The U.S. focus on bin Laden underlines an attitude that many say fuels smoldering anger in the Mideast over American policies

December 22, 1999
Web posted at: 9:32 p.m. EST (0232 GMT)

In this story: Past American policy resented by many Support for Israel a sore point Poverty also part of the problem RELATED STORIES, SITES

From Cairo Bureau Chief Ben Wedeman

CAIRO, Egypt (CNN) -- Once again, alleged terrorism mastermind Osama bin Laden is in the news, as U.S. officials try to determine if he's linked to a man arrested outside Seattle, Washington.

But many in the Middle East say American officials are just "rounding up the usual suspects" as fears of terrorism grow on the eve of the millennium.

Some analysts also say the focus on bin Laden is a symptom of an attitude that fuels smoldering anger in the region over U.S. policy.

In Seattle, a federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Ahmed Ressam on charges of trying to smuggle bomb-making materials into the United States from Canada.

Authorities are trying to determine whether Ressam has any ties to bin Laden, the Saudi extremist wanted in connection with last year's bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people.

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Past American policy resented by many

Fahmi Huweidi is an Egyptian columnist. He says the U.S. focus on bin Laden is overblown.

"There is too much exaggeration about bin Laden himself as a person, and even his group," Huweidi says.

The columnist also says it is difficult for Muslims to forget what they perceive to be past U.S. unfairness.

"We can never forget ... how the United States was unfair with the Arabs, Muslims, Palestinians, Iraqis," Huweidi says.

The overwhelming majority of Muslims flatly reject terrorism for whatever reason, observers say, but many understand the motives that drive a tiny minority to commit acts of terror against the United States.

Islamic militancy might go away if the U.S. helped to fight regional poverty, underdevelopment and rampant government corruption, analysts say

Support for Israel a sore point

U.S. policies have long been a source of resentment among some Muslims.

Among those policies: U.S. economic and military support for Israel; a perceived American willingness to slap stringent sanctions on predominantly Muslim countries, such as Iraq; and the U.S. bombing last year of targets in the Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Critics say the resentment also is the result of historic U.S. support for friendly rulers -- regardless of their human rights record.

"They supported governments and regimes sympathetic with the United States, quite ready to collaborate in spite of the wishes of the people and regardless of what the people themselves thought about these regimes," says Hussein Ahmed Amin, an Egyptian analyst.

Poverty also part of the problem

Middle East analysts say resentment of the United States might go away if the U.S. officials helped fight regional poverty, underdevelopment and rampant government corruption.

"As long as ... these economic problems stand, you can spend millions and millions of dollars on security measures with no avail," Amin says.

But with tens of thousands expected to attend massive millennium festivities in just a few days, Egypt and other Middle East countries are just as worried as the United States about the threat of terrorism.

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