Gitmo Chaplain Ordered to Keep Silent?

April 21 -- Capt. James Yee's bizarre journey through the military justice system — from suspected al Qaeda spy to accused adulterer to free man with a clean record — has taken a new confounding turn. Yee has apparently been commanded to keep silent about his ordeal.

Earlier this month, Yee received an order from his commander at Fort Lewis, Wash., Army Lt. Col. Marvin S. Whitaker, regarding Yee's "First Amendment rights to free speech."

The letter, received on April 6, informed Yee that as a soldier he is ordered — with threat of punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice — to refrain from any speech violating what sound like fairly vague and malleable criteria.

"Speech that undermines the effectiveness of loyalty, discipline, or unit morale is not constitutionally protected," Whitaker wrote. "Such speech includes, but is not limited to, disrespectful acts or language, however expressed, toward military authorities or other officials."

(Read the letter sent to Yee.)

Yee is also barred from any "(a)dverse criticism" of the Department of Defense "or Army policy that is disloyal or disruptive to good order and discipline."

Yee's attorney, Eugene Fidell, told ABCNEWS: "The punch line is, 'Pal — you're walking in a minefield and we're not going to tell you where the mines are, proceed at your own risk.' "

Fidell says the letter defines prohibited speech so broadly, Yee is effectively barred from saying anything about his ordeal since "adverse criticism" of the "Army policy" that resulted in his detention would certainly qualify in the list of forbidden topics.

A spokeswoman for Fort Lewis told ABCNEWS she couldn't discuss the letter. "This is a personal correspondence between a supervisor and a subordinate, so we can't talk about that," said spokeswoman Tonya Townsell.

Security Breaches at Guantanamo Bay?

A Chinese-American convert to Islam from New Jersey, Yee, 36, had studied in Syria and speaks Arabic fluently.