The Afghan national accused of gunning down two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C. was brought into the United States under the justification that he had previously worked with the CIA and other U.S. agencies during the Afghanistan conflict, according to CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, entered the U.S. in 2021 through the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program. The initiative, launched after the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, aimed to relocate Afghans who had assisted American forces. Lakanwal allegedly shot two West Virginia National Guardsmen near the White House earlier this week, leaving both in critical condition.
“In the wake of the disastrous Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar,” Ratcliffe told Fox News Digital. “That mission ended shortly after the evacuation began, but the documentation tied him directly to prior cooperation.”
This revelation has sparked new scrutiny over how thoroughly individuals were vetted before being allowed into the country under the controversial relocation effort.
Operation Allies Welcome Under Fire
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversaw the program, previously insisted that all evacuees underwent “robust screening and vetting.” Then-Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the effort included coordination between DHS, the Pentagon, State Department, FBI, and other intelligence agencies to prevent foreign adversaries or dangerous individuals from slipping through.
But Lakanwal’s case has ignited questions about whether those safeguards were sufficient — particularly as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed this week that the suspect’s legal permission to remain in the country expired in September and had not been renewed. “This individual should not have been in the country to begin with,” Noem said.
Trump: ‘An Act of Terror, an Act of Betrayal’
President Donald Trump, who ordered 500 additional National Guard troops to D.C. following the attack, addressed the nation Wednesday night. He laid the blame squarely on the Biden administration’s refugee policies and promised to investigate every alien brought in under Operation Allies Welcome.
“This was an act of evil, an act of hatred, and an act of terror,” Trump said. “It was a crime against our entire nation, and we will hold everyone accountable — including those who enabled this attacker to set foot on American soil.”
Trump said the Biden-era vetting process failed catastrophically and demanded a full review of all individuals admitted through the Afghan resettlement program. “We’re going to audit every last name on those flight manifests,” he added. “If you don’t belong here, you’re leaving.”
Growing Fallout for Biden Administration
Lawmakers are now calling for congressional investigations into Operation Allies Welcome and questioning how someone with a criminal history or extremist sympathies could slip through U.S. security checks. Sources told Fox News that Lakanwal’s background raised some red flags at the time but was ultimately cleared due to his connections with U.S. intelligence assets.
Meanwhile, both National Guardsmen remain hospitalized in critical condition. West Virginia officials held a prayer vigil outside the hospital, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the shooting a “cowardly ambush.”
“This is what happens when national security is sacrificed for virtue signaling,” Hegseth said. “And it’s going to stop now.”
The post National Guardsmen Shooting Suspect Worked With The CIA, Agency Head Says appeared first on Real News Now.
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