As a Muslim chaplain ministering to Islamic detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, Yee interacted with suspected terrorists on a daily basis. That proximity led to allegations that he had improperly taken papers related to the prison off the base. He was imprisoned for 76 days, but in 2004 the Pentagon dropped his case without explanation. In 2005, Yee was honorably discharged.
News reports at the time quoted Pentagon sources saying charges against Yee were dropped to avoid compromising classified information. A Washington state resident who is active politically - he was a delegate for Barack Obama at the recent Democratic National Convention - Yee said he was unfairly targeted as a Muslim at a time when hysteria about his religion was rife. "The response to 9/11 was a huge overreaction," he said. "There was a lot of displaced emotions that led to huge roundups of Muslims across the country."
Yee said his lecture would discuss how the war on terror has resulted in America losing touch with its tradition of upholding civil rights. He argues that Guantanamo Bay detainees should have better access to legal support, as outlined in the Geneva Convention, for example.
"The Geneva Convention is something that really establishes a sense of humanity, justice, and human rights," said Yee. "For us to ignore it because of what happened on 9/11 points right to the fact that the response by our government has been over-emotional."
Hand-in-hand with ignoring the Convention is a new militarism that has taken hold of the country, he added.
"When you see these people waving the flag and wanting to bomb, these are just ridiculous ideas and attitudes that certainly do not reflect American values," he said. "The consequences of war and what it means to apply military force get lost. Military force is not something we should cheer on."
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