The nation was jolted on November 26, 2025 when two West Virginia National Guard members were ambushed and shot just blocks from the White House in an attack Americans will never forget. This wasn’t a random act of street violence — it was a cold-blooded, ambush-style shooting that left both guardsmen critically wounded and the capital reeling on the eve of Thanksgiving. The brazenness of an attack so close to the people’s house demands answers and accountability.
Authorities have identified the suspect as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who legally entered the United States in 2021 under the post-withdrawal humanitarian parole program known as Operation Allies Welcome. Reports indicate he previously served with a CIA-supported unit in Afghanistan and then drove from Washington state to Washington, D.C., where he carried out an ambush with a .357 revolver. Those facts raise alarm bells about how thoroughly individuals with complex wartime ties were vetted before being dispersed across America.
The predictable political fallout began immediately, as the administration ordered a sweeping, multi-agency investigation and the Department of Homeland Security paused processing immigration requests tied to Afghan nationals. Americans should be grateful the FBI and other agencies are treating this like the possible act of terrorism it appears to be, but grateful doesn’t replace accountability. The Biden-era evacuation and parole policies created the pathway for this risk, and now the American people are paying the price.
Veteran FBI voices on cable called the case troubling and an illustration of intelligence and vetting failures, and conservative commentators rightly demanded transparency from the agencies that handled the resettlement. Former special agent analysis has highlighted how gaps in information-sharing and oversight can let dangerous people slip through cracks, a terrifying prospect when those cracks are steps from the White House. If our security apparatus cannot explain how a man with wartime ties ended up able to mount an attack in the capital, those leaders should answer to the public they serve.
This ugly episode is a wake-up call about immigration and national-security policy. Parole schemes and mass evacuations without rigorous vetting are experiments with American safety that have shown their cost, and we need immediate, comprehensive reviews of every pathway that brought potentially dangerous individuals onto our soil. Conservatives are not against helping allies, but patriotism demands we secure our borders and our vetting processes first, before we scatter people across the country with insufficient oversight.
Above all, Americans should stand with the two Guardsmen who laid down their safety to protect the capital and with their families as they fight for recovery. These brave young soldiers — the very people we summoned for public safety — deserve our prayers, our support, and a promise that their sacrifice will force real change in how we defend this country. Elected officials must translate outrage into action, not excuses.
If anything good can come from this horror, let it be a relentless push to restore common-sense security: stronger vetting, firmer immigration controls, and a justice system that prioritizes American lives. The days of pretending that policy choices have no consequences are over; hardworking Americans want results, not talking points. It’s time for leaders to stop apologizing for strength and start delivering the protections our citizens deserve.
