One of the gunmen: An Afghan soldier. Of course.

Like I said yesterday, O’s defense of his apology as a utilitarian device to try to save lives was good. The part about things having “calmed down”? Not so much:

Another two United States soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on Thursday when an Afghan soldier in league with a civilian Afghan literacy instructor killed a tower guard and attacked with gunfire and a rocket the barracks where American soldiers were sleeping at a joint base in the south of the country, officials said…

The two shooters fled but American forces called in air support, and the two men were killed by helicopter gunfire more than a mile from the base, said Masoom Khan, the chief of police of the Zhari district in Kandahar Province where the attack took place.

The base in Kandahar Province is close to the village of Sangsar, the hometown of the Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar and the birthplace of the group. Mr. Khan said the shooters were suspected of having links with the insurgency.

Four other Americans were injured. Reporters cornered Jay Carney aboard Air Force One today to ask how calm things could really be when U.S. soldiers are still being shot in the back by their “partners.” Carney’s reply: Obama never said things were perfectly calm. Touche.

Here’s CNN’s report citing a source who claims the gunmen were Taliban infiltrators who’d been biding their time for a whole year. If you were a jihadi mole looking to spring an ambush at an opportune moment when the Americans have let their guards down, naturally you’d wait until the entire military is on high alert after a week spent dealing with murderous infiltrators. Wait, what? Exit question from Richard Miniter: Is it time to start handing out Korans as a goodwill gesture?