As the investigation unfolds into the attack on two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., last month, Americans are getting a glimpse into some cracks in the system that MUST be addressed.

Among them is the need to explore better mental health and community support programs for veterans and refugees. Suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been described as a person who was radicalized after he came to the U.S.

A volunteer who worked with him and other Afghan refugees said they believed that Lakanwal suffered a mental health crisis after years of likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and isolating himself.

That volunteer, who spoke with NPR, said Lakanwal had been withdrawn to the point of spurring fears he would become suicidal.

Lakanwal was part of a special Afghan Army unit that backed the CIA. He came to the U.S. in 2021 as part of Operation Allies Welcome. But a January 2024 email to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, which is supposed to provide services to refugees, said “Rahmanullah has not been functional as a person, father and provider since March of last year, 03/2023. He quit his job that month, and his behavior has changed greatly.”

It is impossible not to wonder whether gaps in the mental health and assimilation support available to those who were part of Operation Allies Welcome contributed to the attack on Nov. 26. At the very least, it appears as though there may have been gaps in effort to keep tabs on whether any of those refugees had become a danger to themselves and others.

Meanwhile, there is the problem revealed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who says the Trump administration has halted asylum decisions. Those decisions will not restart, she says, until the agency has dealt with a backlog of cases that has swelled over a million.

If the U.S. did, indeed, “welcome” those Afghani allies who helped us fight the Taliban by leaving them to their own devices and failing to properly support or keep an eye on them; if there really is a backlog of more than a million cases awaiting review for asylum; if the screening and vetting process even for those who have already been granted asylum is truly “deficient,” federal officials bear significant responsibility for cleaning up the mess.