The Lawfare Podcast: Lynzy Billing on Afghanistan's Zero Unit Night Raids

Episode Date: December 7, 2025 (originally January 24, 2023)
Host: Tyler McBrien (Lawfare Managing Editor)
Guest: Lynzy Billing (Investigative Journalist)

Episode Overview

This episode revisits Lynzy Billing’s harrowing investigation into Afghanistan’s clandestine Zero Units—elite CIA-backed Afghan Special Forces—and their controversial night raids. Billing, whose personal family history intersects with these operations, spent four years collecting hundreds of testimonies, working alongside forensic experts, and uncovering the scale of civilian casualties from these raids. The conversation explores the shadowy relationship between the Zero Units and U.S. intelligence, the failures of accountability, and the enduring trauma for Afghan victims. Billing’s work, published in ProPublica, continues to challenge policymakers to reckon with the legacy and oversight of covert U.S. operations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lynzy Billing’s Personal Connection and Investigative Journey

• Lynzy’s motivation was deeply personal: her mother and sister were killed in a night raid in Nangarhar Province nearly 30 years ago ([04:40]).
  • “I had gone back to Afghanistan ... to look into what had happened to them and their deaths. ... My mother and sister had been killed in a nighttime raid.” — Lynzy Billing [04:40]
• The investigation transitioned from exploring her family history to uncovering the operations and impact of Afghanistan’s Zero Units.

2. What Are Afghanistan’s Zero Units?

• Afghan Special Forces squadrons, trained, funded, and supported by the CIA since about 2008 ([05:51]).
• Operations involved U.S. Special Operations forces and sometimes CIA advisors.
• Main targets: Taliban and later ISIS-K.
• Different units operated regionally; O2 Unit operated out of Jalalabad in Nangarhar Province ([09:37]).

3. Human Cost: Victim Testimonies and the Ripple Effect

• First impetus came after hearing the story of Mazala, a widow who lost her only two sons in a raid and had nowhere to seek answers ([07:08]).
• More victims, like 22-year-old Batur, described the lifelong trauma following the raids, compounding the loss with persistent fear and lack of support:
  • “Trauma that doesn't go away after an operation ... fear comes every night afterwards of nightmares and flashbacks.” — Lynzy Billing [11:16]
• Women victims and witnesses were often omitted from official tallies ([14:09]).
• Many families, when seeking accountability with provincial or national officials, were told:
  • “These are the Zero units ... this is out of our hands,” and were sent away with no help ([14:09]).

4. Methodology: Uncovering the Scale of Civilian Harm

• Partnered with a government forensic pathologist, Mohammed, to document deaths and match with available records ([16:35]).
• Used lists from human rights organizations, news reports, and local accounts; visited more than 30 raid sites ([16:35]).
• Found evidence often missing from any official U.S. or Afghan government counts ([16:35–20:48]).
• Estimates (O2 Unit, 2017–2021): At least 452 civilians killed in 107 raids—a clear undercount
  • “There are hundreds of additional operations ... we just couldn't determine if those killed were civilians or militants. ... These people ... just seem to slip away into history.” — Lynzy Billing [21:25]

5. Intelligence Failures and Patterns

• Intelligence that was supposed to guide targeting was both technologically advanced and deeply flawed ([33:06]).
  • Misidentifications often stemmed from cultural misunderstandings—examples included assuming motorcycle riders were Haqqani or that gatherings in compounds were bomb-making rather than weddings ([33:06]).
• Chronic pattern: “There was no change throughout ... repeated patterns of getting it wrong” ([35:11]).

6. U.S.—Afghan Chain of Command, Accountability, and Loopholes

• Zero Units, set up by the CIA, were later nominally made to report to the Afghan intelligence agency (NDS), yet the CIA maintained significant influence ([30:12]–[32:22]).
• Result: Obscured lines of responsibility, enabling both U.S. and Afghan institutions to evade accountability:
  • “[A] very confusing world in terms of accountability when these operations go wrong and when they kill civilians.” — Lynzy Billing [32:32]
• The operations fell under “Title 50”—covert, classified CIA programs, out of reach of standard oversight mechanisms ([40:01]).
• Leahy Law Loophole: Prohibits training/equipping foreign forces that commit abuses but applies only to State and Defense Departments, not the CIA or units like Zero Units ([41:44]).
  • “Senator Patrick Leahy ... agreed there needed to be an amendment ... that these overseas military forces that work with any U.S. government agencies should really fall under the Leahy Law, which is not the case right now.” — Lynzy Billing [41:44]

7. The Night Raid/Kill-Capture Strategy—Historical Continuity and Failures

• Parallels drawn to CIA’s Phoenix Program in Vietnam and later operations in Iraq; repeated issues with misidentification and lack of accountability ([37:36]):
  • “Even in Vietnam ... they couldn’t differentiate between enemy insurgents and neutrals. ... [These strategies] keep getting repeated.” — Lynzy Billing [37:36]

8. Unique Difficulties in Reporting This Story

• Many areas and records are now inaccessible or destroyed post-U.S. withdrawal; some departments and archives literally burned ([44:51]).
• Survivors and family witnesses have relocated, making future investigations all but impossible ([44:51]):
  • “There was places ... that no longer exist ... some [statistical departments] were completely burnt ... many of the survivors ... have moved.” — Lynzy Billing [44:51]

9. What’s Next?

• Billing continues to press Congress for oversight and action, framing the issue as not only historical but urgent for future U.S. conflicts ([47:26]):
  • “This is a war that was fought in America’s name. ... This is something that could be used in a new country against a new threat. ... I really feel that this is going to be used in new countries and you’re going to see the same fallout ... if something doesn’t change.” — Lynzy Billing [47:26]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “I stumbled across the Zero units, which is what this investigation really focuses on.” — Lynzy Billing [04:40]
• “They were funded and trained and armed and then supported by the CIA ... going after targets that were perceived as threats to the United States.” — Lynzy Billing [05:51]
• “She was just in this, at that time, complete state of shock ... she told me that her two only children had been killed in a night raid ... and she didn’t know who to turn to.” — Lynzy Billing [07:08]
• “There is this feeling that there was no consequence for when these operations did go wrong.” — Lynzy Billing [14:09]
• “The [Leahy] law … doesn’t cover U.S. intelligence agencies. … So this is why units like the Zero Units who were supported by the CIA didn’t fall under it.” — Lynzy Billing [41:44]
• “We hope to do a follow-up ... I do hope that we ... get responses from Congress.” — Lynzy Billing [47:26]

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |-----------|:---------------| | 04:40 | Billing's personal backstory and incitement to investigate | | 05:51 | What are Zero Units? Formation, structure, and U.S. backing | | 07:08 | The story of Mazala and the first victim testimony | | 09:37 | Testimony of Batur; trauma and aftermath of raids | | 14:09 | Systemic lack of accountability for victims’ families | | 16:35 | Methodology: Teaming with forensic expert, tracking evidence | | 21:25 | Reporting on civilian death count and limitations of data | | 30:12 | CIA–NDS/Afghan Intelligence handover—blurred lines of responsibility | | 33:06 | Intelligence failures and flawed targeting | | 37:36 | History of U.S. night raids and continuity with past programs | | 40:01 | Why Billing calls it a “classified war”; oversight limitations | | 41:44 | The Leahy Law’s loopholes and implications for oversight | | 44:51 | Challenges in data collection—destruction and displacement | | 47:26 | Next steps and the moral imperative for oversight |

Tone and Style

Throughout the episode, the tone is grave, empathetic, and purposeful—reflecting Billing’s dedication to the subject, the pain of the victims, and the challenges inherent in reporting on covert military operations. Host Tyler McBrien’s queries are thoughtful and probing, aimed at drawing out both granular details and wider policy implications.

Summary Takeaway

Lynzy Billing’s investigation into Afghanistan’s Zero Unit night raids exposes the deeply human cost of U.S.-backed covert operations—one often obscured by secrecy, legal loopholes, and deliberate obfuscation. Her reporting not only documents hundreds of civilian deaths but highlights major systemic failings in intelligence, oversight, and accountability. The story serves as both a record for Afghanistan’s past and a warning for the future conduct of U.S. paramilitary and intelligence operations. The call now, she argues, is for public and congressional reckoning with these policies—before they repeat elsewhere with the same tragic consequences.