Saturday brought yet another tragedy in Afghanistan. Another fatal attack on American troops in a 19-year war that continues with no light at the end of the tunnel.

The shooting in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province lasted mere minutes when an individual wearing an Afghan army uniform opened fire on a squad of U.S. special operations troops. The military is still investigating whether the assailant was actually a member of the Afghan security forces or a Taliban infiltrator, but the result is still the same: two slain American heroes by the names of Sgt. Javier Jaguar Gutierrez and Sgt. Antonio Rey Rodriguez, the latter serving his 10th deployment in 11 years.

Their deaths increase total U.S. fatalities in Afghanistan this year to six .

All of this violence comes at a time when U.S. special envoy and former Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad is hard at work in Doha, Qatar, talking to the Taliban on achieving some kind of reduction in violence before the signing of a U.S.-Taliban agreement. The Taliban have been holding out for a far shorter reduction and are outright opposed to the nationwide ceasefire the Afghan government is demanding. As is fairly typical during peace negotiations, the fighting on the ground hasn’t stopped. In the countryside, the pace is only getting more intense as the combatants jockey for position and leverage at the negotiating table.

What’s happening in Doha is almost beside the point. It’s not that the talks, which have been going on for over a year, are not important; it’s that whatever U.S. and Taliban officials agree to won't end the war between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Assuming Washington and the Taliban even come to a consensus on a document, the conflict will continue to churn as the Afghans squabble among themselves over power-sharing, the role of Islam in society, the extent of Taliban prisoner releases, and the makeup of ministries. Throughout those negotiations, thousands of U.S troops will likely still be in the firing zone as some sort of insurance policy. And for what?

We are sick and tired of logging on to our computers in the morning and seeing tragic yet fundamentally avoidable headlines about U.S. troops dying in Afghanistan.

The fact these tragedies continue over 18 years after the first bombs were dropped would be perfect fodder for the Onion. Unfortunately, it’s no joke. That we turn on our televisions and see lawmakers recycling the eye-rolling “we need to fight the terrorists over there, so we don’t have to fight them here” slogan is like a graphic, real-life nightmare.

Afghanistan is a hamster wheel going around in loops, and the United States is the hamster running toward the piece of cheese. We will never reach it. The U.S. needs to get off the wheel before another drop of American blood is shed.

Daniel DePetris (@DanDePetris) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. His opinions are his own.