These are our allies?

(Telegraph) — An Afghan soldier killed one US marine and wounded another before being shot to death in return fire in southern Afghanistan, the latest in a series of attacks against foreigners blamed on government forces within their own ranks.

Nearly 20 such attacks this year have raised the level of mistrust between the US-led coalition and their Afghan partners as Nato gears up to hand over security to local forces ahead of a 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of combat troops.

In another sign of deteriorating security, the United States is considering abandoning plans for a consulate in the country’s north because the building chosen was deemed too dangerous to occupy. The US spent $80 million on the project despite glaring security deficiencies in the former hotel, according to a copy of a document drafted by the US Embassy in Kabul.

Those problems — including shoddy construction that would lead to a “catastrophic failure” of the building in a car-bomb attack — were overlooked and waivers to strict State Department building rules were granted as officials rushed to open the consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif as a sign of America’s long-term commitment to Afghanistan, the diplomatic memo shows.