Final answer:
The First Gulf War significantly influenced Osama bin Laden's animosity towards the United States, stemming from the stationing of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia and the subsequent neglect of the mission against Al Qaeda due to the Iraq War. This opposition was rooted in his view of Western influence in the Middle East as detrimental to his interpretation of Islam and contributed to the establishment and persistence of his terrorist network, Al Qaeda.
Step-by-step explanation:
The impact of the First Gulf War on Osama bin Laden's feelings toward the United States was substantial and multifaceted. When Saudi Arabia allowed the U.S. to establish military bases on its soil during Operation Desert Storm, bin Laden vehemently opposed this decision. He believed that the presence of non-Muslims in the proximity of the holy Muslim sites of Mecca and Medina was a desecration.
This was a key catalyst in driving his opposition to the U.S. and its allies. Following the 1991 conflict, bin Laden's hatred for the U.S. was further intensified as he opposed the secular Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, whom he called an "infidel", in stark contradiction to the U.S. perspective, which mistakenly believed that there might have been a collaboration between Hussein and Al Qaeda.
By early 2003, with the shift of the Bush administration's focus to Iraq under the pretext of a false involvement with the 9/11 attacks and alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, resources that could have been used to capture bin Laden were diverted. This reallocation contributed to the feeling of neglect towards the situation in Afghanistan and the ongoing efforts to dismantle Al Qaeda. In this context, Osama bin Laden's disdain for the U.S. was fueled by what he saw as American interference in Muslim countries and the consequential neglect of the initial goals of combating terrorism.
Ultimately, bin Laden was located and killed by U.S. special forces in Pakistan in 2011, which many hoped would signify a decline in terrorism. Bin Laden's opposition to the U.S. was rooted in his belief that the West was contributing to the decline of his version of Islam in the Middle East, despite the U.S.'s prior indirect support during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. This belief system played a critical role in the development and actions of his terror network, Al Qaeda.