Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Sunday that the alleged shooter of two members of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., may have been radicalized after being evacuated to the United States from Afghanistan in 2021. Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo
The Afghan national accused of shooting a two National Guard troops while they were deployed in Washington, D.C., was part of an elite CIA unit in Afghanistan, members of which have struggled to adjust to life in the United States.
The alleged shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, worked with the CIA in Afghanistan as part of a “zero unit,” or national strike unit, who worked with the American military to track down high value Taliban targets in Afghanistan.
Many members of these units, whom NBC News reports are among the most vetted Afghans who worked with the U.S. military, were evacuated in 2021 when the United States pulled out of Afghanistan because they were expected to targeted for retribution by the Taliban after it retook power.
“He was brought into the country by the Biden administration through Operation Allies Welcome. And then, maybe vetted after that, but not done well, based on what the guidelines were put forward by President Biden,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week.”
“And now, since he’s been here, we believe he could have been radicalized in his home community and in his home state,” Noem said.
Lakanwal arrived in the United States in 2021, after having been vetted regularly while he was working with U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and was granted asylum in April by the Trump administration after another round of vetting, officials have said.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the Trump administration ordered that visa holders from “every country of concern” would be required to undergo reviews to determine if they will be permitted to stay in the U.S.
The administration also said it would pause all applications for asylum, in addition to “permanently pausing migration from all third world countries.”
Members of the zero units took part in intense combat, which has left them with wartime trauma similar to the special operations forces they worked with, as well legal challenges related to their status in the U.S., and have suffered intense mental health challenges, experts have said.
“If you bring people here and you don’t let them feel like there is any hope, you’re leaving them in a very troubling situation,” a spokesperson for the 1208 Foundation, which helps Afghans who worked with the U.S. during the war, told ABC News, suggesting that treating these people like “pariahs” is going to make for a worse situation.
Although the Trump administration agreed to a deal bringing Afghans who worked with the zero units to the U.S., many have struggled to find work, let alone clarity on their asylum or visa status.
“Without your help, we are trapped,” Mohammad Shah, an Afghan in the U.S. who commanded a zero unit, wrote in a letter to members of Congress.
“Recently, there have been cases of suicide within our community driven by the overwhelming sentiment of helplessness we feel as our requests for immigration assistance go ignored by the U.S. government,” Shah wrote.
This week in Washington
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One on Tuesday. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
