[Polpolion]

What the hell did we do to make those people hate us so much? (pre-iraq war)

[Turambar]

Israel

[Shadow0000]

This article is from 2001, September 24, it is quite long but well it's a history summary overall, and it doesn't seem to be biased, as the guy who wrote it doesn't hate US, or so he said at that time, maybe now it's different:

http://www.vexen.co.uk/USA/hateamerica.html#Why

Point 15, is about Middle East:

http://www.vexen.co.uk/USA/hateamerica.html#MiddleEast

[Rictor]

What the hell did we do to make those people hate us so much? (pre-iraq war)

Who? Iraq? Well, you killed about 20,000 of them during the Gulf War, then put the under sanctions which cost between 500,000 and 1,000,000 civilian lives.

Iran? You installed an unelected despot who went on to rule for twenty years so you could have easy access to oil. 

Lebanon? You invaded, along with French forces, in the 80s.

Oh, and Israel/Palestine. Though that's a more controversial point, it's also the most widely cited cause of anti-Americanism. I guess that in instances where there is no concrete grievance, that's what people fall back on.

[Kamikaze]

http://www.isometry.com/usahate.html

Here's a list I found online a while back.

[brozozo]

Let's not forget the numerous crusades launched by the various European kingdoms. I'd imagine Islam/the Middle East is still pretty sore about that.

[Rictor]

Uhm, somehow I doubt it. If people held grudges for hundreds of years, there wouldn't be a single nation on Earth who would be on friendly terms with any other. I think that whatever grievances people have against the States, whether they're in the Middle-East, South America, Asia or elsewhere, mostly come from the post-WW2 period.

[Kosh]

When people answer this question, they usually say some tired old rhetoric like "they hate us for our freedoms" and other such non-sense. Basically Americans try to purposely bury their heads in the sand as to what causes all of this hate, which only inflames it even more.

[aceofspades]

Uhm, somehow I doubt it. If people held grudges for hundreds of years, there wouldn't be a single nation on Earth who would be on friendly terms with any other...

Uh, there pretty much aren't any nations on Earth on friendly terms with each other.

[Turambar]

France and Monaco seem to get along...

[Rictor]

Uh, there pretty much aren't any nations on Earth on friendly terms with each other.

Name five on-going wars between states. What I was trying to say is that even among the most hardcore anti-American individuals in the Middle East, I doub that the Crusades is very high on their list of issues.

[Mefustae]

Indeed, it's a great way to protest by calling US deployment 'the Crusades', but I would be surprised if most people in the region even knew anything about the crusades in detail.