On November 26, 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who entered the United States following the fall of Kabul and the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the country in the summer of 2021, allegedly shot two West Virginia National Guard troops at the entrance to the Farragut West Metro in Washington, D.C., killing one. The case raises questions about the vetting of purported “allies” and underscores the need to either assimilate the Afghans Joe Biden brought to this country or remove them all. Both options come with costs.
Warning Signs
Following the September 11, 2001, attacks by Afghanistan-based al-Qaeda terrorists, then-President George W. Bush ordered an invasion of the Central Asian country in early October 2021.
As the George W. Bush Library explains:
Critically, the United States supported the Northern Alliance, a group of mujahideen rebels within Afghanistan who resisted the Taliban’s control. After a series of victories against the Taliban, on November 13, forces of the Northern Alliance claimed Kabul, the nation’s capital. The Taliban lost control of Kandahar, the most populous city in Afghanistan, on December 6.
While the successful invasion of the country was comparatively quick work, the “peace” was a more complicated matter, and the Northern Alliance wasn’t the only group the United States enlisted in the effort.
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