Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, the suspect in the Washington, DC shooting of two National Guard members, previously served with the Kandahar Strike Force (KSF), a CIA-backed Afghan “Zero Unit” implicated in war crimes.

He entered the US in 2021 under “Operation Allies Welcome,” a program for Afghans who assisted American forces during the war.

Earlier this year, he was granted asylum, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirming his cooperation as part of a partner force in Kandahar. The KSF operated under Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security and was trained and commanded by the CIA. Human Rights Watch documented abuses by these units, including extrajudicial killings and attacks on medical facilities. Lakanwal, originally from Khost province, lived in Bellingham, Washington, with his family. President Trump announced that Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died, while Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains critical.

It is more than legitimate to wonder: what has the US presence in Afghanistan really achieved, besides generating hate and crime?

Janus Press