understanding terrorism
"Why have these extremists targeted the United States?
Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda’s leader, and other Arab militants have given several reasons for declaring a jihad against the United States. High on their list is the belief that the United States has “colonized” the Arab world to protect U.S. access to oil. In particular, bin Laden has expressed outrage at the presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad. (U.S. forces remained in Saudi Arabia after the 1991 Gulf War to deter Iraq from attacking the oil-rich country.) The extremists also have accused the United States of supporting authoritarian governments in the Middle East while promoting democracy elsewhere, of helping oppress the Palestinians by backing Israel, and of killing what they claim are millions of Iraqis through U.N. economic sanctions against Saddam Hussein."
"Do most Muslims support these extremist groups?
No. Few Muslim clerics advocate the radical form of Islam espoused by groups like al-Qaeda. At the same time, experts note, extremist Islamist groups often represent the only form of political opposition in many Muslim countries and often find a significant number of sympathizers. The September 11 attacks were widely condemned across the Muslim world, experts say—notwithstanding significant pockets of support for bin Laden, deep wellsprings of anti-Americanism (further deepened by the spring 2002 Israeli-Palestinian crisis), and a widespread insistence in the Arab world that U.S. policies helped pave the way for the attacks."
That "iron fist" mentality you're talking about does little except recruit even more disillusioned young men to the cause of Al Queda or other groups, as has been seen in Iraq.
