To say the recent events are tragic is putting it lightly. I feel shocked, terribly sad, angered, and confused. This is perhaps what most Americans feel. One is left with too many questions as to why and how this atrocity was permitted to happen. I hope the following words will help in understanding the present situation.

Why is there so much hatred from the Arabic world against the United States? This is a question that is being brought in light of the present disaster that has been inflicted by Muslim terrorists. In November 1947 The United Nations passed General Assembly Resolution 181, which states that the British owned Palestine will be made into a Jewish and Arab state. Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen voted against this measure. Since 33 voted for (including the United States) and 11 countries opposed the resolution, the measure passed and what we now call Israel was created. As one can see, clearly many Arab nations voted against the resolution if not all Arab nations. So, Muslims have felt that that Israel was imposed on them, particularly on the Palestinians. This was the first major issue Arab nations had against the U.S. Shortly thereafter there were a series of wars starting with the Arab invasion of 1948 in which the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin Al Husseini stated, "I declare a holy war, my Moslem brothers! Murder the Jews! Murder them all!", the Sinai Campaign, the Six Day War and the Egyptian and Syrian attack of 1973 (which was on Yom Kippur). Even when Israel wasn't at war, Israel experienced tension between Palestinians and Israelis. The USA has supported Israel (for very good reasons I think) since the beginning. Israel is a state the Jews all over the world needed. It was created in response to the Holocaust. Basically, the USA doesn't want another genocidal incident. The reason the state of Israel was a solution to genocide and anti-Semitism was because Hitler almost succeeded. The Arab communities in the Middle East have always seen any support of Israel as a neglecting Arab concerns. The present fighting in Jerusalem has been a response to Prime Minister Sharon's (He is more conservative than other Prime Ministers have been) decision to step on Muslim holy land. This was seen as an insult and was met with violence from the Palestinians that led to Israeli retaliation that then led to Palestinian retaliation that led to etc. ad nausium. The problem with this is Arabs lose more of their own than the Israelis do. Whenever rocks are thrown killing one Israeli, the retaliation is usually ten-fold. It is a lose-lose more situation. Now that Israel has been covered, The Gulf War needs to be addressed. This should be more familiar to everyone. Arabs do not like long imposed restrictions even if it is on an enemy. Arab community feels that the US is picking on Iraq and has out warmed its welcome as a defender of Kuwait. Since Hussein occasionally kills his people for fun, he broadcasts some of the violence as US actions against them. This stirs up anger in other Arabs in the region as well.

Whenever peace seems to be near extremists seem to get the last word. I say extremists and not Muslim fundamentalists, is because in 1994 Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated by a fellow countryman. The Middle East has been troubled by hatred since time began. I personally find the lack of compassion disconcerting. I don't know why war is seen as a better option than peace. I find the blind fanaticism found in Islam to be the most terrifying forms of fundamentalism ever invented. So much time and resources are put into war and terrorism that the people of those countries are left with so little except for a common enemy. The one thing that unites them unites them in hatred. Sound familiar?