A savage attack in our nation’s capital

In the shadow of the White House, a Muslim Afghan man named Rahmanullah Lakanwal—whose very name means “Allah’s mercy”—unleashed hell on American soil, gunning down two courageous West Virginia National Guard members in a premeditated ambush that reeks of the darkest terrorist malice. Lakanwal fled from Afghanistan to the United States seeking a better life under our generous asylum laws, and repaid that mercy with bullets, turning a routine patrol into a bloodbath.

The horror unfolded on Nov. 26, just blocks from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Lakanwal, a father of five who had settled in Bellingham, Wash., plotted with cold precision and legally bought a .357 revolver in his adopted state. Then, he climbed into his car and drove 2,800 miles across the continent—a journey of days, fueled by whatever venom festered in his heart—arriving in D.C. mere hours before the strike. Around 2:15 p.m., as Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, patrolled for public safety, Lakanwal rounded a corner near a Metro station. He raised his gun at point-blank range, firing without warning in an ambush-style assault. Beckstrom fell mortally wounded. Wolfe clings to life in critical condition. One Guardsman returned fire, wounding Lakanwal, who was swiftly subdued.

The FBI calls it domestic terrorism. President Trump’s response was swift, a clarion call against the naivety that enabled this atrocity by allowing this man into the country.

In a fiery statement, Trump branded it a savage betrayal by an unvetted invader, vowing, “This heinous act of terror against our brave Guardsmen will not stand. We will hunt down every threat like this and make America safe again.” He ordered an immediate, indefinite halt to all Afghan asylum processing, a full audit of the 190,000 souls admitted since 2021, and the deployment of 500 more National Guard troops to D.C. “No more open doors for those who bite the hand that feeds them,” Trump declared.

Ironically, Lakanwal’s name, Rahmanullah—rooted in Pashto and Dari, meaning “Allah is merciful” or “mercy of Allah”—stands in grotesque contrast to his savagery. Where is the mercy in ambushing young patriots? This act unveils a chilling truth about Islam’s worldview: Mercy only for the faithful, but for non-Muslims? It’s conditional at best, weaponized at worst, as Islam’s texts and history reveal a disposition that often prioritizes conquest over compassion for the infidels.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal U.S. Attorney’s Office via Associated Press

Let’s be clear: The online frenzy painting every Afghan as a terrorist is unreasonable, irrational, and wrong. Blanket hatred dishonors our Biblical values. Yet we cannot ignore the glaring perils of the 2021 influx that brought Lakanwal here. He arrived under Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome, a hasty humanitarian parachute after the chaotic pullout of U.S. forces from Kabul. Launched in the withdrawal’s wake, this plan airlifted over 120,000 Afghans in about two weeks, resettling them via humanitarian parole and Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs). Estimates now tally nearly 190,000 total Afghans, prioritized as those who’d helped U.S. troops, interpreters, contractors, and families at risk from Taliban reprisals.

How on earth could 190,000 Afghans truly aid our forces? The math strains credulity and vetting tens of thousands amid airport stampedes and suicide bombings was a logistical nightmare, with clear reports of rushed biometric scans and incomplete interviews.

Biden’s recklessness didn’t just botch an exit—it imperiled us all. We scooped up 190,000 strangers with scant knowledge of their grudges, traumas, or ties to radicals. We claimed compassion but traded it for catastrophe.

While we spare the innocent from broad-brush blame, we must confront a deeper problem: The Muslim world’s global love-hate tango with America. Muslims flock here for prosperity and freedom, but many loathe America as the Christian giant blocking Islamic dominion. At root? Islam’s teachings, which frame the non-Muslim West as the final fortification against caliphate dreams. Most Muslims view America as the lone force stalling Sharia’s dominance; they may despise their own oppression under tyrants like the Taliban, yet yearn for lands ruled by Muhammad’s model—conquest, submission, supremacy.

We must exercise prudence. Bring Muslims only with ironclad vetting and relentless monitoring for radicalization sparks. Islam isn’t only a religion, but a political advancing ideology, molding its adherents. In its essence, based on Islamic texts, the ideology is an anti-Christian crusade, scorning the Cross as idolatry.

As Staff Sgt. Wolfe battles on, we pray for his survival—a testament to resilience. We must also rethink our policies. America must scrutinize not just faces, but the ideologies we import. Mercy without wisdom is madness. Let’s choose life—American life—over lethal illusions.