by Tamer Soliman

Created on: September 13, 2006   Last Updated: April 19, 2007

It has been five years now, and the aching question remains largely unanswered: "why do they hate us?" Although Arab and American politicians, Islamists, and even terrorists have made their proposals; trust me, their biased answers (whether fiery or soft) serve nothing beyond their pockets. I claim that my unique identity helps me address the question in the most genuine, objective, and realistic way possible. Being an Arab, I am familiar with the mindset of Arabs. Being a Christian Arab, however, I do not share lots of the hot buttons that manipulate the thought and behavior of the majority of Arabs: Islam. My dear American reader, the lines to follow carry an insider's, yet objective, portrayal and analysis of the Anti-American sentiments before and after Sept. 11 (911). These are, unfortunately, at a record height, forecasting more devastating 911s.

For those who might ask "why should I care?" Let the statistics respond. On 911, Bin Laden was the only public figure who dared to declare in the media that the extinction of the USA was his sole purpose for existence. Today, Ahmadinejad, Naserallah, and many others have ride the wave and taken advantage of the charismatic luster that this hectic message offers. More serious, those people are gaining more listeners; hence more tools to fulfill what they pledge. The punch of 19 suicide hijackers who were at Bin Laden's disposal has grown massively over the past 5 years and 3 wars (Afganistan, Iraq and Lebanon). There are as much as 300 million Attas (Muslims aging between 20-40) waiting patientlessly for an action plan to implement.

I can smell the desire for blood as I walk on the streets; I see their deadly gazes as I travel on the subway; and it bluntly strikes my ears whenever they speak. As the CS Monitor's reporter who survived kidnapping has recently stated, children as young as 6 years old are brought up by their mothers to embrace the culture of holy war. My fellows never trust an Arab diplomat or intellectual who smiles on the screen and tells you that America is a close friend to the Arab people. He/she is either a fool or tries to fool you. Neither Al-Malekie of Iraq, Mubarak of Egypt, nor Abd-Allahs of Jordan and Saudi Arabia can grant you anything. In fact, deep inside, they are aware that they can never be sure to get to their offices tomorrow. Even worse, contrary to what Bush keeps assuring, Your at-home security measures can never be perfect as 911 has proved, nor can a preemptive war fought on

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