SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A Muslim chaplain at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo who counseled detainees suspected of terrorism and taught fellow troops about Islam is the first known U.S. soldier to be held in the U.S.-led war on terror.
Army Capt. Yousef Yee, 34, who converted to Islam after being raised a Christian, arrived at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba in November. His job was to teach fellow troops about Islam and counsel detainees suspected of links to Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime or to the al-Qaida terror network.
Military officials said yesterday that Yee - who was born James Yee but later took the Muslim name of Yousef - was detained Sept. 10 in Jacksonville, Fla., after returning from Guantanamo. He has not been charged.
A senior law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said FBI agents confiscated classified documents Yee was carrying and questioned him before he was handed over to the military.
Bill Hurlburt, a spokesman with the FBI in Jacksonville, confirmed that agents were at the scene, but he declined to comment further.
In an interview conducted with the Associated Press in January, Yee declined to answer questions about the depth of his involvement with the more than 600 detainees, who come from 43 countries.
When asked whether he was sympathetic to the prisoners - some of whom have been held in Guantanamo for nearly two years without charges - Yee was silent and showed no emotion. When asked how his faith affected how he viewed the detention mission, he gave only a cursory answer.
He also offered Friday prayer services at the base.
Yee is being held at a military brig in Charleston, S.C. - the same place where officials are holding Yaser Esam Hamdi, an American-born Saudi who is alleged to have fought with the Taliban, and Jose Padilla, a former Chicago gang member charged with plotting to detonate a bomb.
"He had daily access to the detainees," said Capt. Tom Crosson, a spokesman for the U.S. Southern Command in Miami, who confirmed that the military was holding Yee in South Carolina. "He is the first U.S. soldier that I know of to be detained and held since the war on terror began."
Crosson said he does not know the nature of the investigation: "If charges were formally filed, then we'd be able to tell you." He didn't know whether an Article 32 hearing, similar to a grand jury, is scheduled.
Originally posted by JaguarI'm sorry, this man could've murdered my mother and I'd still think it was wrong for them to hold him without charging him with a crime.
No, they don't. Which is why the suspected terrorist who was a US citizen was being held at a Naval base. I can't seem to remember his name... is he still being held there, or did they ship him to Camp X-Ray?
They caught him with classified information; I'm not going to stand on niceties here. As far as I'm concerned, that IS a charge, if he didn't have the right to be walking around with it.
Originally posted by JaguarNo, they don't. Which is why the suspected terrorist who was a US citizen was being held at a Naval base. I can't seem to remember his name... is he still being held there, or did they ship him to Camp X-Ray?
-Jag
I think you're talking about Jose Padilla, arrested during the whole "dirty bomb" scare. as far as I know, he's still being held without charges.
Originally posted by PalpatineWThey caught him with classified information; I'm not going to stand on niceties here. As far as I'm concerned, that IS a charge, if he didn't have the right to be walking around with it.
Has it actually been confirmed that he had classified information? Or, maybe the question is, will it ever be confirmed that he did anything at all? If the guy's a spy, great, yay for justice, put him in jail. But this whole policy of "no information, no charges, just trust us: these are bad people" is friggin' crazy. I mean, if they've committed a crime, charge them, show the country we're doing something about the people who... you know... may actually have had something to do with the events that instigated the war on terror. All this cloak-and-dagger shit just makes it look like there's something to hide.
Kansas-born and deeply ashamed The last living La Parka Marka
"They that can give up essential liberty to gain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
Originally posted by JaguarHooray, now we hold our own soldiers without charges!
You imply "we've" never done that before.
I'm sorry, this man could've murdered my mother and I'd still think it was wrong for them to hold him without charging him with a crime.
Obviously... you'd want him charged with murdering your mother!
(If he'd murdered MY mother, I'd have no problems with locking him up and throwing away the key, but that's more a problem with selecting a ludicrous hypothetical. )
Originally posted by Nate the SnakeHas it actually been confirmed that he had classified information?
A senior law enforcement official said FBI agents confiscated classified documents Yee was carrying and questioned him before he was handed over to the military.Click Here (suntimes.com)
All this cloak-and-dagger shit just makes it look like there's something to hide.
REAL "cloak-and-dagger shit" wouldn't make the newspapers and TV news. MODO.
Originally posted by CRZA senior law enforcement official said FBI agents confiscated classified documents Yee was carrying and questioned him before he was handed over to the military.Click Here (suntimes.com)
Groovy. Let the trial begin, then.
Originally posted by CRZ
All this cloak-and-dagger shit just makes it look like there's something to hide.
REAL "cloak-and-dagger shit" wouldn't make the newspapers and TV news. MODO.
No, it wouldn't. This is some pretty ham-fisted cloak-and-dagger. Which begs the question, why bother doing it? Why hold people without charges, detain them indefinitely, do everything but come out and say "we don't intend to follow the Geneva Conventions with these guys" and do so in such a blatant way? What's it going to accomplish?
Kansas-born and deeply ashamed The last living La Parka Marka
"They that can give up essential liberty to gain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
Originally posted by Nate The SnakeGroovy. Let the trial begin, then.
What's your damn hurry? Why not let the investigation proceed?
...as an American citizen and an active duty officer, he might be subjected to charges of violating military law, if the investigation finds grounds for any such charges.
Spokesmen for the Army's Southern Command, confirming that Captain Yee was arrested on Sept. 10 and held since then, said that he had been provided military lawyers to defend himself but declined to give their names. Under military law, they said, he must be given a trial within 120 days of his arrest.Click Here (nytimes.com) (emphasis mine)
So... since the date of arrest, two weeks have elapsed without a trial out of a possible period of four months. Well, I hope I can be forgiven for not writing my Congressman on Yee's behalf.
Which begs the question, why bother doing it? Why hold people without charges, detain them indefinitely, do everything but come out and say "we don't intend to follow the Geneva Conventions with these guys" and do so in such a blatant way? What's it going to accomplish?
Shoot, Nate, I don't want to come off like a troll here but honestly, I can only guess that all what's *really* accomplished is YOU get pissed off because I and/or people like me can't manage to raise my and/or their level of moral outrage to a level where I and/or they actually give a crap. I just don't see anything wrong with the way things are proceeding, and the way this thread's been going I can't say I anticipate you swaying me...
An Air Force translator at the U.S. prison camp for suspected terrorists has been charged with espionage and aiding the enemy, a military spokesman said Tuesday.
Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi is being held at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, facing 32 criminal charges, spokesman Maj. Michael Shavers said.
Al-Halabi worked as an Arabic language translator at the prison camp for al-Qaida and Taliban suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Shavers said. The Air Force enlisted man knew the Muslim chaplain at the prison arrested earlier this month, but it's unclear if the two arrests are linked, Shavers said.
The translator was arrested more than six weeks before the chaplain, Shavers said.
Al-Halabi is charged with nine counts related to espionage, three counts of aiding the enemy, 11 counts of disobeying a lawful order, and nine counts of making a false official statement.
Al-Halabi was based at Travis Air Force Base in California and assigned to a logistics unit there, Shavers said.
Pentagon officials said an investigation into possible security breaches at Guantanamo Bay continues.
About 660 suspected al-Qaida or Taliban members are imprisoned at the U.S. Navy base. American officials are interrogating them for information on the terrorist network.
The military has classified many details about the prison camp and the detainees and has not identified any of the men being held there. Military officials have said the fight against terrorism could be hampered if terrorist groups got such information.
The Muslim military chaplain who ministered to the inmates at the camp, Army Capt. Yousef Yee, was arrested Sept. 10 in Jacksonville, Fla., after getting off a flight from Guantanamo Bay.
A senior law enforcement official said authorities confiscated classified documents Yee was carrying.
Yee, 35, is being held at a Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. A military magistrate ruled on Sept. 15 there was enough evidence to hold Yee for up to two months while the Army Criminal Investigative Division investigates.
Al-Halabi was arrested July 23 at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, also after getting off a flight from the base in Cuba. The next day, military authorities flew al-Halabi to Travis Air Force Base. At some point later, he was transferred to Vandenberg, Shavers said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Editors Note: AP Military Writer Robert Burns contributed to this report.
Originally posted by CRZShoot, Nate, I don't want to come off like a troll here but honestly, I can only guess that all what's *really* accomplished is YOU get pissed off because I and/or people like me can't manage to raise my and/or their level of moral outrage to a level where I and/or they actually give a crap. I just don't see anything wrong with the way things are proceeding, and the way this thread's been going I can't say I anticipate you swaying me...
Uh, whoa, Zed. There's no outrage involved. I'm just confused as to what the point is of doing things the way they're doing when it'd be so much simpler (and less open to criticism) to just say "we have Joe Suspect and we're charging him with *blank*". It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me, is all. I'm not trying to "sway" anyone, I'm just stating my opinion.
Kansas-born and deeply ashamed The last living La Parka Marka
"They that can give up essential liberty to gain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin