Brian Mann

Good morning, Michelle.

Michelle, these were Afghan special forces fighting against the Taliban, but they didn't work for Afghanistan's government.

They worked directly for the CIA.

They were led by CIA operatives.

I spoke with Gita Bakshi.

She's a former CIA agent who spent four years in Afghanistan, often working with these zero unit troops.

And their tactics were often brutal.

Groups like Human Rights Watch accused them of engaging in torture and illegal killings.

Thousands of these zero unit soldiers, including Lackinwall, were evacuated to the U.S.

in 2021 after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

NPR reported last week, Michelle, that before the attack in Washington, D.C., Lackinwall appeared to be experiencing a personal crisis.

He's since pleaded not guilty to murder and other crimes.

Now people involved in these units tell me that many of Lackinwall's fellow Zero Unit fighters have felt similar stress and isolation and despair.

They describe feeling betrayed and abandoned by the CIA after years of that frontline combat service experience.

They expected to be treated with respect in the U.S., given a chance to start new lives here.

Instead, they found themselves tangled in a complicated immigration process, often stuck without permanent asylum or work visas for years.

And I spoke about this with one zero-unit fighter named Daoud.

Now, Daboud agreed to speak with NPR if we agreed to only use his first name.

He said he fears for the safety of his family still living in Afghanistan under the Taliban.

He told me when zero-unit fighters living in the U.S.