Hyder Akbar

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Said Hyder Akbar (1984 in Peshawar, Pakistan) is the son of Said Fazal Akbar, a former governor of the Kunar Province of Afghanistan.^[1] Akbar, a citizen of both Afghanistan and the United States, graduated from Yale University, where he was tapped into the highly-secretive and selective Skull and Bones senior society, in May 2006.^{[citation needed]} Akbar has assisted his father and US forces, following the 2001 war in Afghanistan.

While assisting US forces, Akbar encouraged an Afghan man, Abdul Wali, to turn himself in and assured Wali he would not be mistreated. ^[1] Akbar accompanied Wali to a US base, and served as a translator for David Passaro, a former special forces soldier, who the CIA hired, on contract, to serve as an interrogator -- even though he had no background in interrogation. Akbar later described Passaro as "full of rage"^[1] and "a big a-hole"^[2]. He said he had to stop translating because Passaro became too aggressive.^[2]

Based in part on Akbar's testimony and a letter from his father, who said Passaro created distrust and set back reconstruction efforts, Passaro was convicted of assault and sentenced to eight years, four months imprisonment on February 14, 2007.^[3]

Akbar later wrote a critically acclaimed book about his experiences in Afghanistan, called Come Back to Afghanistan.

Recently, Akbar was the focus of a flag-burning controversy that took place at Yale University. Along with two other students, Akbar was charged with setting fire to an American flag hanging from the front porch of a New Haven residence.^[4]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} CIA operative admitted killing Afghan prisoner, Capitol Hill Blues, August 9, 2006
2. ^ ^{a b} Clara Jeffery, Mother Jones, Dec/Jan 2006[1]
3. ^ Andrea Weigl, News Observer, February 14, 2007 [2]
4. ^ William Kaempfner, New Haven Register, April 4, 2007 [3]