The ambush of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., has ripped the mask off the consequences of reckless political rhetoric, and veterans like Rick Leventhal are right to call out the Democrats’ fearmongering that has helped fuel a poisonous climate. Conservatives have watched for years as left-wing elites normalize hostility toward law enforcement and the military, and now our soldiers paid for that silence with their blood and recovery rooms. We should be angry, united behind our troops, and unafraid to say who bears responsibility for creating an environment where such attacks become more likely.
The facts are grim and plain: two Guardsmen on duty near Farragut West were shot in a targeted attack, and their wounds were critical as doctors fought to save them. Family members and officials have confirmed the identities of the victims and the gravity of their injuries, showing this was not a random act but a deliberate ambush on those protecting our capital. Americans deserve the truth about how the shooter got here and why he was able to mount such an attack on U.S. soil.
Investigators have identified the suspect as an Afghan national who arrived in the United States under the Operation Allies Welcome resettlement program, and preliminary reports indicate he traveled across the country to carry out the assault. This is exactly the sort of predictable failure of vetting and immigration policy that conservatives have warned about for years — and now the cost is being measured in shattered families and hospital beds. The federal government must answer plainly how someone with this background was allowed to roam free and commit violence in the heart of our nation.
Predictably, the political left immediately tried to spin and downplay the seriousness of the attack, but reasonable Americans — and commentators like Leventhal on conservative programs — are demanding accountability instead of reflexive excuses. Senators and elected officials on our side are calling for an immediate halt to the uncontrolled admissions that have imported security risks, while Democrats offer platitudes and performative grief. If words have consequences, then the years of rhetoric that paints our security services as oppressors rather than protectors deserve scrutiny and condemnation.
Now is the moment for the country to rally around our troops, tighten vetting, and close the policy loopholes that have made this possible; hollow statements from the same people who enabled this mess will not suffice. Prosecutors have vowed to pursue justice to the fullest extent, and Congress must move swiftly to secure our borders, reform resettlement screening, and prioritize the safety of Americans over open-borders virtue signaling. We will honor the wounded and the fallen by turning our outrage into action — protecting the brave men and women who stand in harm’s way should never be a political afterthought.
