A shocking incident near the White House on Wednesday has raised urgent questions about how a man from Afghanistan, once allied with U.S. forces, turned against the very nation that offered him refuge.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, accused of shooting two National Guard members just before Thanksgiving, was radicalized within U.S. borders after arriving in 2021 under a Biden-era resettlement program for Afghan allies, The Hill reported.
This case cuts deep, exposing cracks in a system meant to protect both newcomers and citizens. It demands a hard look at how we balance compassion with security.
Lakanwal’s journey began as a member of a CIA-trained strike force in Afghanistan, a role that should have required thorough scrutiny before resettlement. Yet, the chaos of the 2021 withdrawal left gaps in that process, raising doubts about who truly slipped through.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaking on Fox News Sunday, didn’t mince words about the failure. “We know that this shooter who shot our National Guardsmen in D.C. the day before Thanksgiving, he was radicalized... these people should not have been in our country,” she stated, pointing to a breakdown that stings worse than a winter wind.
Her words hit a nerve, as they should. If radicalization happened on American soil, the issue isn’t just who we let in, but what happens after they arrive.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, addressing the issue on NBC’s Meet the Press, confirmed the suspect’s shift occurred post-arrival. “We believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country... through connections in his home community and state,” she explained, hinting at local influences that demand immediate investigation.
Her remarks peel back a layer of discomfort about community oversight. If ties in his immediate surroundings played a role, then monitoring and integration efforts need a serious overhaul.
Noem also took aim at the vetting debacle during the Afghanistan evacuation. She argued the Biden administration’s rush to airlift allies without proper checks created a ticking hazard, a policy misstep that now haunts us.
The Biden-era approach, according to Noem, abandoned rigorous screening in favor of haste. She described a scenario where people were flown in with promises of later vetting, a gamble that clearly backfired.
Compounding the problem, the fall of the Afghan government made background checks nearly impossible. Without a stable authority to verify identities or histories, the U.S. was left flying blind.
This isn’t just bureaucratic red tape gone wrong. It’s a glaring signal that humanitarian gestures, however well-intended, can’t come at the expense of airtight safeguards.
Questions linger about why Lakanwal received asylum under the Trump administration if vetting was incomplete. Noem’s critique of the prior administration’s lapses under Biden cuts to the core: responsibility was dodged, and now we pay the price.
This incident near the White House isn’t an isolated tragedy but a wake-up call. We must rebuild trust in a system that welcomes allies without rolling the dice on national safety.
Let’s demand policies that vet thoroughly at the outset and track integration closely thereafter. Compassion for those who aided us in war shouldn’t mean turning a blind eye to real risks, and it’s high time our leaders prioritize both humanity and vigilance with equal resolve.
