Posted on 01/07/2005 5:07:52 PM PST by pitinkie
SEATTLE (AP) - A Muslim chaplain imprisoned for 76 days as part of an espionage investigation by the government has received an honorable discharge from the Army.
Although Capt. James Yee has been cleared in the investigation, he resigned in August, saying officials never apologized to him. His discharge was effective at midnight Friday, said his civilian defense attorney, Eugene R. Fidell.
"As a West Point graduate, he leaves the Army with great sadness," Fidell said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "The fact that he was imprisoned for a prolonged period for no valid reason remains indefensible."
After he was exonerated, Yee returned in April to his home base of Fort Lewis, about 40 miles south of Seattle, and resumed his duties as a chaplain.
An official announcement of Yee's discharge was not expected.
"As a matter of practice, the Army doesn't publicly announce administrative actions such as officer resignations or soldiers leaving the Army," said Lt. Col. Pamela Hart, an Army spokeswoman at the Pentagon.
Yee was taken into custody after the military initially linked him to a possible espionage ring at the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where suspected terrorists are housed.
The military charged Yee in 2003 with mishandling classified material, failing to obey an order, making a false official statement, adultery and conduct unbecoming an officer.
All criminal charges were dismissed in March 2004, but Army officials found Yee guilty of the non-criminal charges of adultery and downloading pornography. The reprimand he received was thrown out by an Army general a month later.
Yee submitted his letter of resignation to the Army in August, saying officials never apologized to him or allowed him to retrieve his belongings from Guantanamo Bay.
Yee is now at home with his wife and daughter in Olympia, south of the Army base, and is not granting interviews, his attorney said.
Fidell said Yee and his family were grateful for the support they have received, and that Yee looks forward "in due course to expressing his views about his experience."
Fidell has previously said that after Yee leaves the military, he plans to finish his master's degree in international relations at Troy State University, which has a campus near Fort Lewis.
Yeah, to the tune of how many hundreds of thousands he can make off of it. I'm just sure those on the Left are itching to get at him to further their cause. Moore will probably tell his story on film.
Deport him to the Muzzie country of his choice.
Did I hear also that he is suing????
Too bad the general went soft. I would have done everything in my power to ruin him forever. Actually, his resignation was mere formality...his career was already toast. He would never be selected for promotion to Major.
I hope the FBI has him monitored.
Bury him in the desert of his choice.
Whatever the truth of it, the army has badly mishandled this case. Either he's guilty or he isn't. If he is, he should have been prosecuted. If he's not, they never should have released those earlier accusations to the press.
Holy Father in Heaven, this is how we handle traitors? As a vet, it saddens me to no end that feminism has so castrated America that not even the executors of military justice can prosecute these dangerous animals. "Dear me, we wouldn't want to offend the Muslim elements among us by putting a criminal on trial now, would we?"
Oddly enough, it's also how we handle innocent men.
No kidding. I'm not the poster advocating deporting him. I'm not the poster advocating that he pound sand. I'm not the poster looking to bury him. I'm not the poster that now wishes to completely ruin him. I only asked for prosecution, i.e., a trial. If this thread offends your bleeding heart (you're striking me as a lib), perhaps the folks who have already passed sentence would be better, or at least equally deserving, targets of your snideness. Granted, I did call the chaplain a traitor, and I admit I could be jumping the gun on that, but as I've pointed out, I haven't handed out a sentence yet, have I? Also, I did give some of the reasons why I'm convinced his complete exoneration of the serious charges smells like a sham. I wouldn't mind delving into it further, but your knee-jerk reaction to my post dissuades me from taking you seriously.
No kidding. I'm not the poster advocating deporting him. I'm not the poster advocating that he pound sand. I'm not the poster looking to bury him. I'm not the poster that now wishes to completely ruin him. I only asked for prosecution, i.e., a trial. If this thread offends your bleeding heart (you're striking me as a lib), perhaps the folks who have already passed sentence would be better, or at least equally deserving, targets of your snideness. Granted, I did call the chaplain a traitor, and I admit I could be jumping the gun on that, but as I've pointed out, I haven't handed out a sentence yet, have I? Also, I did give some of the reasons why I'm convinced his complete exoneration of the serious charges smells like a sham. I wouldn't mind delving into it further, but your knee-jerk reaction to my post dissuades me from taking you seriously.
Bullshit. Given your other statements, your 'trial' would be nothing but an excuse for a lynching. Do you really think the military winks at treason to avoid offending Muslims?
And no, I don't have to be a 'lib' to think the government ought to have its act together before it indicts someone... you, for instance.
"other statements"? Bullshit on you, my friend. There was just the one, which I admitted was innapropritae. What a pathetic dodge of rational discourse. But then, I doubt you could hold your own in such, and I'm sure you know it.
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