The story emerging from Washington carries the kind of troubling details that demand our attention and our questions.
The Afghan national accused of opening fire on two National Guard members just blocks from the White House was not some random arrival to our shores. According to intelligence sources, Rahmanullah Lakanwal worked directly with various United States government entities, including the Central Intelligence Agency, as a member of a partner force operating in Afghanistan.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Lakanwal, now 29 years old, entered the United States in September 2021, riding the chaotic wave of the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan the month prior. He arrived under the banner of “Operation Allies Welcome,” a program designed to bring Afghan allies to safety after two decades of American presence in that troubled nation.
The shooting wounded two National Guard soldiers who were serving in our nation’s capital. These service members, doing their duty in what should have been a routine assignment, became victims of what officials are calling an “act of evil.”
Intelligence sources have confirmed that Lakanwal’s relationship with American government agencies stemmed from his work in Kandahar, where he operated as part of a partner force. This connection, these sources indicate, became the justification for bringing him to the United States during those frantic days of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
The Biden administration’s handling of the Afghanistan exit has been documented as one of the most disastrous foreign policy episodes in recent American history. Thirteen service members lost their lives during the evacuation. Billions of dollars in military equipment fell into Taliban hands. And now we are learning that the vetting process for those brought to America under emergency operations may have been dangerously inadequate.
This case raises fundamental questions about our screening procedures. How does someone with access to CIA operations and knowledge of American intelligence methods end up shooting our own troops on American soil? What red flags were missed? What warnings were ignored?
The irony cuts deep. Lakanwal’s prior work with American forces supposedly qualified him for expedited entry into our country. That relationship, meant to indicate trustworthiness and allegiance, apparently meant little when he allegedly turned a weapon on American service members in the shadow of the White House.
Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida has been among those demanding answers about this incident and the broader failures it represents. The questions he and others are raising deserve serious consideration from every American, regardless of political affiliation.
National Guard soldiers gathered at the scene after their fellow troops were shot, a stark reminder that threats to our security can emerge from the most unexpected quarters, even from those we once counted as partners.
The investigation continues, but the fundamental facts already tell a disturbing story about the consequences of rushed policy decisions made during crisis moments. When national security becomes subordinate to political timelines and optics, Americans pay the price.
Those two wounded Guard members are the latest to learn that lesson the hard way.
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