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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 Justice Department sent letters warning election officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia that they could face criminal prosecution over noncitizen voting, a spokesperson for the Justice Department confirmed Tuesday.
The letters, signed by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who heads up the department’s Civil Rights Division, give states five days to explain how they will comply with federal voter eligibility laws and how they will maintain “clean voter lists.”
“The Department sent these letters to all 50 states and the District of Columbia, asking for voluntary compliance in a timely manner with their obligations under federal law to ensure only citizens vote in federal elections,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement.
Noncitizen voting in federal elections is extremely rare, but Trump and his administration have falsely portrayed it as a widespread issue.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar and Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson are among those who said they received the letters from the Justice Department.
The letters say state election officers “could be criminally prosecuted for aiding and abetting” noncitizen voting. They further specify that any election officer who knowingly retains noncitizens on a statewide voting registration list or who facilitates noncitizens’ receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability.
“An intentional act that is aimed at diluting the votes of citizens could also constitute a violation” of federal law, the letters said.
Henderson wrote on social media that the threats constitute “truly bizarre behavior.”
“Got another love letter this morning from the DOJ sprinkled throughout with threats of criminal prosecution,” she wrote. “I’m sure I’m not the only chief election officer of a state who is being targeted for following state and federal laws by resisting DOJ’s demands for private voter data that have thus far been ruled illegal by at least a dozen courts.”
The letters are the latest move in the Justice Department’s campaign to assert more federal control over state elections.
While some states have complied with the administration’s demands that they hand over voter roll data, the Justice Department has sued 30 states and Washington, D.C., for resisting. So far, 11 different federal courts have dismissed the Justice Department’s efforts to seize voter rolls.
Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during their World Cup match against Egypt in Atlanta on Tuesday.
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Elsa/Getty Images
They looked beaten. And out. Argentina, the defending World Cup champion and No. 1-ranked team, was down 2-0 late against Egypt.
Then, in a span of 13 remarkable minutes, Argentina scored not once, not twice, but three times, capping a comeback for the ages and leaving Egypt stunned and shellshocked.
For much of the game in Atlanta, Egypt was in control, hobbling Argentina early. The Egyptian attack began almost immediately with a stunning header goal delivered by Yasser Ibrahim in the 15th minute. After that, Egypt’s defense closed ranks, making it practically impossible for Argentina to equalize.
It was downhill from there for the Argentines: team captain Lionel Messi failed to convert a penalty kick, and in the 67th minute, Egypt got a second goal from Mostafa Ziko (after an earlier Egyptian goal had been disallowed after a video review). It looked like Argentina was finished. On the brink of elimination.
But no one told the Argentine players that.
In the 79th minute, Lionel Messi began doing his thing. He fired a cross near the Egyptian goal, and Cristian Romero headed it in. Messi was not done. Four minutes later, he powered a shot past the Egyptian keeper. It was his eighth goal of this tournament, the most of any player. The score was 2-2.
Then, in stoppage time, yet another Argentina header and another goal, this time from Enzo Fernandez.
“This is the World Cup for you,” said Messi after the game. “It wasn’t easy to come back from two goals down. But as I always say, this group never gives up. We always try to fight until the end.”
French referee François Letexier speaks with Egypt forward Mohamed Salah during the World Cup Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta.
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Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
Afterward, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan complained about the French referee and the officiating. “I am not convinced. I am not convinced with this outcome. I’m not convinced with the way things unfolded during this match,” said Hassan in a post-match news conference. “We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice.”
“We would have deserved to earn this win, but we are leaving with honor, with pride, regardless of this defeat,” said Hossan.
African soccer teams have been the stars of this World Cup. Morocco has yet to lose a game. Cape Verde qualified for the first time in its history and stymied Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. Argentina barely beat them in a nail-biter of a match.
For Egypt, getting this far in the tournament is historic in itself: it’s the first time the team has made it this far. For Argentina, it was a terrifying yet relieving victory: several players, including Messi himself, cried after the game.
Next, they move to the quarterfinals and will play the winner of today’s Switzerland-Colombia match.
Top Senate Democrats are pushing for answers on whether a provision in a controversial settlement agreement between President Trump and his own administration applies to companies co-founded by or affiliated with the Trump family.
As part of a deal struck in May by the Justice Department to resolve a lawsuit brought by Mr. Trump, the Internal Revenue Service is permanently barred from pursuing claims against Mr. Trump, his oldest sons Don Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization based on prior tax returns.
In a one-page document signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and dated May 19, the Justice Department said the defendants in the president’s lawsuit — the IRS and the Treasury Department — are “FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED” from “prosecuting or pursuing, any and all claims” arising from tax returns filed before the settlement took effect. Blanche also wrote that the settlement applies to “parties including trusts, parent, sister, or related companies, affiliates, and subsidiaries.”
Now, Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden of Oregon are pushing 11 businesses and organizations with ties to the Trump family to get answers for the “significant questions” the settlement raises relating to the tax audit provision, and whether the companies are included in the deal.
“Under the guise of a so-called legal settlement, the Trump administration has attempted to decree that the President, his family, and their entire business empire — potentially including entities with even the vaguest ‘affiliation’ to the family — are to face zero consequences if they have committed a range of financial crimes or misdeeds — regardless of the severity of the violation,” the senators wrote in letters transmitted to the companies Monday night.
The letters were sent to mining company Kaz Resources, defense firm Powerus, cryptocurrency companies World Liberty Financial and American Bitcoin, robotics startup Foundation Future Industries, investment firm 1789 Capital, private aviation company Tag Air, and prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi.
All of the companies either were founded by Mr. Trump and his two adult sons, or list members of the Trump family as advisers, board members, or partial owners. Donald Trump Jr. sits on Polymarket’s advisory board and 1789 Capital, where he’s a partner, has invested in Polymarket. Days before Mr. Trump took office for his second term, Kalshi also announced Trump Jr. would be a strategic adviser.
The Democrats, who are in the minority, lack subpoena power, so Mr. Trump, his children and his companies can’t be forced to answer the questions posed by the senators.
According to recent financial disclosures, the president earned more than a billion dollars from cryptocurrency ventures alone last year, including from his meme coin business and World Liberty Financial, his family’s cryptocurrency firm.
Separately, the senators also asked the Trump Organization in a separate letter if it believes it has “immunity from all audits, civil penalties or federal prosecution” for any crimes that could have occurred before the settlement.
Trump Media and Technology Group, which is majority owned by a trust that lists Mr. Trump as the sole beneficiary and operates the Truth Social platform he uses daily, also received a letter from the Democratic senators.
“The public deserves transparency about the scope of this get-out-of-jail free card for Trump-aligned businesses, and about whether you intend to rely on this settlement as a free pass for any possible violations of the law,” the senators continued in their letter, which also seeks any communications that executives at the companies have had with the Justice Department and White House leading up to or after the settlement was signed.
The settlement was announced months after Mr. Trump and two of his sons and the Trump Organization accused the IRS and Treasury Department of unlawfully allowing a government contractor to leak tax returns to media outlets in 2020.
In a statement, a Justice Department spokesperson said “the IRS routinely provides releases as part of resolving taxpayer reviews and audits. This settlement follows that same standard practice.”
The spokesperson did not provide specific information about which companies are covered by the audit provision, or whether the Trump Organization and Trump family are the only entities covered by that addendum.
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