Yee owed apology for his ordeal

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Robert L. Jamieson Jr.

Monday, March 22, 2004

Yee owed apology for his ordeal

By ROBERT L. JAMIESON Jr.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

Oops.

The government's blunder posse is at it again.

They took a loyal Army man and dragged his name through the mud. They trumped up charges that fizzled. They failed to realize how their prosecutorial zeal hurts innocent people.


	Yee

I'm referring to the government's embarrassing case against Capt. James Yee, the Muslim chaplain from Fort Lewis who was accused of doing all sorts of sinister things.

For the longest time we were told that Yee, who ministered to terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, mishandled classified information.

He might have been part of some espionage ring, the government suggested. He might have been trying to infiltrate the military base. On top of that, the government huffed about how he was an adulterer and had computer porn.

In this modern-day witch hunt -- and that's what this was -- Yee was made out to be despicable, morally bankrupt and possibly traitorous. Un-American, even. Then on Friday night the military issued a terse statement saying it had suddenly decided to drop all charges against him. Just like that.

It was as if Uncle Sam were saying: "Oh, never mind. You can have your life back, Mr. Yee -- now that we've worked it over with the wrecking ball for six months."

Oops.

No apology was offered with the dismissal of charges, which came down at the end of the week -- a time when the Bush administration likes to release news it would prefer to see buried deep in the weekend news cycle.

A government statement mentioned some mumbo jumbo about "national security concerns" that would have arisen had the Yee case gone to trial. Sensitive information, the government suggested, might have tumbled into public view.

Please.

Shouldn't the brains in the Beltway have considered that distinct possibility before launching their Yee crusade? Before accusing him of taking classified data and painting him as a public enemy -- which, given the ease of the dismissal, he clearly is not?

Talk about a lame excuse.

POLL

Robert L. Jamieson Jr. says the U.S. government should apologize to Capt. James Yee. Do you agree?

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Even if one were to buy the government's explanation, it is disturbing to see the diligence the government exercises when it comes to protecting its own secrets. Compare that with the cavalier treatment Yee and his family faced during what became a vicious, public character assassination.

Yee was a target because he is Muslim. Unfortunately, anything or anyone connected with Islam these days has become fair game in the war on terrorism.

His Asian heritage -- Yee is Chinese American -- stirred recollections of another case of government overreach: the espionage investigation of Wen Ho Lee, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Lee, who is Chinese American, pleaded guilty to a single felony count of copying classified documents onto computer tapes without authorization.

But the FBI bungled the case by focusing exclusively on Lee. The agency was forced to drop nearly 60 counts of felony espionage against him. A judge apologized to the scientist for "abuse of power" by the Feds.

Whether we're talking about Lee or Yee, dropping charges seems to be becoming bad government form.

But for the people who are targeted, the overzealous prosecution turns into a persecution hell that could have been avoided with a modicum of restraint.

"I hope nobody has to go through an experience like this," Yee's wife, Huda Suboh, told me late Friday after she received the news about her husband.

She called and shared a message she wanted the government to hear:

"If you are going to charge someone, please be sure you have enough evidence. Because we suffered. We really suffered. We suffered for nothing."

Yee spent 76 days in solitary confinement while the government tried to build its case.

His wife remained at their Olympia home, stressed out and lonely.

"It was very hard, especially at the beginning when they talked about him being a spy," she said. "From the beginning, I knew he was innocent. It was horrible."

The ordeal was made worse because of how much faith her husband has in America and the Army. "He was so excited and happy about his work," Huda said. "Military life can be difficult. But he never complained. He liked the job. He wanted to help people. He was proud to be American. Proud to be a Muslim."

Her husband's family even received glowing letters from military commanders. "They said he did a good job. They told his mother and father that they should be proud of him. That was before all of the trouble. And it broke my heart when this happened. They treated him like a terrorist."

Huda believes the U.S. Army threw in the allegations about her husband's involvement in pornography and adultery in order to discredit him even as Muslims across the country rallied to his defense.

"For Muslims those are big deals," she said, referring to the alleged vices. "They wanted to make Muslims not support him anymore. That's what I feel ... I trust him. I think nothing happened. I really know him -- I know my husband more than I know myself. It was so unfair in a case like this for them to bring those silly charges."

As she spoke I couldn't help but feel her family's pain. To think, this whole mess could have been avoided had the government not railroaded a proud American soldier.

For that "oops" the Yee family deserves a sincere apology.

Is the government big enough to say -- as it well should -- "We're sorry"?

P-I columnist Robert L. Jamieson Jr. can be reached at 206-448-8125 or robertjamieson@seattlepi.com

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