For as long as soldiers in the U.S.-led coalition have been training the Afghan National Security Forces, Afghan soldiers and policemen have been murdering them. Such incidents, sometimes perpetrated in support of the Taliban insurgency, are called insider attacks. According to a 2017 study by the Modern War Institute at the U.S. Military Academy, at least 157 NATO personnel had been killed since 2007 in insider attacks.

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An insider attack last week targeted a group of officials that included the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Austin "Scott" Miller.

The attack occurred during a meeting of top civilian and military officials at the compound of the Kandahar province's governor in southern Afghanistan. A gunman in an Afghan security uniform opened fire, killing Gen. Abdul Raziq, Kandahar's police chief, who had survived previous assassination attempts, and his top intelligence officer, Abdul Momin. The Kandahar governor, Zalmai Wessa, was wounded. Miller escaped harm, but three U.S. soldiers with him were wounded, including Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Smiley. Taliban insurgents claimed credit for the attack, which came amid stepped-up violence before parliamentary elections. According to Afghan officials, 78 people died at polling places Saturday.

The damage and destruction of insider attacks go well beyond the casualties: They undermine the trust that is vital for an advising mission to succeed. Developing a credible Afghan army and police force has long been the cornerstone of the U.S. exit strategy.

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In 2012, when I was serving in Afghanistan as a member of the NATO unit tasked with training Afghan forces, insider attacks surged, with 45 attacks killing 61 coalition troops, up from 21 attacks killing 35 troops in 2011. Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan at the time, told CBS News's "60 Minutes" that "we're willing to sacrifice a lot for this campaign, but we're not willing to be murdered for it." The Obama administration was so alarmed by the insider attacks that we received word from the White House to stop them or else all U.S. advisers would be withdrawn from combat.

Coalition trainers found ways to help reduce insider attacks. One was to teach NATO soldiers about the concepts of honor and revenge that are central to Pashtunwali, the cultural code by which many Afghans live. Unwitting violations of those values were sometimes the cause for the attacks on coalition personnel. NATO also formally adopted a "guardian angel" policy that some trainers had been employing, requiring units to designate soldiers to watch over advisers when they met with their Afghan counterparts. The guardian angels receive special training and must be armed and wearing body armor whenever Afghan personnel are present. The policy likely saved Miller's life last week.

The number of insider attacks dropped to 13 in 2013. The following year, an insider attack by an Afghan soldier killed Army Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greeneand wounded 18 people. Insider attacks have continued to decline, but they have never stopped.

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So far this year, two U.S. soldiers assigned to train Afghan forces, Cpl. Joseph Maciel and Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Bolyard, were killed by Afghans they were training. On Monday, a Czech soldier in the coalition forces was killed by an Afghan he was training in the western province of Herat. In 2012, Allen called these murderous assaults by insiders "the signature attack" of the Afghan war. Six years later, it's time to acknowledge that no matter how well-trained or vigilant American soldiers are, as long as they are interacting with their Afghan colleagues they are at risk of being killed by them.

The war in Afghanistan grinds on with no end in sight. The Trump administration's strategy appears to hinge on coaxing the Taliban to the negotiating table, but so far their response has been to escalate violence. It's time for President Trump to acknowledge that we are no closer to developing an Afghan military capable of defending its government than we were 17 years ago. He should end the advisory mission and bring those soldiers home. Enough Americans have died at the hands of our Afghan allies.