This is simply intolerable. It's unclear whether the majority of these attacks by Afghan security forces upon their supposed allies are Taliban plants or disgruntled psychopaths operating on the spur of the moment. But the latest attack, which killed a group of US Special Forces soldiers, is the 24th betrayal since January of this year. 

If Afghans are unwilling to help sort out the traitorous insurgents in their midst, and Afghan officers suffer no consequences for such debacles, they can hardly be expected to stand up to the Taliban after international forces bug out. There have to be serious consequences here that don't involve useless cliches from top NATO generals about the importance of learning to trust each other.

An immediate purge in the ranks of any potentially disloyal Afghan soldier would be a start. If they go over to the Taliban as some recruits have actually acknowledged they might do, fine; at least loyal Afghan forces and ISAF soldiers will have the chance to shoot them from the front instead of always looking back over their shoulders. (If this process ends up hobbling Afghan security forces from massive losses of hundreds or even thousands of defectors, that's still fine; at least then we would know precisely what our massive infusion of blood and treasure had gotten us and allow us to realistically reassess our next moves).

Unequivocal, furious condemnation of these cowardly attacks by everyone from President Karzai down to newly-minted NCOsin the Afghan security forces would also help.

Barring these measures, it would not be out of order for international forces to seriously examine the feasibility of even waiting around for 2014. The Taliban pulls murderous stunts like this to demoralize our side; it is no betrayal by us to acknowledge that these attacks have been effective, or that they would not be possible without the collusion of many of our supposed Afghan allies.

Jonathon Narvey is the Editor of The Propagandist