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Just outside the White House two West Virginia National Guard soldiers were ambushed and shot in what officials are calling a deliberate, targeted attack, leaving both service members gravely wounded and America scrambling for answers. The harrowing scene two blocks from the seat of government is a raw reminder that our men and women in uniform are standing watch on streets that should be safe, and that failure at the highest levels of policy has consequences that land at their feet.
Authorities say the suspect is an Afghan national who came to the United States in 2021 during the chaotic withdrawal and ensuing resettlement operations, a timeline that connects this tragedy to the administration that ran that botched evacuation. Reports confirm the man was taken into custody after being shot and that investigators are treating the act as a targeted assault on National Guard troops performing their duty in the capital. Americans deserve to know how a man who entered the country in the fallout of Afghanistan’s collapse ended up in a position to attack our soldiers.
We cannot separate this shooting from the policy failures of 2021: Operation Allies Welcome brought roughly ninety thousand Afghans into the United States in a rushed resettlement effort, and while many were vulnerable allies, the speed and scope of the operation created enormous vetting gaps. The humanitarian impulse to help allies should not excuse the national-security recklessness that followed, nor the persistent government failures to track and properly screen those paroled into our communities. This is the hard lesson of catastrophes we were warned about but ignored.
A June 2025 Department of Justice audit confirmed what many warned could happen: dozens of evacuees triggered terrorist-watchlist alerts during the evacuation process, and at least 55 individuals had matches to the watchlist while being processed into the U.S. That report is damning evidence that the frenzy of evacuation overwhelmed safeguards and that the result was a domestic security vulnerability that now manifests in violent incidents like this one. It is unacceptable for politicians to shrug off those findings when soldiers bleed on our streets.
This attack also exposes the moral muddle of Washington leadership. While current officials rushed to send more troops to the capital, including a sudden order for 500 additional National Guard members, the truth remains: reactive deployments cannot undo years of policy missteps that invited risk into American communities. We need long-term, serious reforms to vetting, screening, and resettlement procedures, not photo-ops and press releases after tragedy strikes.
Make no mistake: this is about accountability. The people who dismantled robust vetting, who prioritized appearances and expediency over the safety of everyday Americans and our troops, must explain themselves and answer for the downstream carnage their choices enabled. Courts, congressional oversight, and the American public must press for real transparency about who was admitted, how they were tracked, and what went wrong.
As patriots we stand with the National Guard soldiers who put themselves between danger and the American people, and we demand action — not excuses. Secure borders, uncompromising vetting, and leadership that prioritizes the safety of citizens and servicemembers are not political talking points; they are the foundation of a country that still values life and liberty. The time for soft answers is over; hardworking Americans deserve a government that protects them and a justice system that holds the reckless accountable.
