CIA-Backed 'Asset' Becomes DC Shooting Suspect: A 'Surprise'
The Independent breathlessly details Rahmanullah Lakanwal's path from a CIA-backed Afghan strike unit to a suspect in a D.C. shooting, calling his story 'remarkable.' What's truly remarkable is the corporate media's ability to present such outcomes as isolated anomalies, rather than the inevitable blowback from decades of 'covert' operations and nation-building fiascos. They focus on the
individual, never the architects of chaos. Lakanwal served in a CIA Special Activities Center unit, which was 'critical to intelligence gathering and military operations' per the article. These units, often comprised of individuals with dubious human rights records and loyalties, are routinely discarded when no longer useful, leaving a trail of destabilization. Then, we act surprised when the
chickens come home to roost. One might wonder at what point the cost of these 'assets'—in both human lives and global instability—outweighs their perceived benefit. The Independent's narrative, while detailing Lakanwal's psychological struggles, avoids any deeper critique of the U.S. foreign policy that actively recruits, trains, and then frequently abandons such individuals, creating the very
instability it purports to fight. Is it really a 'surprise' when the tools of empire eventually turn inward?