KABUL (Reuters) – In the decade since U.S.-led troops streamed into Afghanistan, girls have gone back to school, elections have been held, clinics have been built and shops and media empires have sprung up. There is even a property boom in Kabul.

To the nations that poured money, lives and hope into rebuilding the country, after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States propelled it back onto the international agenda, progress like this is proof of time and money well spent.

“We just have to continue the process, and recognize again: you don’t build Rome or Kabul in a day, or a decade,” U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said in a recent interview, discussing improvements in education and healthcare.

But corruption is rampant, violence is spreading fast even in once-peaceful areas, and every month an average of over 200 civilians die in the conflict.

Safety fears stop people traveling to hospitals, or even to schools — so much so that some conservative Afghans still hark back to the security and values that the Taliban offered.

And looming over any development gains is the prospect, for a country that has already endured nearly 30 years of war, of a slide back into chaos once foreign troops hand over to Afghan forces — which they have promised to do by the end of 2014.

“The most striking thing that stands out, whatever people feel about what has happened, whether it was good or bad, is they aren’t sure about their future,” said Martine van Bijlert, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts’ network.

KABUL (Reuters) – NATO has stopped sending prisoners to several Afghan jails because of U.N. warnings of torture, raising fresh questions about the capacity of Afghan security forces at a time when they are meant to be taking over greater responsibilities.

High desertion rates, widespread corruption, drug use and illiteracy are among the problems plaguing Afghanistan’s army and police, despite billions of dollars and thousands of trainers that NATO is pouring into raising standards.

The new allegations of mistreatment come in a U.N. report, which names several detention centers around the country. It has not yet been released to the public but the findings have been shared with some Afghan and NATO officials.

“We have stopped the transfer of detainees to certain installations, as a precautionary measure,” ISAF spokesman General Carsten Jacobson told a news conference in Kabul on Wednesday.

“We are aware that a U.N. report will come out and we will look into that report. We have not stopped the overall transfer of detainees, but to certain installations only.”

Prisoner transfers in parts of NATO’s southern regional command — particularly the Taliban heartland, Kandahar — had already been stopped in July.

But the latest decision, made just “a few days” ago, added at least another 8 facilities to the list.

KABUL (Reuters) – The United States must keep fighting the Taliban or risk more attacks like those of September 11, 2001, because the insurgent group is a ruthless enemy that has not cut ties to al Qaeda, the U.S. ambassador to Kabul said.

Ryan Crocker, a career diplomat who was ambassador in Iraq, also warned the United States would have to spend billions more in the coming years to bolster Afghanistan’s government and security forces as its own troops prepare to return home.

“What we have to do is I think demonstrate the strategic patience that is necessary to win a long war,” he told Reuters, in an interview ahead of the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

“It is going to require more resources, its going to require time. I hope we can bring all those to bear, because as hard, painful, as expensive as this has been in blood and treasure, it has cost a lot less than 9/11 did.”

Crocker flew into New York early on the morning of September 11, 2001, and saw the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapse as he drove into Manhattan after landing.

He has carried his boarding pass from that flight around the world with him, to a decade of senior positions at the heart of the conflicts that followed in the wake of the attacks.

“My life to a significant degree was never the same after 9/11 … what drives me is what happened that day, and what I saw. And not that I need a reminder, but this is just a small memento of why we are in this fight and why we need to stay in it.”