Chaplain held for 2 1/2 months in solitary confinement!

[JailBush]

I just read an article about the Guantanamo chaplain whose rap sheet was downgraded to pornogrpahy. I should have realized that he'd be held in solitary confinement, but it didn't really click until I read an article at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001810190_yee08m0.html

It sounds like he spent 2 1/2 months in solitary confinment. If I wasn't able to hurl insults at the Seattle Times on the Internet for ten weeks, I'd go nuts!

[La_Serpiente]

1. This case was pure racism from the beggining

I watched it from day one. I was a little disspointed because Chinese American organizations apparently didn't learn from Dr. Wen Ho Lee - who was falsely accused of giving Nuclear Secrets to the Chinese. They should have jumped on this case from the beggining.

Feel bad for the guy. While he was in solitary confinement, all he had was himself and his faith. I hope he could handle the interrogations.

[JailBush]

2. I really didn't perceive it as racist...

Wasn't he one of three or four Guantanamo personnel who were taken into custody? It sounded to me like some personnel were simply outraged at what they saw and began taking notes, which inspired the Gestapo to crack down.

Lee is based out of Fort Lewis, Washington. The state's largest Chinese American community by far is in Seattle, which is the state's de facto capital. But there's virtually no political involvement. The few Asian Americans who have been elected to government are all corrupt - from Cheryl Chow to Gary Locke, who may be the most corrupt governor in the state's history.

On another note, I've been working on a brief biography of Bruce Lee and was excited to discover that his last studio in Seattle was just a block and a half from my place! I sure wish I could have met that guy.

[La_Serpiente]

3. It is true

there was one other chaplain there that was really really breaking the rules. He had the information about all of the inmates on his home computer and was going to get married in Syria the following week. However, the federal government stopped him before he could do anything. Now, he could face life in prison or even the death penalty for treason. He was also the second person to be arrested - after Yee.

Yee also ascribes to a certain denomination of Islam - Sufism. Sufism is totally different from Wahaabism or any other denomination. Sufism preaches the values of peace. On top of that, Yee was known to be a loving husband and dedicated father - not the type of person who would want to be joining in Jihad against the US.

I think Yee wanted to speak up for the prisoners there at Guantanamo, but faced resistance from his superiors. Maybe they didn't like it because they felt that all those prisoners were "traitors" and that Yee was "aiding and abetting" the enemy.

What you say could be true - maybe they did have a gestapo crackdown because they got paranoid all of a sudden. Yet there is another lesson to be learned. I could view this as racism because of my minority perspective - being a Chinese American myself - and look at it with disgust. The same goes for Muslims across the country, and perhaps even the world. They could view this as an attack on Islam or an attack on Chinese. It makes me even more furious that they didn't even arrest him on charges that he was really threatning the nation - and are instead charging him with pornography and some scribbled notes. I view that as the US government trying to make him a scapegoat or something that is insignificant.

[JailBush]

4. Yes, and it was also unbelievably stupid.

The pornography charges are SO transparent. My first thought was, "Yeah, right, their original charges didn't hold up, so they're trumping up porno charges!"

I wish some GI's would start trumping up porno charges against their superior officers.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. I didn't realize Yee was my brother

Sufi. Do you know which order he belongs to? Sufism is divided into different orders, you see (you can belong to more than one order, too). You are absolutely dead right on about the peaceful nature of Sufism. We are tolerant of all spiritual paths, and are as different from Wahhabis as Unity Christians are from fundementalist Christians.

I have felt from the beginning that Chaplain Yee was persecuted for his faith and for his race. This is very sad. Anyone know of an address where one could mail him a message of support?

[La_Serpiente]

6. I'll find out the information for you

brb

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. Thank you!

It will be much appreciated!

[La_Serpiente]

8. check your inbox

n/t