Forty-three percent of Americans believe that US policies in the Middle East might have motivated the 9/11 terror attacks on New York and the Pentagon, according to a new poll by Pew Research Center, says an article in The Times of India on Sept 6, 2011.

The survey, which interviewed more than 1,500 adults Aug 17-21 in response to the question "Why do they hate us?", found that 43 percent agree with the proposition that the attacks may have been motivated by something "the US did wrong in its dealings with other countries" while only a third agreed immediately after the attacks.

The survey also found major differences between age groups on this question, says the article. More than half (52 percent) of respondents under 30 said US actions may have motivated the attacks, while only 20 percent of respondents 65 and older were open to that explanation.

A similar shift has taken place over the past decade with respect to the public's belief that it may be necessary to give up civil liberties to curb terrorism, according to the survey. While 55 percent of respondents agreed with that proposition immediately after 9/11, that percentage has dropped to 40 percent. Conversely, the percentage of those who believe that civil liberties should not be sacrificed rose from 35 percent to a 54-percent majority, the survey found.