All of these thoughts are interesting and well put, and I believe there is an essence of truth in all of them.

However, as an apartment manager who gets pretty close to many of my residents, I'd like to say that those people who have been in the Middle East (there are admittedly only a handful) are in fact most inclined to insist that the largest problems of radical hatred toward America (not Americans, necessarily) has to do with our helping Israel, and not helping Palestine. They'd have okayed our helping both sides. To help Israel alone, was not. The reasons for their hatred toward Israel for its treatment of them as individuals, hurts to hear of.

Politics is something that is frequently discussed here, and although there may be some who remain silent, I have never heard anyone who didn't say that Afghanistan was a valid target and we should have completed that job.