Afghan CIA fighters, like Nationwide Guard assault suspect, face stark actuality in U.S.

They survived a number of the Afghanistan Conflict’s most grueling and treacherous missions, frequently battling the Taliban in nighttime raids and concrete gun battles. However as soon as evacuated to the U.S., many Afghan fighters who served in “Zero Units” led by the CIA discovered themselves spiraling into despair due to what they noticed as bureaucratic neglect and abandonment by the U.S. authorities, a former CIA operative and a former Afghan fighter concerned within the items advised NPR.

Amongst their ranks was Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the person charged with killing one Nationwide Guard soldier and significantly injuring a second after opening hearth on them in Washington, DC on Thanksgiving Eve.

The sense of betrayal and frustration lower so deep, some Afghan troopers dwelling within the U.S. started threatening self-harm.

“Unfortunately, four people took their lives,” stated Davud, who served as a fight translator in a Zero Unit for greater than a decade.

Davud, who lives now on the West Coast, agreed to be interviewed concerning the struggles of his fellow troopers provided that NPR recognized him by his first title and hid his identification. He stated he fears for the security of his household nonetheless dwelling below Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

Regardless of their service to the U.S., many Zero Unit fighters have struggled to achieve asylum or everlasting residency within the U.S., in accordance with Davud. He condemned Lakanwal’s alleged actions, however spoke of the overwhelming psychological well being and emotional challenges fighters face dwelling in exile.

Whereas combating below CIA management, hundreds of troopers like Davud and Lakanwal confronted a number of the most harrowing battles of the 20-year Afghanistan battle, typically finishing up two and even three fight missions an evening. Their ways have been typically brutal, and teams like Human Rights Watch accused them of participating in torture and unlawful killings.

“I almost got killed by a grenade,” Davud advised NPR, describing one firefight when an American CIA agent saved his life. “He grabbed me from my body armor and pulled me back.”

After being evacuated to the U.S. in 2021, when the Taliban swept into Kabul, many Zero Unit troopers got here to really feel they’d been deserted by CIA officers. Regardless of years of service — which Davud described as “a brotherhood” — he now believes the company failed to assist his comrades navigate America’s complicated immigration system.

“It’s that feeling of like you did something that nobody is appreciating,” he stated. “That promise that was given to you by your employer was a fake promise.”

NPR despatched detailed inquiries to the CIA and to the U.S. Immigration and Citizenship and Immigration Companies, asking for remark. Each businesses declined to touch upon the report for this story.

However many points of Davud’s account of rising stress and frustration amongst Zero Unit fighters dwelling within the U.S. have been confirmed by Geeta Bakshi, a former CIA agent who spent 4 years in Afghanistan.

“These guys were the tip of the spear,” Bakshi stated, 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, known as FAMIL, that focuses on serving to Zero Unit troopers rebuild their lives contained in the U.S. She says her group grew alarmed about rising charges of self-harm amongst former Afghan troopers starting in 2023.

“Individuals from the Zero Units unfortunately suffered deaths by self-harm,” Bakshi advised 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 assist a rising variety of Afghan troopers within the U.S. who have been spiraling into melancholy. Davud described one occasion the place a good friend felt more and more hopeless as a result of his immigration standing made it tough for him to work.

“He was like, ‘I’m going to go kill myself,’ that’s how bad it was,” Davud stated. “I was very worried for him, but we helped him.” That meant providing friendship, counseling, and assist.

Bakshi described a separate incident the place a Zero Unit fighter gave the impression to be unraveling due to repeated bureaucratic snafus by U.S. officers 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 particular person finally acquired a Inexperienced Card, Bakshi stated, including that with correct assist many Afghan troopers are adapting effectively to life in America. In uncommon instances the place Zero Unit troopers ended their lives, the group has held memorials.

“We usually do a religious funeral for them, on their behalf, saying a prayer,” Davud stated.

Lakanwal, the Zero Unit fighter accused of fatally capturing one Nationwide Guard soldier and significantly wounding one other, additionally struggled along with his immigration standing. He solely acquired asylum safety from the Trump administration in April of this 12 months, almost 4 years after coming to the U.S.

Like others who fought alongside the CIA in Afghanistan, Lakanwal gave the impression to be experiencing a private disaster which started not less than as early as January 2024, in accordance with a refugee resettlement volunteer who labored with the Lakanwal household in Bellingham, Wash. Emails shared with NPR present he, too, struggled to seek out steady employment.

“My biggest concern was that he would harm himself,” the volunteer advised NPR. “I worried he would be suicidal because he was so withdrawn.”

The volunteer spoke with NPR on situation of anonymity as a result of they stated they feared for his or her security, in addition to the security of others of their volunteer group, due to potential retaliation for having labored with the Lakanwals and different Afghan refugees.

Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem has stated that U.S. officers consider Lakanwal was “radicalized” whereas dwelling in the US, however the volunteer stated they noticed no indicators of radicalization. Noem supplied no proof that Lakanwal was radicalized.

Davud, the Zero Unit fighter, stated he did not know Lakanwal personally. He voiced sorrow that his group of Afghan troopers wasn’t capable of assist him in time.

“We had worse cases [of emotional distress] than Lakanwal but we found solutions for them,” he stated.

Lakanwal has pleaded not responsible to first diploma homicide and different fees. Within the wake of the assault in Washington, D.C., the Trump administration has frozen all Afghan asylum instances and officers say the authorized standing of refugees from Afghanistan dwelling within the U.S. is being reexamined.

CIA director John Ratcliffe recommended in a press release that Lakanwal and his fellow troopers weren’t correctly vetted “This individual — and so many others — should have never been allowed to come here,” Ratcliffe stated.

FBI director Kash Patel additionally stated the Biden administration did not correctly vet “in any way, shape or form this individual and countless others.”

That account was disputed by Davud., and Biden administration officers who stated the Afghans underwent rigorous vetting.

“What they said about Mr. Lakanwal wasn’t vetted? We were all vetted,” he stated, describing years of scrutiny, together with polygraph assessments and detailed interviews by the CIA and different federal businesses, in Afghanistan and in the US.

“We worked with them for twenty years,” Davud stated. “I was really shocked by the CIA director’s comment. I felt so betrayed.”

If you happen to or somebody you understand is combating ideas of suicide, you possibly can dial or textual content 988 and be linked to assist.