Free Republic

MIAMI - (KRT) - Soldiers who knew Army Capt. James Yee at Fort Lewis, Wash., say they are baffled by the Muslim chaplain's detention on his return from a prison for suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay. ``We can't figure it out. He would be compassionate with prisoners - but not a traitor. A lot of us feel we know him well. He cares a lot, but he plays by the rules,'' said a sergeant from the 29th Signal Battalion, where Yee was a Muslim chaplain before going to Guantanamo. The soldier asked to remain anonymous because the Miami-based U.S. Southern...

<p>A pro-military group called on the Pentagon yesterday to tighten the security review for Muslim chaplains following the arrest of Capt. James Yee in an espionage investigation.</p> <p>"Here you have a guy who was trained in Syria, which is on the U.S. list of states sponsoring terrorism, and he comes back over here and is commissioned as an officer," said Michael Waller, a researcher for the Center for Security Policy. The group has previously warned of radical Muslim influences infiltrating U.S. institutions.</p>

A Muslim chaplain who was stationed at Fort Lewis in 2001 and 2002 is the first known U.S. soldier to be detained in the U.S.-led war on terror. Army Capt. Yousef Yee, 34, was detained Sept. 10 in Jacksonville, Fla., after returning from Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba, where he was stationed. He has not been charged, but a senior law enforcement source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Saturday that FBI agents confiscated classified documents Yee was carrying and questioned him before he was handed over to the military. The New York Times reported in a story...