Unheeded Warnings and Failed Vetting: How a Troubled Afghan Refugee Came to Attack National Guard Members

Could This Tragedy Have Been Prevented?Last week, two National Guard soldiers faced a brutal ambush just blocks from the White House — one paying with her life. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan asylum seeker who arrived under the well-intentioned yet reckless Operation Allies Welcome, had been unraveling for over a year in plain sight. Yet disturbing signs of his deepening isolation and erratic behavior were dismissed or went unaddressed by those entrusted with protecting both refugees and American communities.Lakanwal’s downward spiral—from quitting jobs to weeks spent locked away in darkness—should have raised red flags that national security professionals could...