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American Morning

Chaplain Under Fire

Aired December 08, 2003 - 08:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Military prosecutors taking their first step in trying to prove that Army Chaplain James Yee should be court- martialed. Captain Yee, a converted Muslim, ministered to detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. He was arrested in September on suspicion of espionage, but no charges were filed. During a military hearing today at Fort Benning in Georgia, Yee will be charged with mishandling classified material, storing pornography on a government computer, and making a false statement. In addition, adultery with a female officer at Guantanamo Bay.
Shadeed Nuriddin is a friend and supporter of Captain Yee. he is with us this morning live in Seattle, Washington.

Thank you for your time. Good morning to you there in Seattle.

SHADEED NURIDDIN, SUPPORTER OF CAPT. JAMES YEE: Thank you. Good morning to you, Bill.

HEMMER: You are described as a friend. How close are you with Captain Yee?

NURIDDIN: I've known Captain Yee for about 2 1/2 years. He's a neighbor. He lives about less than 100 yards from my wife and I. We attend the same mosque in the Olympia area when he's not at Fort Lewis.

HEMMER: At that mosque, I know he preaches oftentimes. What is his message?

NURIDDIN: His message is really about the principles of Islam, what we as Muslims are required to do according to teachings of Islam. Our responsibility, both as citizens in this country, and our responsibility to actually be good citizens of this country.

HEMMER: Has he ever suggested any sort of anti-Western thought, or theory, or policy or anti-American thought?

NURIDDIN: Absolutely not. If you look at -- if you do just a cursory background check of Captain Yee, he's a West Point graduate. He's a person who has a distinguished military career up until now. He was something -- he was doing something that it was his dream job. He left the military, went into Reserve status to go study. He wanted to be a chaplain in the U.S. army.

HEMMER: Obviously, there are suspicions out at Guantanamo Bay within the U.S. military. Why do you think that's the case? NURIDDIN: I think he was targeted as a Muslim. He studied in Syria. I think as a chaplain, I think he probably showed some compassion towards those detainees there. Now showing compassion, you would expect that from a chaplain. Showing compassion does not mean they're empathetic with what they represent. And I think in that context, I think he would just probably refused to be used as a tool of interrogation for those detainees.

NURIDDIN: Let me just stop you there for a second. You say he was targeted because he was a Muslim. But doesn't that make sense as to why he was given the job, to help minister to the detainees of Guantanamo Bay in the first place?

NURIDDIN: Initially, that's what we felt. And he was initially assigned six months. After six months he was reassigned another six months. So we assumed that he was doing a very good job. I think the actions of the Army subsequent to that indicates that they -- that he was targeted.

Look, he was arrested, held and the information was leaked to the public that he was being arrested for spying, espionage, with not one scintilla of evidence to support that.

HEMMER: I know you've had conversations with him, many I understand in the past few weeks. What were your conversations about? What can you share with us today?

NURIDDIN: Well, initially I was concerned about his spirit, how did he feel? How was he emotionally? I think he's in excellent shape. I think he realizes that these are bogus charges. He's prepared to fight. And he's prepared to make -- to exonerate his reputation and his honor.

HEMMER: Did he tell you that he felt the same way you do about being targeted because he's a Muslim?

NURIDDIN: Well, I think he's very diplomatic. He's still a military officer. He has concerns about his career continuing, I think, as a military officer. He's not one who engages in those kinds of discussions publicly or privately.

HEMMER: Shaheed Nuriddin is a friend of Captain James Yee, a supporter as well. Thank you for sharing with us today, live in Seattle.

NURIDDIN: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 8, 2003 - 08:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Military prosecutors taking their first step in trying to prove that Army Chaplain James Yee should be court- martialed. Captain Yee, a converted Muslim, ministered to detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. He was arrested in September on suspicion of espionage, but no charges were filed. During a military hearing today at Fort Benning in Georgia, Yee will be charged with mishandling classified material, storing pornography on a government computer, and making a false statement. In addition, adultery with a female officer at Guantanamo Bay.
Shadeed Nuriddin is a friend and supporter of Captain Yee. he is with us this morning live in Seattle, Washington.

Thank you for your time. Good morning to you there in Seattle.

SHADEED NURIDDIN, SUPPORTER OF CAPT. JAMES YEE: Thank you. Good morning to you, Bill.

HEMMER: You are described as a friend. How close are you with Captain Yee?

NURIDDIN: I've known Captain Yee for about 2 1/2 years. He's a neighbor. He lives about less than 100 yards from my wife and I. We attend the same mosque in the Olympia area when he's not at Fort Lewis.

HEMMER: At that mosque, I know he preaches oftentimes. What is his message?

NURIDDIN: His message is really about the principles of Islam, what we as Muslims are required to do according to teachings of Islam. Our responsibility, both as citizens in this country, and our responsibility to actually be good citizens of this country.

HEMMER: Has he ever suggested any sort of anti-Western thought, or theory, or policy or anti-American thought?

NURIDDIN: Absolutely not. If you look at -- if you do just a cursory background check of Captain Yee, he's a West Point graduate. He's a person who has a distinguished military career up until now. He was something -- he was doing something that it was his dream job. He left the military, went into Reserve status to go study. He wanted to be a chaplain in the U.S. army.

HEMMER: Obviously, there are suspicions out at Guantanamo Bay within the U.S. military. Why do you think that's the case? NURIDDIN: I think he was targeted as a Muslim. He studied in Syria. I think as a chaplain, I think he probably showed some compassion towards those detainees there. Now showing compassion, you would expect that from a chaplain. Showing compassion does not mean they're empathetic with what they represent. And I think in that context, I think he would just probably refused to be used as a tool of interrogation for those detainees.

NURIDDIN: Let me just stop you there for a second. You say he was targeted because he was a Muslim. But doesn't that make sense as to why he was given the job, to help minister to the detainees of Guantanamo Bay in the first place?

NURIDDIN: Initially, that's what we felt. And he was initially assigned six months. After six months he was reassigned another six months. So we assumed that he was doing a very good job. I think the actions of the Army subsequent to that indicates that they -- that he was targeted.

Look, he was arrested, held and the information was leaked to the public that he was being arrested for spying, espionage, with not one scintilla of evidence to support that.

HEMMER: I know you've had conversations with him, many I understand in the past few weeks. What were your conversations about? What can you share with us today?

NURIDDIN: Well, initially I was concerned about his spirit, how did he feel? How was he emotionally? I think he's in excellent shape. I think he realizes that these are bogus charges. He's prepared to fight. And he's prepared to make -- to exonerate his reputation and his honor.

HEMMER: Did he tell you that he felt the same way you do about being targeted because he's a Muslim?

NURIDDIN: Well, I think he's very diplomatic. He's still a military officer. He has concerns about his career continuing, I think, as a military officer. He's not one who engages in those kinds of discussions publicly or privately.

HEMMER: Shaheed Nuriddin is a friend of Captain James Yee, a supporter as well. Thank you for sharing with us today, live in Seattle.

NURIDDIN: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com