I'm reading All the Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer and it is a fascinating read on the effects on American (and British) Foreign Policy on the Middle East. Undoubtedly, the coup which removed a progressive, democratic and popular leader sowed the seeds for anti-American sentiment in the region. What I'd like to know is:
What other major events contributed to anti-American sentiments in the region?
Was the coup the first time the United States was involved in the ME?
What other authors and readings would you recommend on the subject of American Foreign Policy on the ME? (Chomsky is next on my reading list)
Sayyid Qutb's brief residency in the United States led him to criticize the culture of the West and deeply associate it with America. As a scholar, Qutb was influential in the development of Islamist groups in the 1950s and '60s (including ideological fellow travelers in Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia). Qutb's persecution under Nasser (Qutb was Egyptian) for his unwillingness to cooperate with the latter's secular coup led to his martyrdom in 1966, but the most enduring of the former's writing was his anti-American tracts.
See: Laurence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9-11.
Can someone comment on the discrediting of Arab Nationalism/secular socialism in the latter half of the 20th century, the role that Western powers had in it, and the effect that this had on the rise of Islamism as an alternative ideology/world view? And tie it into /r/requinball's post?
Followup question: How much did toppling a regime in Persia affect Arabs' opinion of America, given historical rivalries?