Why does so much of the world, particularly the Muslim world, hate the United States? Why did the 9/11 terrorist attacks happen? A common explanation is that extremist Muslims “hate our freedom” and our way of life, and want to destroy it.

There are a few problems with this theory. It doesn’t explain secular terrorist attacks. Looking at the 462 terrorist attacks between 1980 and 2004, the country with the most suicide bombings was Sri Lanka. Those attacks were committed by the Tamil Tigers, a secular Marxist group that invented the idea of strapping bombs to your chest. It also doesn’t explain the failure of focusing on Western lifestyle’s wickedness and freedom as a recruiting tactic for holy war against the West. For example, Ayatollah Khomeini (the Supreme Leader of Iran between 1979 and 1989) tried during his rule to start a jihad against America because of the supposed immorality of American culture. His efforts failed, as not many people are willing to fight and die because of how strangers halfway around the world live their lives.

So then why do they hate America? One of the main reasons is the U.S. government’s aid to Israel. Israel is seen as invading Muslim holy land, as well as committing terrible crimes against the Palestinians. For example, during Israel’s most recent war, the Israeli military damaged Gaza’s water and sewage treatment facilities, and, through trade restrictions, is preventing the people of Gaza from buying the supplies needed to repair the facilities, forcing Gaza to survive on untreated, disease-ridden water. These and other barbaric tactics incite hatred not only of Israel but also of the United States, because of its strong and unquestioning support of Israel.

Another source of anti-American sentiment is the installation of pro-U.S. puppet governments in Middle Eastern countries. From the former Shah of Iran to the Saudi dictatorship, American puppet states have long incited hatred in the Muslim world. According to Paul Wolfowitz, one of the Bush administration’s most notorious war criminals, “[American] presence [in Saudi Arabia] over the past 12 years has been a source of enormous difficulty for a friendly government. It’s been a huge recruiting device for al-Qaeda. In fact if you look at [Osama] bin Laden, one of his principle grievances was the presence of so-called crusader forces on the holy land, Mecca and Medina.” Remember the widespread anger over the “Ground Zero Mosque”? Imagine if, rather than a peaceful mosque, it was an Iranian military base. That’s how people in the Middle East feel.

The number of Muslim civilians killed in American operations is another major source of hatred. This includes not only the current wars, but also the Iraqi trade sanctions during the decade preceding 9/11. For the first eight months of sanctions, Iraq could not even transport food. After that, the U.S. continued to block vital humanitarian goods. Trucks needed to deliver food were blocked, along with pipes needed to transport water. Water tankers were blocked during a time of severe drought. When asked about the hundreds of thousands of children that had died because of these tactics, Madeleine Albright, U.S. ambassador to the UN and, later, Secretary of State during the Clinton administration, replied, “We think the price is worth it.”

We can’t protect ourselves from terrorism by invading countries and allowing innocent civilians to die. Even if some of the people killed are terrorists, many aren’t, and those deaths only provoke more terrorism. We don’t have to get rid of our freedom, religion or our Western culture to stop terrorist attacks; we only need to get rid of the government that creates the hatred that provokes them.

Michael Annes is a freshman majoring in math and economics.