HOW ISLAM VIEWS THE UNITED STATES Why is it so difficult to win the hearts and minds of Middle Eastern Muslims?
Most do not believe a word they hear from Washington. Arab governments regularly distance themselves from America for their own survival. To make the case against terrorism, many of these governments need to overcome much of the anti-Americanism they themselves have carefully fostered, partly to deflect attention from their own unpopularity and ineptness. In their view, in abandoning the peace process, America joined in a war against the Palestinians led by Ariel Sharon, whom most Arabs regard as a worse criminal than bin Laden. Why is the general population so anti-American? Why do they often hate the United States so intensely? First, one of the main factors rests with the educational systems that permeate the Middle East. The near collapse of public education in Pakistan and Afghanistan, for example, are critical legacies of more than two decades of Cold War battles and armed strife in the region. So, when the Soviets left in the late 1980s, the US and other Western governments inve
