Customer Reviews

For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

James Yee's experiences in Guantanamo are powerfully evoked in this thoughtful, well-written memoir. If you followed this news story in 2003 and 2004, you knew that something very wrong had happened in Cuba -- why would the US downgrade its charges of treason against Yee to something as relatively insignificant as adultery, if some serious mistakes had not been made? The truth, not just about Yee's experiences, but about those of the over 600 hundred detainees, some of whom were not even teenagers in 2003, is far worse than those news reports hinted.

James Yee is a patriot AND a devout Muslim who values freedom of religion as one of the most important tenets of American government and culture. His efforts to maintain his dignity and generosity of spirit in the face of the incredibly hostile anti-Muslim environment in Gitmo are to be commended.

This is a painful book to read, but it's engaging, thought-provoking, and ultimately, inspiring. The writer, Aimee Molloy, conveys Yee's experiences in quick, no-nonsense prose that cuts to the heart of these deeply troubling issues. This is wartime journalism at its highest level, and a must-read for anyone who strives to understand the complexities of the war on terror.

I knew Chaplain Yee before this incident took place and after it. He is the same humble God fearing man now that he was then. It was a painful read to see how one of my junior officers was treated at the hands of fellow Americans who should have been seeking justice and the truth. It was even more painful to see how they let the process get out of hand and then get vindictive to cover their wrong doings. In short, criminal. Until they can provide information from their side of the story, until someone on the inside has the courage to step forward with their truth good or bad my position will be unchanged. Chaplain Yee's is one a very few people I know who has the strength, faith and courage to overcome an ordeal like this and continue on as a Great American. I'm proud to know him and call him a friend.

This book was very enlightening about how people misused their authority. It is sad to know that this actually happened to a Chaplain that is a U.S. citizen. The book creates a lot of questions that still need to be answered, a lot of actions that still need to be accounted for. I look forward to Part 2 by any author.

Prejudice is based on a lack of knowledge and truth. Unfortunately many who have that lack of knowledge about Muslims don't take the time to learn and react out of fear of he unknown. The basic reason for all that happened to chaplain Yee was prejudice. Doesn't necessarily mean racist or anti-Muslim but thee were many pre-judgments made that were not based on reality. From the guards to the "Intelligence" officers, commanders and several other government agencies false assumptions that could have been easily verified by talking to those who knew him most or reviewing he information gathered from those who knew him most. All of he facts were overlooked which allows one to correctly state that this was a witch-hunt.

Because Chaplain Yee and others were Muslims they were presumed guilty...of something. It would be wrong to assume that all individuals involved were racist. At most you could say they were unprofessional in their duties. It would be equally unrealistic to say that none of the individuals involved were not racist and blinded by their beliefs. There were also leaders who were anti-Muslim. The can use Sep 11 as an excuse but a rational person does not blame millions of people for the acts of 100. This is what led to genocides and mass murders around the world. This is a KKK mentality and very UN Christ like for those who try to veil their actions in the name of Jesus or Christianity. Shameful. There have been recent arrests and convictions of U.S. citizens for spying for Christian, Atheist and Jewish nations, none we subject to any treatment close to that experienced by Chaplain Yee. So you have to ask the question why?

This book did a great job of answering some of he questions by providing facts and direct comments from those involved. Unfortunately several of those involved did not choose to participate by providing their side of the story. National security is not the issue here. You can't hide the truth behind that either. In the big scheme of things much of our focus is misplaced when it come to intelligence failures. There is no doubt about it that someone during this process had to make reports to the Secretary of Defense, the Vice-President and President. With the Patriot Act and the recently disclosed wire tapping of U.S. citizens Chaplain Yee had to be a prime target. It was to big a story not to be. So not only were they pursuing a lie in court there were perpetrating a lie in the media trying to shape the U.S. public opinion. There was one new network that had a "Former CIA agent" as a talking head right after his arrest. This so called expert said that from the time Yee got back from Syria the Intel and justice people were on him tracking his every move. This was a bold lie but it was accepted as official since it was from a government official in the know and broadcast on a reputable news network in prime time. Shameful.

Someone "official" also had to be reporting this lie to the Commander in Chief. This is not an attack on the President nor should anyone use it to be. He would not be involved in the day-to-day investigation and prosecution of this case. But someone was shaping the battleground and providing false reports. This is the greatest intelligence failure. Greater than missing the Sep 11 attack and it's plotters. Greater than not finding WMDs. This is greater because it is the deliberate persecution of an Officer in the U.S. military, a Chaplain, man of the cloth, a U.S. citizen. Someone or a group of people put themselves above the law. The same law that applied to Presidents Nixon and Clinton. But unlike the Presidents this person or person has to this day gone unchecked. The greater fear we should have is that it will happen again and again unless something is done.

Who can take action? Individuals can by voicing their concerns, but we have been silent because deep down we too possess a little prejudice and lack of concern for our fellow citizens. The media could but they were the sharks that were fed lies and deceived and propagated the story because it was a headliner, filled up some pages or minutes and attracted attention. Our elected officials could, but they are to wrapped up in themselves, their jobs and their party. They would use the situation only for their own gain and if they can't gain anything from it, if they can't get on TV or knock the opposition down they don't see the value in correcting this injustice. What has been done so far by all can be evaluated by the results. The results are zero.

Letting Chaplain Yee resign honorably was not a concession. He served honorably and that was his right. Forcing him out of he service he loved, creating hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills for him, humiliating him and his family, disgracing our acceptance of diversity, confiscating and not returning or compensating him for his personal belongings. Did I mention 76 days in solitary confinement? Who can honestly say that justice has been attempted?

This book raises some very disturbing issues and actions by those in "power" at lower levels. Lack of adult supervision in the military, justice, law, intelligence and other government agencies needs to be in place. Failure of leaders in their respective communities to maintain a climate of justice should be unacceptable.

So what is the cause of all this? As already stated prejudice but also personal ambition. Imaging if you were a prosecutor, investigator or intelligence operator or supervisor and you could make this stick. What would it do for your career? You would certainly get promoted. Have you 15 minutes of fame on TV and maybe even become a regular consultant on TV, a celebrity in your own mind. What if this was your bosses desire and you were stuck between that proverbial rock and a hard place. What if it all caved in because it was based on a lie? Well damage control sets in. Discredit the messenger, surrender but make it seem like a victory. Then hope it all just goes away as you move on to another position somewhere until it's safe.

The story has been told but there is still a lot more to do. It will take students to uncover, as Paul Harvey would say, "the rest of the story". So for you West Point and other military academy students, legal student, beginning intelligence analysts, human rights students, congressional interns, Masters and Doctorate candidates and all students in general. The next time you have to do a paper or research use this book as your reference it has plenty of names, organizations, dates, times and places make use of the freedom of information act. Start with your Representative and Senator's offices ask questions and get answers. You may be surprised at what the power of your actions can do.

Orlando R. Goodwin

This is an objective expose of the wrongs of our government and the military. A riveting first-hand account that exposes the inhumane attitude at the highest levels of our military & by extension the current corrupt administration.

I salute Captain & Chaplain James Yee for speaking to the totally abusive power. This book is also a response to his reasonable request for an apology that never got obliged by the Imperial US Governemnt and as a result he had to "resign" and we lost a competitive career military officer who could have helped the nation and the world.

Once you start reading this book, you cannot put it down. James Yee talks about his experience in Guantanamo Bay as a Muslim chaplain and his subsequent arrest being (falsely) accused of espionage and terrorism. I appreciate the fact that he can narrate a very candid and level-headed account of his ordeal. And even though he is angry at what the government put him through, he still remains a loyal American and devout Muslim. The government and media like to make it seem like the two are mutually exclusive. However, Joseph Yee is living proof that they are two qualities that can co-exist very harmoniously.

It was very disheartening to read about the treatment of the prisoners in Gitmo, although somehow I was not surprised by it. The government has managed to create loopholes so that normal international law does not apply to them. I can only pray that one day TRUE justice will be served to all of those who have been falsely accused of heinous crimes, including James Yee.

This book is an excellent read and I recommend it highly. James Yee's story should NOT be forgotten ever.

This book gave an eye-opening account to the list of misconduct inside the prison cells in Guantanamo Bay. Despite the unfortunately distateful information learned, I thorougly enjoyed this book not only for the accounts James Yee gave, but also for the clear way he educates readers on Islam. There were times through the book where I was moved to tears and felt the intensity of the situations that James and his family went through. It was a book I couldn't put down. Get it to not only hear a good narration but also to know how a truly strong character like James Yee reacts to the good and bad tides that turned in his life in the army.

I was astonished to read this account of Chaplain Yee's ministry at GTMO and subsequent imprisonment and harrassment by our government. Even if a few parts might be self serving, as a whole this is a story that everyone needs to know about. Here was a young man who was totally committed to serving God and his country,and did so under extremely difficult circumstances with absolutely no awareness that things might turn sour for him. Since reading the book I have vowed to have as little to do with our government as possible under the current paranoid administration. We live in dangerous times. Yee is a hero. I hope he has figured out how to put his life back together in some new ways.

"For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire" is a memoir by James Yee, who served as a United States Army Muslim chaplain at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility during the post-9/11 time of war. The book is coauthored by Aimee Molloy. The first chapter of the book recounts Yee's arrest by a U.S. government agent. Yee then goes back in time and proceeds to tell the story of his entire eventful life, including his childhood in New Jersey as a third-generation Chinese-American, education at West Point, conversion to Islam as a 23-year old, service in the Army as an air defense artillery officer, deployment to Saudi Arabia, Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, marriage, Islamic studies in Syria, and Army service as a pioneering Muslim chaplain.

Much of the book details his service as chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; his time as a prisoner after his own arrest; and his legal fight to clear his name. Yee was accused of many offenses, including espionage, sedition, and aiding the enemy; he faced a possible death penalty. This is an absolutely gripping narrative; it's one of those books that I found almost impossible to put down. Particularly interesting are the many details about the operation of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Yee creates a vivid picture of the lives of the prisoners, and gives insight into his role as a chaplain who ministered to both the prisoners and to Muslim facility staff. Yee makes many disturbing claims about the operation of the prison; he shares allegations that the Islamic religion was purposely mocked and degraded in order to psychologically rattle the prisoners, and he alleges that prison guards attempted to bully him and hinder his ability to perform his duties. He writes that the prison was the site of "an endless cycle of tension and violence."

Yee also writes in detail about the humiliation he experienced while imprisoned by the U.S. government. His voice is angry and outraged, and he is pointedly critical of specific individuals. Despite his anger, the narrative voice is controlled and the book is overall very clearly written and well organized. Yee raises some very compelling ethical and practical issues. The book is also a remarkable story of faith--how he found Islam and how Islam sustained him through a nightmarish ordeal. As the memoir of an American convert to Islam, the book reminded me of the enduring classic "The Autobiography of Malcolm X," which would make a great companion text.

The one problem I had with the book is that Yee seems to evade fully addressing the adultery and pornography charges leveled against him by the military. In the book's epilogue, he acknowledges that some will probably still have questions about those charges, but he bluntly adds, "I have said all that I am going to say on this matter." He further seems to trivialize the charges, dismissing them as "frivolous accusations about my personal life." But I think that he fails to really address the significance of how such accusations, especially if true, could compromise one's role as a soldier and clergyman. That criticism aside, this powerful narrative is, in my opinion, one of the most remarkable human documents of the "war on terror."

I read For God and Country in a few days. It is simply unbelievable how this miscarriage of justice could happen to a military officer who obviously did his job too well. Perhaps this book will challenge Americans to resist the attempted normalization of eroded civil liberties perpetrated by the Bush administration. While 9/11 has forever scarred the collective consciousness of Americans, we must take care not to allow the beheading of Lady Justice by corrupt people in office and in the military who seek to exploit the anxiety Americans feel about their safety. The memory of those who died in the terrorist attacks on 9/11 depends on our vigilance of what remains of our civil liberties.

A. Moyo

What happened to Chaplain Yee should never happen in the USA, a country where we are supposed to be "innocent until proven guilty." The government never proved any of its original allegations, yet Yee was punished anyway. To think that our military threatened this good man with the death penalty is truly frightening. The death penalty for what? For daring to challenge the mistreatment of detainees at Guantanamo. This book is hard to put down. Chaplain Yee, you are not finished serving this country. You have just begun. Keep up your good work.

Having read both former United States Army chaplain James Yee's spellbinding account of witnessing prisoner torture and being subjected to prejudice for being a Muslim-American and some of the vehemently hostile reviews posted here, I am compelled to add my own thoughts regarding Yee and his book. By writing my favorable review of "For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire", I am not, as one of Yee's cousins, condoning each and every one of his acts since he ended his military service with honor, if not respect, from Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon. Nor do I think his book is great literature, comparable in quality to Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes". However, Yee's riveting saga is an emotionally disturbing one which should be read by fellow conservatives and others supporting current United States military missions in the ongoing "War on Terror" as well as those opposing this war. What Yee describes should be regarded by readers as quite troublesome, if not disturbing, calling into question the necessity of using torture against detained military combatants. It is for these very reasons that I have decided finally to give James Yee's book a favorable recommendation here at Amazon.com.

(EDITORIAL NOTE 8/20/10: James Yee does not speak on my behalf nor of others in our family who oppose his involvement with the Council on American - Islamic Relations, especially now as the executive director of its New Jersey chapter. I strongly object to his recently issued press release regarding Republican Party reaction to the proposed construction of an Islamic Cultural Center near the World Trade Center site:


http://uspolitics.einnews.com/pr-news/148790-cair-nj-thanks-governor-for-islamophobia-warning)