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"Why did they hate us in 1783? Why do they hate us? was a universally asked question in the United States following the 9/11 attacks. A majority on the Left and a sizable minority on the Right believe it was blow-back from our imperialistic foreign policy in the Middle East. They consistently cite three primary offenses: US support for repressive Arab regimes, US support for Israel, and the stationing of US troops in Saudi Arabia. If those are the root causes, why did the United States come under Jihadist assault only 7 years after the Declaration of Independence, when we had only just won the right to our own land, and had not the will nor the means to impose our alleged imperialist ambitions on the Middle East?"

"These are my friends, my students," he said. "I trained some of them... I've visited almost all jails where there are detainees in terrorist cases." But Abbas was not here to plot new attacks. Instead he had come to try to persuade his friends to follow his example and renounce violence.