From the AP:
Citing national security concerns, the Army on Friday dropped all charges against a Muslim chaplain accused of mishandling classified documents at Guantanamo Bay, which houses suspected terrorists.Capt. James Yee will be allowed to return to his previous duty station at Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Wash., said the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the detention center in Cuba.
"Chaplain Yee has won," his attorney, Eugene R. Fidell of Washington, said in a statement late Friday. "The Army's dismissal of the classified information charges against him represents a long overdue vindication."
Yee was arrested on September 10, 2003. (I guess the symbolism of arresting him the next day would have been too obvious.) Opportunistic politicians like Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) railed against the fact that Yee was allowed to become a chaplain. Yee was held in solitary confinement at the naval brig in Charleston, South Carolina, for 76 days. Initially, prosecutors said that he might be part of a terrorist plot and that he could face the death penalty. But when he was charged in October, the most serious accusation made was that he had mishandled classified material by carrying it in the wrong kind of cover. Later, as a way to boost an obviously failing case, prosecutors charged him with adultery and possessing pornography, both of which are crimes in the military.
I first expressed skepticism about the charges in October. As I wrote later, the charges against Yee were brought by an overzealous and incompetent commander at Guantanamo, Geoffery D. Miller, who believed that the Muslim staff were disloyal and plotting something. In contrast, a white, Christian officer who actually committed the same offense Yee was originally accused of wasn't even arrested. The proceedings against Yee were continued in December when it was revealed that the military hadn't bothered to determine if the material Yee was carrying was classified. Then they were continued again, and again. Yee never was presented with the evidence against him. Last week, Yee's attorneys "accidentally" leaked a draft plea agreement that would drop all charges and let Yee receive an honorable discharge. (It seems clear to me that the leak was intentional and meant to pressure the prosecution - which had no case - to give up.) It worked, apparently.
Of course, the fuckups in the Army tell a different story:
In dismissing the charges, [head-fuckup-in-charge] Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, which operates the detention center, cited "national security concerns that would arise from the release of the evidence" if the case proceeded."In the grand scheme of things, and in the interest of national security, Gen. Miller felt like the charges needed to be dropped," said Lt. Col. Bill Costello, a Southcom spokesman. "It seemed to be the prudent way to proceed." ...
[Yee's attorney] Fidell rejected the notion that security concerns played a role in the dismissal of charges. He said Yee, who was in the Washington, D.C.-area on Friday, was entitled to an apology.
The consequences of the witchhunt against Yee are far-reaching. First, of course, a man, a father, a loyal and dedicated Army officer has had his career ruined and his personal life dragged through the mud. He was falsely accused, held in solitary confinement for almost three months and had his life threatened. His family, including a wife and young children, has suffered intensely. That is the immediate, human tragedy. Next, as Juliette Kayyem, professor of national security and law at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, wrote even before the charges were dropped:
[T]he impact of the treatment of Yee on potential Arab and Muslim translators in the military is likely to be devastating. It is a result the US can ill afford. It is also not new. It has been reported that the aggressive, and ultimately minimal, espionage prosecution of scientist Wen Ho Lee in 1996 caused a dramatic decline in Asian-American scientists willing to serve the US.In addition, the Yee case is a glimpse into the government's heavy handed detentions at Guantanamo Bay. The Supreme Court will decide this year whether the administration's indefinite detention of hundreds of men there, only alleged to be terrorists or combatants, is a legitimate use of power. Until then, Guantanamo Bay exists in a legal never-neverland. Charges against Yee, and other Muslims at Guantanamo, have all fallen short. The problem with Guantanamo is not espionage or infiltration; it's Guantanamo.
Whatever Yee may have done wrong in the military's eyes pales in comparison with what the case has done to denigrate the military court system.
The only thing to add to this list of self-inflicted wounds is the perfectly obvious point that this case has harmed our effort to convince moderate Muslims worldwide that we are the good guys. By arresting a Muslim with such impeccable credentials, a West Point grad, especially a chaplain, on false allegations that when actually committed by a white Christian are handled casually, we help to make the terrorists' case that America wants to destroy all Muslims.
So, the question remains: is this the end of it? Will there be no consequences for the people in the chain of command who perpetrated this mess? Why, for example, does Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller still have a commission, much less a command? His apparent bigotry and incompetence has harmed the country as much as a real enemy spy.
One good thing may come of all this. Jacob Sullum of Reason magazine notes:
But the case can still have a positive impact by demonstrating the risk of rushing to judgment and the need to preserve an open, adversarial process for determining guilt.Reporting on Yee's arrest, The New York Times noted that the brig where he was sent also has been used to hold suspects designated as "enemy combatants." In two cases the Supreme Court will hear this spring, the Bush administration maintains that such prisoners can be held incommunicado and indefinitely, without charge or legal representation. "But Captain Yee's case is unlikely to be handled that way," the Times reported. If it had, Yee might still be known as a spy rather than an adulterer.
Preserving the United States Constitution is one reason we fight terrorism. If only the people doing the fighting would keep it in mind.
Update 4/16/04: Army officially clears Yee.
Wow. Powerful post. Thanks for educating.
Mike
Posted by: Mike | March 20, 2004 at 12:51 AM