U.S. intelligence officials have confirmed that at least 2,000 of more than 100,000 Afghan refugees who entered the United States following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 have ties to terrorism or are known or suspected terrorists, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stated Friday.
During a televised interview, Gabbard cited the summer and fall of 2021 as a period when over 100,000 people entered the country due to what she called “that disastrous withdrawal.” She noted that the vast majority were not properly vetted against standards required by the administration.
At Thursday’s House Homeland Security Committee hearing, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent testified that approximately 18,000 individuals with known or suspected ties to Islamic terrorist groups such as al-Qaida and ISIS were permitted entry under the Biden administration. “These are people who under normal circumstances would never be allowed into our country,” Kent stated.
Gabbard linked recent attacks on two U.S. soldiers—U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, who died from wounds, and U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, critically injured—to this heightened domestic threat. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan fighter who entered the United States after reportedly serving in one of the “Zero Units” led by the CIA, has been charged in the Thanksgiving Eve attack on Washington, D.C., according to Gabbard.
The intelligence director emphasized that there are more potential terrorists “we don’t even know about,” citing tens of millions of people who have illegally crossed U.S. borders over the past four years. She also criticized Rep. Bennie Thompson for describing the attack on National Guard soldiers as an “accident,” stating it reflects a broader failure among leaders to recognize the Islamist terrorist threat.
Gabbard noted that the intelligence community is working with the Department of Homeland Security to identify and deport these individuals to prevent further attacks, adding that under normal circumstances, those with ties to extremist groups would never be permitted entry. She stated she does not have the latest numbers because “the irresponsible and dangerous approach” taken by the Biden administration has hindered efforts to identify threats.
Gabbard warned that the presence of potential terrorists poses the “greatest near- and long-term threat to the safety and security of the American people”—a danger that undermines foundational freedoms protected by the Constitution and Western civilization.
