those reports. He documented many cases of physical abuse
of prisoners and disrespect of the Koran and religious rights, particularly by
the intelligence officers responsible for interrogations.
It is obvious many of the personnel at Guantanamo believed they were in a war
against Islam, that the prisoners were responsible for the September 11 attacks
- so they treated them accordingly. Recent reports from the United Nations, Red
Cross, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have supported Yee's
allegations that Guantanamo prisoners were tortured and subject to religious
vilification, with many innocent of terrorism charges.
Just two days prior to his arrest, Yee was given a very strong recommendation
and review by his commanding officer, and many who served with him in the
chaplain service were very supportive throughout his ordeal.
An investigation into his arrest was promised but no findings have been
published. Despite Yee's extremely harsh treatment, he is not taking any action
against the army for compensation. But nearly two years later, he is still
hoping for an apology.
For God and Country also contains interesting details of his typical
American upbringing in New Jersey as part of a third generation of immigrants.
For example, he and his brothers were much more interested in baseball than
following their parents' encouragement to learn anything about Chinese culture
and arts.
Both his father and two of his brothers served in the US military. He converted
to Islam after graduating from West Point and went to live in Syria for four
years to learn Arabic and study Islam from traditional sources. He did so with
the aim of becoming one of the first batch of Muslim chaplains to serve in the
US Army. He achieved that objective in January 2001.
Yee's autobiography amply demonstrates the huge gap between the lofty rhetoric
of the Bush administration about its "war on terror" and the practical
realities that many Muslims are feeling around the world. After September 11,
Yee was dedicated to doing everything he could to reduce the gulf of
misunderstanding about Islam and Muslims. He was thrown in prison and had his
career ruined for his efforts.
The most astounding part of this story is that instead of putting such an
exemplary American Muslim on a pedestal to help alleviate misunderstandings
about Islam in the West, the authorities tried to destroy him. It seems they
are more interested in war than peace.
For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism under Fire by James Yee and
Aimee Molloy. PublicAffairs (October 2005) . ISBN: 1586483692. Price US$24, 240
pages.
Imran Andrew Price is an Australian and a permanent resident of
Singapore who is deputy director general of the Center for Contemporary Islamic
Studies.
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For
God and Country: Faith and Patriotism under Fire by James Yee
and Aimee Molloy 
