Ex-Army Muslim Chaplian James Yee back in the news

He did nothing wrong yet had to suffer because someone pointed their finger at him.

Denver latest stop on Yee's unlikely journey
Nobody's come as far as James Yee to be a delegate to this Democratic National Convention. Five years ago, Yee, an Army chaplain of Muslim...

By Danny Westneat

Seattle Times staff columnist

DENVER — Nobody's come as far as James Yee to be a delegate to this Democratic National Convention.

Five years ago, Yee, an Army chaplain of Muslim faith, was shackled and tossed into solitary confinement for 76 days because the U.S. government felt — wrongly — that he was a terrorist sympathizer and spy.

Now the Olympia man is here, ready to cast his vote as part of the Washington state contingent for Barack Obama.

His story is a useful reminder, he says, of the danger of America chucking aside civil liberties.

But his presence at the convention, which opens today, is also a test of sorts. Will the Democrats allow Muslims to be out and proud for Obama? Even one who was once under a cloud of treason, vilified as a traitor at the time by some leading Democratic politicians?

How far have we come since 9/11, anyway?

"There is some worry that I might be a lightning rod," Yee said Sunday. " 'Accused terrorist spy is national delegate for Obama,' " he intoned, imagining how Fox News might broadcast his story.

Yee, formerly a chaplain at Fort Lewis, is something of a celebrity at the convention. Fox, PBS, The Washington Post all have called. It's because of what happened to him at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, back when America was gripped in a war-on-terror fever.

Yee was no radical. A West Point grad, he was deeply committed to both his Muslim faith and the military — "serving both God and country," he says. He voted for George W. Bush in 2000

Spying, espionage, mutiny and sedition — all were alleged by the government. Infamously, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. — whom Yee will probably meet at this convention — said Yee's arrest was proof that al-Qaida had infiltrated the U.S. military.
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