Help me understand what started this chain of events (US vs Middle East terrorists)

[Arkitech]

Is the reason why the US is hated by many in the Middle East right now is because of the support the United States gave to Israel?

 

[rudder]

It is very complex, I suggest you don't try to comprehend the whole situation here. You ask a general question like this here and you will get 3000 answers, all different. There are some excellent books on the subject read those instead!

 

[Arkitech]

I'm guess I'm looking for the genesis of all of this conflict. I know there were probably hundreds of things along the way that infuriated many middle eastern invivdiduals, but I'm wondering what was the spark or action that set things into motion.

 

[GasX]

You won't get a good understanding from this forum but here are some pertinent beliefs of the militant muslim groups that produce the terrorists:

The U.S. is slave to the Jewish state that is oppressing the Palestinians
America has no business messing in Arab affairs (i.e involvement in Gulf War)
America should get their military the hell out of Saudi Arabia
All non-arabs should leave the holy land (Mecca, et al.)
Moderate mulsim government such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia are soft and corrupt

 

[Passions]

America = Good
Arab nations = Bad.

There ya go!

 

[Wallydraigle]

Some people are both rich and crazy. Once in a while you get a rich crazy person who is religious to boot. When a rich, crazy, religious person can convince a bunch of poor, gullable, religious people that there is a holy war, things like 911 happen.

 

[GTaudiophile]

The "genisis" of all this actually starts in the Bible. I suggest you start there. BTW, the Bible says that Israel won't find peace until the Second Coming for Christ.

 

[matthewperry]

They are pissed for many reasons but mostly because we (The US) gives Israel billions of dollars and plenty of guns and ammo to kill Palistinians and their babys.

 

[sciencewhiz]

Its out of stock at Amazon, but The Thousand Year War in the Mideast : How It Affects You Today is a book the explains the whole history of the conflict at a very easy to understand level.

 

[Cerebus451]

Specifically for bin Laden, the chain of events started with Saudi Arabia allowing the U.S. to use Saudi bases to stage troops for the Gulf War, as well as the continued presence of U.S. troops on Saudi (what he considers holy) soil. Bin Laden is a member of one of the rich oil families of Saudi Arabia, and was asked to leave Saudi Arabia when he began to question the motives of the Saudi ruling family by allowing the presence of U.S. troops on Saudi soil.

Of couse, bin Laden started his road to terrorism by helping to form and train the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan, which is why he is so loved in that country. His hatred for the U.S. is just more recent, starting with the occupation of Saudi soil by U.S. troops.

As for Palestinians, not sure where their hatred of the U.S. started. I guess we are a more convenient target (technically they should be against all of the United Nations since it was the U.N. that formed the current Israeli state in 1947), as well as the fact that the U.S. has shared a lot of technology with the Israelis in more recent years (like maybe the last 20). Don't forget that even the Israelis have made terroist attacks against the U.S., but nothing since the early-mid 70's, at least that I am aware of.