The United States is often resented not just for what it does but also, often more importantly, for what it is. Of course, the United States is sometimes disliked for its policies with which other countries or people may disagree.
But equally important, the United States is often resented for what it is : a big, rich, powerful, and successful country (in contrast to so many others) both economically and politically. If the United States were only resented for its policies (such as in the Middle East), the problem would be easy to fix: change or modify the policies. But it is far harder for the United States to change what it is, and indeed most of the public and, by reflection, U.S. politicians would not want to change that anyway. In other words, some of these resentments the United States can alter, but the more deep-seated roots of anti-Americanism-based on who Americans are as a people and what they stand for -will not go away and are likely to be with us for a long time. One country's success breeds other countries' resentments. And, as with the traditional Russian peasantry, if one person (or country) does better than the others and gets a little "uppity," then thee others gang up to bring him down.