"Quite frankly, I think that most intelligent people and military people would privately think that Secretary Panetta's comments are absurd, perhaps harmful. Because they just can't be taken seriously," said Anthony Cordesman, a senior analyst at CSIS, a major Washington think tank, and a recipient of Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award for his work at the Pentagon before joining CSIS.

"They are not at the last gasp, all they really have to do is -- at this point -- out-wait us, constantly put pressure on areas that give them political visibility. They don't have to defeat ISAF, it's leaving."

On "60 Minutes," Gen. Allen said the insider attacks have emerged because the "enemy" has seized on a "vulnerability."

"In Iraq, the signature weapon system that we hadn't seen before was the IED," Allen said, referring to improvised explosive devices "We had to adjust to that. Here, I think the signature attack that we're beginning to see is going to be the insider attack."