WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that former President Joe Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan continues to have terrible consequences for the United States, following the killing of one National Guard member and the severe wounding of another in the shootings on Wednesday.
During a White House press briefing, Leavitt was highly critical of Biden’s handling of the withdrawal and the release of Afghan nationals into the United States in its aftermath.
“Joe Biden’s historic failure in Afghanistan continues to haunt this country and our men and women in uniform,” Leavitt said before taking questions.
“Not only did this surrender lead to a suicide bombing that killed 13 American heroes in Kabul, but now National Guard troops were shot on U.S. soil by the same kind of enemy,” she continued.
Leavitt stated that under Biden’s “horrific leadership,” close to 100,000 Afghan nationals “were recklessly released into the United States with little to no vetting,” and cited reports that thousands were flagged to the last administration over “national security, public safety, and fraud concerns.”
“The tragedy that we just witnessed the day before Thanksgiving is a reminder that untold thousands of terrorists, gang members, and criminals were invited into our country and remain here to this very day,” she added.
After being wounded outside of Farragut West Metro Station in the “ambush” style attack, just blocks northwest of the White House, National Guardswoman Sarah Beckstrom, 20, succumbed to her injuries on Thursday, Thanksgiving. Leavitt said that National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24, “continues to fight for his life” after being critically wounded in the shooting.
Authorities have identified the gunman as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, who came into the United States under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome in September 2021, on the heels of Biden’s withdrawal and just weeks after the Abbey Gate bombing. Lakanwal allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” at some point during the attack on Wednesday.
The Associated Press reported on Thanksgiving that Lakanwal worked with the CIA in Afghanistan before coming to the United States.
Leavitt said Monday that Beckstrom and Wolfe reflect “the very best of America” and embody the Bible verse John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
