why did al qaeda attack us

Al-Qaeda attacked the United States primarily in retaliation against U.S. policies and actions perceived as hostile and oppressive to Muslims and the Islamic world. Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, declared a militant jihad against the U.S. in the 1990s, citing several grievances: U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia, support for Israel, sanctions against Iraq, U.S. involvement in conflicts where Muslims were seen as oppressed (such as Somalia, Chechnya, and Kashmir), and financial support for regimes allied with the West. The immediate cause was linked to U.S. support for Israeli actions against Palestinians during the Second Intifada. Bin Laden framed the attacks as retaliation for Western aggression and said they were not because al-Qaeda hated freedom but because of America's imperialist policies toward the Muslim world. Following the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. government stated the attacks were because "they hate us for our freedoms," but al-Qaeda maintained the attacks were responses to U.S. foreign policies and military interventions in Muslim countries.