By Saeed Ali Achakzai
SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Seven years after theattacks on New York and Washington, the event that sparked offthe U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, many Afghans say life isno better and some say its worse.
Following the overthrow of the hardline Islamist Taliban inlate 2001 by U.S.-led and Afghan forces, Afghans hoped theircountry, ravaged by decades of war, would finally see peace.
But with al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden still on the loose,a worsening security situation and the slow pace ofdevelopment, Afghans have become disillusioned and frustrated.
A recent spate of civilian deaths caused by U.S.-led airstrikes has added salt to their wounds.
"After the 9/11 attacks, when the U.S. and her alliesoverthrew the Taliban government, the U.S. promised the Afghannation stability, safety and jobs," Haji Allah Dad, a60-year-old trader in the southern town of Spin Boldak, said.
"But they have done nothing for us. They drop bombs on thecivilian population and have killed thousands of Afghans in thelast seven years, while the Taliban get stronger day by day."
Spin Boldak is a bustling town in the southern province ofKandahar, the spiritual home of the Taliban and where themilitant group still draws much of its support.
In February, a suicide bomber in Spin Boldak killed 37civilians and wounded 30 more. The attack came just one dayafter another bomber killed more than 100 people in Kandaharcity.
"We feel no change in our lives," said Mohammad Usman, a40-year-old shopkeeper from Spin Boldak.
"They (foreign forces) are not the enemy of the Taliban,they are the enemy of the Afghan people. The U.S. army calls usal Qaeda and kills us but we don't know what al-Qaeda is."
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES
Violence has surged in Afghanistan over the last threeyears with more than 2,500 people killed, including 1,000civilians, in the first six months of this year alone, aidagencies say.
While most civilians are killed in insurgent attacks,usually bystanders in suicide blasts, it is the killing ofordinary Afghans by foreign forces that evokes the greatestemotions.
The issue has caused a rift between the Afghan governmentand its Western backers, and undermines public opinion for thecontinued presence of foreign forces in the country.
Ali Jan, a 30-year-old bearded man from Spin Boldak, wantsthe Taliban back because under them life was safer, he says.
"In those times there were no security problems. Now U.S.forces began killing Afghan civilians and destroying ourcountry," said Ali Jan, adding that he had paid the Talibanmoney during this holy month of Ramadan.
"We are forced to help the Taliban against the occupyingforces because the Taliban are Muslims and Afghans. They arefighting for the freedom of Afghanistan," he said.
Frustration at the country's deteriorating security is notconfined to the volatile south. Taliban insurgents have beenable to launch increasingly daring and deadly attacks insidethe relative safety of Kabul.
"Life did change in the first years after the invasion,"said Azim, a money-changer on one of Kabul's streets.
"But now security has become worse and people are escapingAfghanistan. If the insecurity continues, people will turnagainst the U.S. like they did against the Taliban."
(Writing by Jonathon Burch; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani andAlex Richardson)
