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Afghan CIA fighters, like National Guard attack suspect, face stark reality in U.S.
Pictures of National Guard members Andrew Wolfe and Sarah Beckstrom, who were shot on Nov. 26 in Washington, D.C., are displayed next to a picture of the suspect in the shooting, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, on the day of a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 27.
Nathan Howard/REUTERS
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Nathan Howard/REUTERS
They survived some of the Afghanistan War’s most grueling and treacherous missions, regularly battling the Taliban in nighttime raids and urban gun battles. But once evacuated to the U.S., many Afghan fighters who served in “Zero Units” led by the CIA found themselves spiraling into despair because of what they saw as bureaucratic neglect and abandonment by the U.S. government, a former CIA operative and a former Afghan fighter involved in the units told NPR.
Among their ranks was Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man charged with killing one National Guard soldier and seriously injuring a second after opening fire on them in Washington, DC on Thanksgiving Eve.
The sense of betrayal and frustration cut so deep, some Afghan soldiers living in the U.S. began threatening self-harm.
“Unfortunately, four people took their lives,” said Davud, who served as a combat translator in a Zero Unit for more than a decade.
Davud, who lives now on the West Coast, agreed to be interviewed about the struggles of his fellow soldiers only if NPR identified him by his first name and concealed his identity. He said he fears for the safety of his family still living under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
Despite their service to the U.S., many Zero Unit fighters have struggled to gain asylum or permanent residency in the U.S., according to Davud. He condemned Lakanwal’s alleged actions, but spoke of the overwhelming mental health and emotional challenges fighters face living in exile.
While fighting under CIA leadership, thousands of soldiers like Davud and Lakanwal faced some of the most harrowing battles of the 20-year Afghanistan war, often carrying out two or even three combat missions a night. Their tactics were often brutal, and groups like Human Rights Watch accused them of engaging in torture and illegal killings.
“I almost got killed by a grenade,” Davud told NPR, describing one firefight when an American CIA agent saved his life. “He grabbed me from my body armor and pulled me back.”
In this Aug. 22, 2021, file photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, Afghan passengers board a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III during the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.
MSgt. Donald R. Allen/U.S. Air Force via AP
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MSgt. Donald R. Allen/U.S. Air Force via AP
After being evacuated to the U.S. in 2021, when the Taliban swept into Kabul, many Zero Unit soldiers came to feel they had been abandoned by CIA officials. Despite years of service — which Davud described as “a brotherhood” — he now believes the agency failed to help his comrades navigate America’s complex immigration system.
“It’s that feeling of like you did something that nobody is appreciating,” he said. “That promise that was given to you by your employer was a fake promise.”
NPR sent detailed questions to the CIA and to the U.S. Immigration and Citizenship and Immigration Services, asking for comment. Both agencies declined to comment on the record for this story.
But many aspects of Davud’s account of growing tension and frustration among Zero Unit fighters living in the U.S. were confirmed by Geeta Bakshi, a former CIA agent who spent four years in Afghanistan.
“These guys were the tip of the spear,” Bakshi said, describing the CIA’s Afghan Zero Unit program in an interview with NPR. “They were out on the front, so that American personnel didn’t have to be. They were the ones facing the maximum danger on the battlefield.”
Bakshi now leads a refugee resettlement program, called FAMIL, that focuses on helping Zero Unit soldiers rebuild their lives inside the U.S. She says her organization grew alarmed about rising rates of self-harm among former Afghan soldiers beginning in 2023.
“Individuals from the Zero Units unfortunately suffered deaths by self-harm,” Bakshi told NPR. “We raised this issue with the Biden administration and it was one that we were very concerned about. Again, we saw a direct connection to prolonged immigration delays.”
Bakshi and Davud described struggling to help a growing number of Afghan soldiers in the U.S. who were spiraling into depression. Davud described one instance where a friend felt increasingly hopeless because his immigration status made it difficult for him to work.
“He was like, ‘I’m going to go kill myself,’ that’s how bad it was,” Davud said. “I was very worried for him, but we helped him.” That meant offering friendship, counseling, and support.
Bakshi described a separate incident where a Zero Unit fighter appeared to be unraveling because of repeated bureaucratic snafus by U.S. officials reviewing his immigration paperwork. “He was told, ‘We don’t have you in the system.’ This was a man who was in severe distress. What happened in his case is there was an error in the spelling of his name.”
That individual eventually received a Green Card, Bakshi said, adding that with proper support many Afghan soldiers are adapting well to life in America. In rare cases where Zero Unit soldiers ended their lives, the community has held memorials.
“We usually do a religious funeral for them, on their behalf, saying a prayer,” Davud said.
Lakanwal, the Zero Unit fighter accused of fatally shooting one National Guard soldier and seriously wounding another, also struggled with his immigration status. He only received asylum protection from the Trump administration in April of this year, nearly four years after coming to the U.S.
Like others who fought alongside the CIA in Afghanistan, Lakanwal appeared to be experiencing a personal crisis which began at least as early as January 2024, according to a refugee resettlement volunteer who worked with the Lakanwal family in Bellingham, Wash. Emails shared with NPR show he, too, struggled to find stable employment.
“My biggest concern was that he would harm himself,” the volunteer told NPR. “I worried he would be suicidal because he was so withdrawn.”
The volunteer spoke with NPR on condition of anonymity because they said they feared for their safety, as well as the safety of others in their volunteer community, because of possible retaliation for having worked with the Lakanwals and other Afghan refugees.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said that U.S. officials believe Lakanwal was “radicalized” while living in the United States, but the volunteer said they saw no signs of radicalization. Noem offered no evidence that Lakanwal was radicalized.
Davud, the Zero Unit fighter, said he didn’t know Lakanwal personally. He voiced sorrow that his community of Afghan soldiers wasn’t able to help him in time.
“We had worse cases [of emotional distress] than Lakanwal but we found solutions for them,” he said.
Lakanwal has pleaded not guilty to first degree murder and other charges. In the wake of the attack in Washington, D.C., the Trump administration has frozen all Afghan asylum cases and officials say the legal status of refugees from Afghanistan living in the U.S. is being reexamined.
People pay their respects to the fallen National Guardsman outside Farragut West Metro Station in Washington, DC, on November 28, 2025.
Andrew Thomas/NurPhoto via Reuters
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Andrew Thomas/NurPhoto via Reuters
CIA director John Ratcliffe suggested in a statement that Lakanwal and his fellow soldiers weren’t properly vetted “This individual — and so many others — should have never been allowed to come here,” Ratcliffe said.
FBI director Kash Patel also said the Biden administration failed to properly vet “in any way, shape or form this individual and countless others.”
That account was disputed by Davud., and Biden administration officials who said the Afghans underwent rigorous vetting.
“What they said about Mr. Lakanwal wasn’t vetted? We were all vetted,” he said, describing years of scrutiny, including polygraph tests and detailed interviews by the CIA and other federal agencies, in Afghanistan and in the United States.
“We worked with them for twenty years,” Davud said. “I was really shocked by the CIA director’s comment. I felt so betrayed.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can dial or text 988 and be connected to help.
The Interior Department’s new “America the Beautiful” annual pass for U.S. national parks.
Department of Interior
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Department of Interior
The National Park Service has updated its policy to discourage visitors from defacing a picture of President Trump on this year’s pass.
The use of an image of Trump on the 2026 pass — rather than the usual picture of nature — has sparked a backlash, sticker protests, and a lawsuit from a conservation group.
The $80 annual America the Beautiful pass gives visitors access to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites. Since 2004, the pass has typically showcased sweeping landscapes or iconic wildlife, selected through a public photo contest. Past winners have featured places like Arches National Park in Utah and images of bison roaming the plains.
Instead, of a picture of nature, this year’s design shows side-by-side portraits of Presidents George Washington and Trump. The new design has drawn criticism from parkgoers and ignited a wave of “do-it-yourself” resistance.
Photos circulating online show that many national park cardholders have covered the image of Trump’s face with stickers of wildlife, landscapes, and yellow smiley faces, while some have completely blocked out the whole card. The backlash has also inspired a growing sticker campaign.
Jenny McCarty, a longtime park volunteer and graphic designer, began selling custom stickers meant to fit directly over Trump’s face — with 100% of proceeds going to conservation nonprofits. “We made our first donation of $16,000 in December,” McCarty said. “The power of community is incredible.”
McCarty says the sticker movement is less about politics and more about preserving the neutrality of public lands. “The Interior’s new guidance only shows they continue to disregard how strongly people feel about keeping politics out of national parks,” she said.
The National Park Service card policy was updated this week to say that passes may no longer be valid if they’ve been “defaced or altered.” The change, which was revealed in an internal email to National Park Service staff obtained by SFGATE, comes just as the sticker movement has gained traction across social media.
In a statement to NPR, the Interior Department said there was no new policy. Interagency passes have always been void if altered, as stated on the card itself. The agency said the recent update was meant to clarify that rule and help staff deal with confusion from visitors.
The Park Service has long said passes can be voided if the signature strip is altered, but the updated guidance now explicitly includes stickers or markings on the front of the card.
It will be left to the discretion of park service officials to determine whether a pass has been “defaced” or not. The update means park officials now have the leeway to reject a pass if a sticker leaves behind residue, even if the image underneath is intact.
In December, conservation group the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C., opposing the new pass design.
The group argues that the image violates a federal requirement that the annual America the Beautiful pass display a winning photograph from a national parks photo contest. The 2026 winning image was a picture of Glacier National Park.
“This is part of a larger pattern of Trump branding government materials with his name and image,” Kierán Suckling, the executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, told NPR. “But this kind of cartoonish authoritarianism won’t fly in the United States.”
The lawsuit asks a federal court to pull the current pass design and replace it with the original contest winner — the Glacier National Park image. It also seeks to block the government from featuring a president’s face on future passes.
The America the Beautiful National Parks Annual Pass for 2025, showing one of the natural images which used to adorn the pass. Its picture, of a Roseate Spoonbill taken at Everglades National Park, was taken by Michael Zheng.
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Department of Interior
Not everyone sees a problem with the new design. Vince Vanata, the GOP chairman of Park County, Wyoming, told the Cowboy State Daily that Trump detractors should “suck it up” and accept the park passes, saying they are a fitting tribute to America’s 250th birthday this July 4.
“The 250th anniversary of our country only comes once. This pass is showing the first president of the United States and the current president of the United States,” Vanata said.
But for many longtime visitors, the backlash goes beyond design.
Erin Quinn Gery, who buys an annual pass each year, compared the image to “a mug shot slapped onto natural beauty.”
She also likened the decision to self-glorification: “It’s akin to throwing yourself a parade or putting yourself on currency,” she said. “Let someone else tell you you’re great — or worth celebrating and commemorating.”
When asked if she plans to remove her protest sticker, Gery replied: “I’ll take the sticker off my pass after Trump takes his name off the Kennedy Center.”
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal immigration officers shot and wounded two people in a vehicle outside a hospital in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, a day after an officer shot and killed a driver in Minnesota, authorities said.
The Department of Homeland Security described the vehicle’s passenger as “a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring” who had been involved in a recent shooting in Portland. When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants Thursday afternoon, the driver tried to run them over, the department said in a written statement.
“Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot,” the statement said. “The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.”
There was no immediate independent corroboration of those events or of any gang affiliation of the vehicle’s occupants. During prior shootings involving agents involved in President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement in U.S. cities, including Wednesday’s shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, video evidence cast doubt on the administration’s initial descriptions of what prompted the shootings.
READ MORE: What we know so far about the ICE shooting in Minneapolis
According to the the Portland Police bureau, officers initially responded to a report of a shooting near a hospital at about 2:18 p.m.
A few minutes later, police received information that a man who had been shot was asking for help in a residential area a couple of miles away. Officers then responded there and found the two people with apparent gunshot wounds. Officers determined they were injured in the shooting with federal agents, police said.
Their conditions were not immediately known. Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said during a Portland city council meeting that Thursday’s shooting took place in the eastern part of the city and that two Portlanders were wounded.
“As far as we know both of these individuals are still alive and we are hoping for more positive updates throughout the afternoon,” she said.
The shooting escalates tensions in an city that has long had a contentious relationship with President Donald Trump, including Trump’s recent, failed effort to deploy National Guard troops in the city.
Portland police secured both the scene of the shooting and the area where the wounded people were found pending investigation.
“We are still in the early stages of this incident,” said Chief Bob Day. “We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to learn more.”
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and the city council called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to end all operations in Oregon’s largest city until a full investigation is completed.
“We stand united as elected officials in saying that we cannot sit by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed mounts,” a joint statement said. “Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarized agents, and the ‘full force’ threatened by the administration has deadly consequences.”
The city officials said “federal militarization undermines effective, community‑based public safety, and it runs counter to the values that define our region. We’ll use every legal and legislative tool available to protect our residents’ civil and human rights.”
They urged residents to show up with “calm and purpose during this difficult time.”
“We respond with clarity, unity, and a commitment to justice,” the statement said. “We must stand together to protect Portland.”
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, urged any protesters to remain peaceful.
“Trump wants to generate riots,” he said in a post on the X social media platform. “Don’t take the bait.”
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new video loaded: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting
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