Trump: One of Guards Shot in DC Dies   11/28 06:06

   President Donald Trump said that one of the two West Virginia National Guard 
members shot by an Afghan national near the White House had died, calling the 
suspect, who had worked with the CIA in his native country, a "savage monster."

   WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) -- President Donald Trump said that one of the 
two West Virginia National Guard members shot by an Afghan national near the 
White House had died, calling the suspect, who had worked with the CIA in his 
native country, a "savage monster."

   As part of a Thanksgiving call with U.S. troops, Trump announced that he had 
just learned that Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, had died, while Staff Sgt. 
Andrew Wolfe, 24, was "fighting for his life."

   "She's just passed away," Trump said. "She's no longer with us. She's 
looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her."

   The president called Beckstrom an "incredible person, outstanding in every 
single way." The White House said he spoke to her parents after his remarks.

   Trump used the announcement to say the shooting was a "terrorist attack" and 
criticized the Biden administration for enabling Afghans who worked with U.S. 
forces during the Afghanistan War to enter the U.S. The president has deployed 
National Guard members in part to assist in his administration's mass 
deportation efforts.

   Trump brandished a print-out of a news photo of Afghan evacuees sitting on 
the floor of a military plane during the chaotic evacuation from Kabul in 2021 
during his remarks. He suggested that the shooter was mentally unstable after 
the war and departure from Afghanistan.

   "He went cuckoo. I mean, he went nuts," the president said. "It happens too 
often with these people."

   The shooter worked with U.S. forces in Afghanistan

   The suspect charged with the shooting is Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29. The 
suspect had worked in a special CIA-backed Afghan Army unit before emigrating 
from Afghanistan, according to two sources who spoke to The Associated Press on 
condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, and 
#AfghanEvac, a group that helps resettle Afghans who assisted the U.S. during 
the two-decade war.

   Trump blamed the asylum process in which Afghans who worked with U.S. forces 
arrived by plane for being ineffective and failing to ensure people were 
properly vetted.

   "We have no greater national security priority than ensuring that we have 
full control over the people that enter and remain in our country," Trump said. 
"For the most part, we don't want them."

   Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, declined to 
provide a motive for Wednesday afternoon's brazen act of violence which 
occurred just blocks from the White House. The presence of troops in the 
nation's capital and other cities around the country has become a political 
flashpoint.

   Pirro said that the suspect launched an "ambush-style" attack with a .357 
Smith & Wesson revolver. As of Thursday morning, the suspect faced charges of 
assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a 
crime of violence, but Pirro suggested the charges would be upgraded if one of 
the National Guard members died, as happened later on Thursday.

   The rare shooting of National Guard members on American soil comes amid 
court fights and a broader public policy debate about the Trump 
administration's use of the military to combat what officials cast as an 
out-of-control crime problem.

   Trump issued an emergency order in August that federalized the D.C. police 
force and sent in National Guard troops. The order expired a month later. But 
the troops have remained in the city, where nearly 2,200 troops currently are 
assigned, according to the government's latest update.

   The guard members have patrolled neighborhoods, train stations and other 
locations, participated in highway checkpoints and been assigned to pick up 
trash and guard sports events. The Trump administration quickly ordered 500 
more National Guard members to Washington following Wednesday's shooting.

   The suspect also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be 
life-threatening, according to a law enforcement official who was not 
authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of 
anonymity.

   Shooting raises questions about legacy of Afghanistan War

   A resident of the eastern Afghan province of Khost who identified himself as 
Lakanwal's cousin said Lakanwal was originally from the province and that he 
and his brother had worked in a special Afghan Army unit known as Zero Units in 
the southern province of Kandahar. A former official from the unit, who spoke 
on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said 
Lakanwal was a team leader and his brother was a platoon leader.

   The cousin spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear 
of reprisals.He said Lakanwal had started out working as a security guard for 
the unit in 2012, and was later promoted to become a team leader and a GPS 
specialist.

   Kandahar is in the Taliban heartland of the country. It saw fierce fighting 
between the Taliban and NATO forces after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 
following the al-Qaida attacks on Sept. 11. The CIA relied on Afghan staff for 
translation, administrative and front-line fighting with their own paramilitary 
officers in the war.

   Zero Units were paramilitary units manned by Afghans but backed by the CIA 
and also served in front-line fighting with CIA paramilitary officers. 
Activists had attributed abuses to the units. They played a key role in the 
chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the country, providing security around Kabul 
International Airport as the Americans and withdrew from the country.

   CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement that Lakanwal's relationship 
with the U.S. government "ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation" of 
U.S. servicemembers from Afghanistan.

   Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden 
administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of 
Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said. Lakanwal 
applied for asylum during the Biden administration, but his asylum was approved 
under the Trump administration, #AfghanEvac said in a statement.

   The initiative brought roughly 76,000 people to the U.S., many of whom had 
worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators. It 
has since faced intense scrutiny from Trump and others over allegations of gaps 
in the vetting process, even as advocates say there was extensive vetting and 
the program offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.

   Lakanwal has been living in Bellingham, Washington, about 79 miles (127 
kilometers) north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said his former 
landlord, Kristina Widman.

   On Wednesday night, Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan 
refugees who had entered under the Biden administration. The director of U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services Joseph Edlow said in a statement that the 
agency would take additional steps to screen people from 19 "high-risk" 
countries "to the maximum degree possible."

   Edlow didn't name the countries. But in June, the administration banned 
travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access from seven 
others, citing national security concerns.