Why hate America?

"At the time I was very anti-American. ... It was all black and white for us. I used to be impressed with bin Laden. There was no other leadership in the Muslim world standing up for Muslims." When September 11 happened, Hassan says the view in his circle was that "Al Qaeda had given one back to George Bush."
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=702bf6d5-a37a-4e3e-a491-fd72bf6a9da1&k=

Given one back? In mid-2001, why would any Muslim anywhere in the world hate America, or more specifically George W. Bush? Bush had been in office barely a year, and had done nothing anywhere in the world against Muslims or Muslim interests. Clinton had come to the rescue of the Muslims in Bosnia (very late in the day, but hey at least he did something, whereas the Europeans did absolutely nothing), the Muslims in Kosovo and tried to provide humanitarian help in Somalia. George Bush senior came to the rescue of the Muslims in Kuwait (and Saudi Arabia) in the early nineties. Before that, Reagan came to the aid of the Muslims in Afghanistan against the Soviets. So when politicised Muslims say that Al Qaeda 'gave one back', to what hostile actions are they referring?

The whole 'Muslims against America' thing strikes me as very bizarre. I can't think of a single thing America might have done to provoke such intense hatred. Britain ok; The British ruled most of the worlds Muslims at one point, sometimes with brutality. We have an intimate history with many parts of the Muslim world. But America has never had any imperial power in any Muslim country.

So what is Americas foundation crime? To be powerful and NOT Muslim? To want Oil from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Iran? To be a friend to Israel? To interfere in Irans internal politics? To give money to regimes like Egypt and Jordan? Although provocative to some, surely none of these could animate Al Qaeda to such visceral hatred?

Or perhaps the visceral hatred is always there, and it just requires some internal or external object to focus itself on. After all, there is no reading of history (as opposed to the ramshackle fantasies of the Islamists) which provides any logical justification for Muslim anger at the United States. For at least 150 years there has been no Muslim power of any importance, and because of their pathetic education systems and very low levels of industrialisation, unlikely to be any for a very long time. But thats not our fault. Why should we have to pay a penalty because many Muslims have an inferiority complex? Why should we suffer because the Arabs and the Pakistanis have decided to retreat into the fantasy world of losers?