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CNN Sunday Morning
Muslim Chaplain Arrested on Suspicion of Espionage
Aired September 21, 2003 - 07:02 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.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Turning now from terrorism in Iraq, to the wider war against terror, it is being waged on different fronts.
Rick Price from our affiliate KIRO reports on reaction from Fort Lewis on the Muslim chaplain who is now being investigated on suspicion of espionage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK PRICE, KIRO CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When they hear that a chaplain once stationed here has been arrested on suspicion of spying and treason, a couple of off duty soldiers tell us if it's true, it's an outrage.
DARIUS PETTY, U.S. ARMY: How are you going to work for the military but then you're going to try to help them do exactly what we're trying to stop? Yes, I think he should be punished for that.
MATT PHELPS, U.S. ARMY: How you going to say that? How are you going to say something but do something else? That's not morally correct.
PRICE: We met James, Yee, also known as Yusuf, just after September 11 when he was the Muslim chaplain at Fort Lewis. But last November, he was assigned to minister to Muslim prisoners at Camp X- ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prisoners detained during the war in Afghanistan and in other anti-terrorist operations.
Ten days ago, he was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida on suspicion of spying and treason. Sources tell CNN he was in possession of classified documents about Camp X-ray that a chaplain shouldn't have, including lists of the detainees, diagrams of their cells and lists of the interrogators here.
When we talked to him in 2001, he told us a friend of his was missing in the attack on the Pentagon and that the attack on the World Trade Center hit very close to home.
JAMES YEE: From my house just up the street, you can see the skyline of New York.
PRICE: The soldiers we talked with tonight have trouble fitting that into the story of the arrest.
PHELPS: And how is he going to say he's going to feel bad for them but yet he's turning around and trying to do the same thing that happened on September 11?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: That was reporter Rick Price from CNN's affiliate KIRO in Seattle.
We will have more on this story, including an interview with our security analyst, Kelly McCann, coming up soon.
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 September 21, 2003 - 07:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Turning now from terrorism in Iraq, to the wider war against terror, it is being waged on different fronts.
Rick Price from our affiliate KIRO reports on reaction from Fort Lewis on the Muslim chaplain who is now being investigated on suspicion of espionage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK PRICE, KIRO CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When they hear that a chaplain once stationed here has been arrested on suspicion of spying and treason, a couple of off duty soldiers tell us if it's true, it's an outrage.
DARIUS PETTY, U.S. ARMY: How are you going to work for the military but then you're going to try to help them do exactly what we're trying to stop? Yes, I think he should be punished for that.
MATT PHELPS, U.S. ARMY: How you going to say that? How are you going to say something but do something else? That's not morally correct.
PRICE: We met James, Yee, also known as Yusuf, just after September 11 when he was the Muslim chaplain at Fort Lewis. But last November, he was assigned to minister to Muslim prisoners at Camp X- ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prisoners detained during the war in Afghanistan and in other anti-terrorist operations.
Ten days ago, he was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida on suspicion of spying and treason. Sources tell CNN he was in possession of classified documents about Camp X-ray that a chaplain shouldn't have, including lists of the detainees, diagrams of their cells and lists of the interrogators here.
When we talked to him in 2001, he told us a friend of his was missing in the attack on the Pentagon and that the attack on the World Trade Center hit very close to home.
JAMES YEE: From my house just up the street, you can see the skyline of New York.
PRICE: The soldiers we talked with tonight have trouble fitting that into the story of the arrest.
PHELPS: And how is he going to say he's going to feel bad for them but yet he's turning around and trying to do the same thing that happened on September 11?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: That was reporter Rick Price from CNN's affiliate KIRO in Seattle.
We will have more on this story, including an interview with our security analyst, Kelly McCann, coming up soon.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
