Staff Reports
A brazen ambush near Farragut West left two West Virginia National Guard members shot on November 26, and one of them, Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, later died from her wounds. The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was taken into custody after being wounded and is now facing upgraded charges, including first-degree murder. This was not a random act on a back alley — it was an attack on those deployed to keep the capital safe.
Federal officials have confirmed that Lakanwal previously served with U.S.-backed partner forces in Kandahar and had links to units that operated alongside the CIA during America’s long campaign in Afghanistan. Reporting describes his role in so-called Zero Units, paramilitary teams involved in night raids and combat missions, the kind of groups that received U.S. intelligence and logistical support. Those facts complicate the narrative sold to the public: this was someone who had worked with our side abroad and somehow ended up turning a gun on our troops here at home.
He arrived in the United States in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome and was later living in Bellingham, Washington, before allegedly driving cross-country to carry out the attack in Washington, D.C. Reports say his asylum application was granted earlier this year, a detail that has exploded into a national argument over how evacuees and partners were admitted in the chaotic final days in Afghanistan. That admission process is now rightfully under a microscope, because one failed decision can cost an American life.
Law enforcement has treated the incident as an act of violence and terrorism while the investigation continues, and prosecutors have moved swiftly to upgrade the charges after Beckstrom’s death. The suspect remains hospitalized and not fully cooperating, and federal agencies are poring over how someone with this background slipped into positions of trust on U.S. soil. President Trump ordered additional National Guard deployments to the capital and called for a halt and review of Afghan admissions, a predictable reaction in the face of a clear security failure.
Intelligence officials from the administration have bluntly said the Biden team justified admitting the suspect because of his prior work with U.S. agencies, a justification that now looks dangerously insufficient. That admission from leadership in the intelligence community is not exculpatory; it is an admission that vetting was rushed or bypassed in the name of evacuation theater. Americans deserve an answer: who signed off, what checks were skipped, and why was public safety subordinated to optics?
Enough with the bureaucratic excuses and platitudes. It is time for real accountability — a full, public review of how partner forces were processed during the 2021 withdrawal, criminal and administrative investigations where appropriate, and an immediate halt to any resettlement streams that lack rigorous, in-person vetting. If we value the lives of our service members and the security of our cities, there can be no sacred cows when it comes to who we allow in and on what terms.
Congress and the new administration should demand transparency from intelligence agencies and immigration officials alike, not to score partisan points but to restore trust and prevent another preventable tragedy. Families who sent their sons and daughters to defend the homeland deserve answers and action, and the men and women in uniform deserve better protection than being placed on the front lines of failed policies.
We mourn Sarah Beckstrom and pray for the recovery of Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, and we must turn grief into resolve. Let this awful day be the catalyst for sweeping fixes — stronger vetting, clearer accountability, and a renewed commitment to put American security first.
