This article by Fareed Zakaria, Muslim-born American should be an eye-opener for the Americans. Mr Zakaria attempts to probe the source of anger against Americans and find out why the Arab/Islamic countries are are fertile ground for religious terrorism. To quote him, "If there is one great cause of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, it is the total failure of political institutions in the Arab world.". And the Americans, for all their "Super Cop of the World" posturing was only friendly with the wrong type of politics in the region. The Americans have also not been seen in a good light in their approach towards Iraq and Afghanistan.
And Islamic fundamentalism has now spread outside of the region -- to other countries in Asia and the Pacific.