KABUL, Afghanistan -- The apparent downing of a military helicopter with 17 Americans aboard in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday comes at a time of growing insecurity here. For the first time since the United States overthrew the Taliban government 3 1/2 years ago, Afghans say they are feeling uneasy about the future.
Violence has increased sharply in recent months, with a resurgent Taliban movement mounting daily attacks in southern Afghanistan, gangs kidnapping foreigners in the capital, and militant Islamists orchestrating violent demonstrations against the government and foreign-financed organizations.
The steady stream of violence, culminating in the crash of the helicopter, which was apparently brought down by a rocket-propelled grenade, has dealt a new blow to this still-traumatized nation of 25 million. In dozens of interviews conducted in recent weeks around the country, Afghans voiced concern that the situation was not improving, and that the Taliban and other dangerous elements were gaining strength.
They also expressed increased dissatisfaction with their own government and the way the U.S. military is conducting its operations, and said they were suspicious of the Americans' long-term intentions.
"Three years on, the people are still hoping that things are going to work out, but they have become suspicious about why the Americans came, and why the Americans are treating the local people badly," said Jandad Spinghar, head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission in Nangarhar province in the east, just across the Khyber Pass from Pakistan.
Poverty, joblessness, frustrated expectations and the culture of 25 years of war make for a volatile mix in which American military raids, shootings and detention of Afghans can inflame public opinion, many here say.
"Generally, people are not against the Americans," Spinghar said. "But in areas where there are no human rights, where they do not have good relations and where there is bad treatment of villagers or prisoners, this will hand a free area to the Taliban. It's very important that the Americans understand how the Afghan people feel."
Reflecting the shifting popular mood, President Hamid Karzai has publicly criticized the behavior of American troops.
The Taliban's spring offensive has jolted both the U.S. military and the Karzai government, which had been saying that the Taliban were largely defeated and that Afghanistan was consolidating behind its first elected national leader.
