Yes, Ron Paul is definitely spot on about GWOT (Global War on Terror) and most foreign policy issues. But he has drawbacks, his policy of isolationism on foreign affairs, Randian (Ayn Rand) libertarian-ism and anti-tax small govt. policy I do not support. He is honest but mistaken on many issues in my opinion.
If you want to understand 9/11, Islamic extremism, then you have to go back to the break up of two former empires, Ottoman after World War I and British Indian partition after World War II. Ottoman fell apart after Arab revolt with instigation from the British (Lawrence of Arabia), but instead of giving Arabs their independence, the British and French divided up the whole region into small states with their secret Sykes Picot agreement and gave permission to Jewish immigrants to settle down in Palestine with Balfour Declaration. Discovery of oil was another big incentive to keep this area under control. After British and French colonial empires lost their colonial possessions in World War II, USA became the predominant power and it started playing imperial games pretty much all over the globe, including the middle-east oil rich areas, backing up dictators and kingdoms. Soviets did the same, in the name of international communism. Nothing happens in a vacuum, only the clueless, who go to work, come home, open their budweiser and sit in front of TV to watch NASCAR or the next football (American) or basketball game and then suddenly things blow up on their face get angry and then this anger and fear is then used by other people:
About Neocons, Radical Islamists and role of religion in politics:
Power Of Nightmares 1of6 - YouTube
Power Of Nightmares 2of6 - YouTube
Power Of Nightmares 3of6 - YouTube
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Power Of Nightmares 6of6 - YouTube
Once China and India gains predominance in economics and technology, they will play the same imperial games like others have played before, the British, the French, Germany, Japan, Soviet Union and USA - it is human nature, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Only way to counter power is by equal and opposite power, to bring a balance. Failure will mean for the rest of the world to become vassal states of these two large states.