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It seemed like an ordinary day of postSeptember-11 air travel. I departed Boston for Chicago, where I changed planes for an obscure destination: Killeen, Texas, 65 miles north of Austin.
As I stepped off the airplane in O'Hare, I heard, "Mr. Sadat, we want to speak with you." Three men dressed in dark suits pulled me to the side of the jet bridge. One of them introduced himself as being with the FBI. He peppered me with questions. "Where are you from? Where do you live now? How old are you?"
"I was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. My family sought refuge in America in 1984, escaping the Soviet-Afghan War. I'm 28 years old."
The lead agent inquired further about my family. "My family lives in San Diego and I live in Boston." As the passengers and crew deplaned, the agents asked what my parents do for a living.
"My mom is a childcare worker and hair stylist, and my father, who once served as an ambassador, is now a taxicab driver." The irrelevance of the questions forced me to interject. "Excuse me, I want to know the purpose of your questioning."
Maintaining a blank expression, the lead agent replied, "One of the passengers saw you reading literature about Afghanistan and reported it as a threat to the flight attendant. That news was passed to us. Where are you traveling today?"
I shook my head. "I'm going to Ft. Hood to deliver a graduate-level seminar to the military."
"What is the seminar about?"
I teach graduate seminars on Afghanistan to soldiers deploying to the region. I expressed the irony that the slides I was leafing through were intended to help America succeed in the Afghan mission, not pose a homeland security threat.
When they ask my qualifications, I answered, "My proficiency in...