The 9/11 attacks were invariably the greatest calamity the United States of America had to suffer in the recent past. This was by no means the first hostile act against the United States though in terms of damages it dwarfed all previous attacks. In fact the first terrorist attack in the US was reported from Madison in Wisconsin state on Aug. 24, 1970 when a local group angry with certain government policies detonated a bomb killing a researcher for the military forces and injuring several others.

One of the earliest attacks against the US interests took place outside the country — the attack on the US Embassy in Beirut in April 1983. In the attack a total of 63 people were killed, 17 of them US citizens.

While most of the anti-US attacks targeted civilian establishments, the victim of terrorism reported from Yemen a few years ago was a huge destroyer, USS Cole, docked off the Aden port. This killed 17 US soldiers.

Though inquiries were made and actions taken following all these hostile acts, the US administration never tried to find the factors that led some people within or without the country to resort to suicidal terrorist acts. There was a time, not very long ago, when the underprivileged people, mostly in the Third World countries, dreamt of migrating to the United States, the land of freedom, justice and opportunities. But now nobody views the United States in that light. Their attitude to the US has undergone such a radical change that they do not mind sacrificing their own lives in fighting the US.

The US should make a correct analysis of the circumstances that have led to a total change in the attitude of a sizable number of people in the world. The reason could not be, as the US administration likes to portray, their hatred of the freedom and prosperity in the US.

Only a very few American thinkers have succeeded in discerning the real causes that spawn anti-US feeling in the outside world.

Mark Levin, a professor of the modern Middle East history at the University of California, has disputed in his book, “Why They Hate Us” the theory that the Muslim extremists are motivated by their hatred of the free and democratic style of life and prosperity in the West.

In his in-depth study of the increasing anti-US sentiments the world over, Mark Levin could not find any evidence to support the theory of the hatred of the US democracy or prosperity. On the other hand he found that most of the people in the world are angry at the American foreign policies.

Levin observed that most of the Muslims believe that their sufferings are caused by the imposition of unfair US policies. The US has been acting as the unchallenged superpower in the world dictating terms to the rest of the world, particularly hitting hard at the poor people in Asia and Africa. The US foreign policies are concerned only with the protection of its interests. If the US behaved in a more responsible and fair manner in dealing with international and regional issues it could easily have won the confidence and friendship of the rest of the world including the Muslims. Unfortunately what happened was just the opposite.

Conceited and boastful US administration failed to identify the real problems of the Third World countries, which led to the eventual hatred toward the US. On the other hand, the US foreign policies marked by double standards and with scant regard for historical facts jeopardized the interests of several communities.

The policies, which were designed to serve the political and economic interests of the US, also served as the direct cause of most of the disputes and wars in various regions of the world. Such policies, obviously, alienated its friends.

An example is Washington’s disputes with its Western allies, particularly over issues such as the missile defense system, Kyoto Protocol on environment protection and the Iraq invasion.

US leaders do not feel any embarrassment in opposing the world consensus against the racial discrimination and violations committed by Israel against the Palestinians.

The US did not participate in a UN conference on the racial discrimination held in the South African city of Durban and this was to please Israel. This was enough to turn the feelings of the people in the world to turn against the US.

The most effective weapon to destroy terrorism is to promote love among nations. If only the United States could lead the world with love guided by prudence and justice it would have won the admiration of the entire world leaving terrorism to die a natural death.