Who Is REALLY Responsible For 9/11

[The Deacon]

FACT: The Reagan Administration secretly supplied arms to the mujahadin during Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. To provide "plausible deniability" the money & arms were distributed through Pakistani Intelligence - overwhelmingly to Islamist groups.
RESULT: Rise of Osama bin Laden & the Taliban, thousands of weapons unaccounted for when war ended.

FACT: The Reagan Administration secretly supplied arms & spare parts to Iran during Iran-Iraq War while secretly supplying satellite intelligence to Iraq.
RESULT: Iran IS NOT defeated by Iraq, ayatollahs more deeply entrenched than ever over secular elements. Iraq learns (during Iran-Contra Scandal) of America's duplicity in prolonging War, Saddam Hussein now considers all American pronouncements "flexible." Severe economic damage to Iraq from cost of prolonged War sets up rationale for invasion of Kuwait.

FACT: The Reagan Administration, in response to Lebanese Civil War, stations Marines in Beirut barracks. In response to car bomb attack on U.S. Embassy - for which no responsibility has ever been established - American warships shell predominately Shi'ia neighborhood in Beirut. In retaliation, Hezbollah (newly formed in response to Israel's invasion of South Lebanon) bombs Marine barracks, resulting in largest loss of American servicemen since Vietnam War and until present invasion of Iraq. Reagan pulls Marines out of Beirut three months later.
RESULT: Before bombings of U.S. Embassies in Kenya & Tanzania, Osama bin Laden points to Beirut bombing as proof that U.S. policy can be changed by "martyr operations" - as long as the death toll is high enough.

FACT: Hezbollah, probably with encouragement from Iranian ayatollahs, kidnaps U.S. citizens in Lebanon. The Reagan Administration secretly offers arms & spare parts to Iran, fighting an invasion by Iraq, to secure release of hostages.
RESULT: Iran becomes regional power through surrogate Hezbollah (and Iraqi Shiites when, during the first Bush Administration, they are encouraged to revolt by U.S. after Gulf War & then left to be slaughtered by Saddam's forces.) Hezbollah grows in power as arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, taking U.S. citizens hostage in Lebanon many times to extort more arms for Iran from Reagan Administration.

FACT: Due to the Reagan Administration's policies during Iran-Iraq War, Saddam Hussein is deeply in debt to other Arab nations, especially Kuwait. After being assured by Ambassador Gillespie (a Reagan appointee) that the U.S. "has no position on your border dispute with Kuwait," Hussein invades Kuwait. The United States, joined by many other non-Muslim nations, stations troops in Saudi Arabia to defend the Kingdom.
RESULT: Osama bin Laden, already a powerful voice due to his successes in the Afghan War (aided by considerable support from the Reagan Administration) uses this "Occupation" by "Crusader Forces" to rally Islamist groups around an umbrella organization: al-Qaeda, or "The Base."

Conclusions
The Reagan Administration (many of whose prominent members are members of the present Bush Administration) is directly responsible, through their secret policies in the Middle East, for:
1. The September 11th Attacks on the World Trade Center & the Pentagon (both in creating the conditions for the rise of Osama bin Laden & in giving him the rationale for the attacks.)
2. The attacks on the U.S. Embassies in Kenya & Tanzania and the attack on the U.S.S. Cole (see above.)
3. The rise of Hezbollah (as opposed to other groups in South Lebanon fighting the Israeli Occupation) by rewarding Iran, through arms sales, for Hezbollah's hostage taking.
4. The rise of Iran to become a regional power (by enabling them to survive the invasion by Iraq & rewarding them for Hezbollah's terrorist activities. Also by setting up conditions which led to the radicalizing of Iraq's Shiites.)
5. The current Iraqi Civil War - by setting in motion the forces which would lead to the radicalizing of Iraq's Shiites and to the radicalizing of the region's Sunnis (al-Qaeda.)

So, with these examples (and the "FACTS" are so well known I didn't bother with citations - a few minutes with any competent search engine should yield more information than you could ever want) I think we can conclude that the errors we are today paying for can be laid squarely at the feet of Ronald Wilson Reagan.
We could, also, consider other missteps of the Reagan Administration in the region - notably how bombing Libya in retaliation for a Syrian-backed bombing of a disco which led directly to the downing of a Pan Am jumbo jet over Lockerbie, Scotland - but I think those already spelled out will suffice to show the dangers of Cowboy Diplomacy - whether we are talking about a California Cowboy or a Connecticut Cowboy.