The root causes of crisis in Muslim countries

US President George W. Bush declared war against Afghanistan following the attack on New York's World Trade Centre on  September 11, 2001, by terrorists reportedly sponsored by Osama bin-Laden who had been residing as a guest in Afghanistan under the Taliban government of Mullah Omar. The declaration of war against terrorists by President George W Bush without 'proven evidence' has caused widespread misgivings.
It is interesting to note that by November 20, 2001, a group of relatives of Osama bin-Laden was allowed to fly out of the USA by a special flight when air flights were   grounded from moving out of America for about a month. The New York Times reported this on November 26, 2005. It said that dozens of well-connected Saudis, including relatives of Osama bin-Laden, had managed to leave the US when many flights in the country were still grounded.
Since Bush became president on January 20, 2001, on the basis of a split verdict of the Supreme Court which defended Florida Supreme Court decision calling for a statewide recount, he was looking for a pretext to establish his legitimacy as president. The 9/11 episode helped him to 'establish' himself as president. The attack on the World Trade Centre in New York gave birth to a lot of stories based on conspiracy theory.
A deal was struck by two Pakistani Islamic parties for the extradition of Osama to Pakistan to stand trial before an international court on the charge of masterminding the Twin Tower attack. This had the approval of Osama and Afghan President Mullah Omar as had been reported by the Daily Telegraph of London. The deal was set aside by the US government. The fact is that the American government had utilised the services of Osama bin-Laden in recruiting Mujahedeen from the Middle East to fight against Russian forces in the 1980's in Afghanistan. The Taliban were the creation of the Americans and the British to train the tribal army with financial assistance from the CIA.
During the time of President Jimmy Carter a 'game' was played between Iraq and Iran which led to a fratricidal war between the two Muslim countries in 1980 over the claim of sovereignty of the Shatt al-Arab river. In this 'game', the United States joined Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to support the Iraq. The simple reason was to give a lesson to the Islamic Republic of Iran because a group of Iranian students had kept 60 Americans hostage in the US embassy for a period of 444 days from November 04, 1979, as the US allowed Iran's deposed ruler Reza Shah, a pro-Western autocrat, to take treatment in the US.
War between Iran and Iraq, the two Muslim countries, ended without decisive results with the adoption of UN Resolution 598 on July 20, 1988.
Emboldened by Western support along with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Saddam Hussein of Iraq unilaterally attacked Kuwait and occupied the country in August, 1990 claiming Kuwait had broken their petroleum export quota to bring prices of oil down which affected the interest of Iraq. Here, too, the instigator  was the administration of President George Walker Bush of  the United States of America.  On August 01, 1990 forces of Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.          
 The occupation of Kuwait had caused serious concern to Saudi Arabia. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a close confidante of King Fahd and son of Defence Minister Prince Sultan , had been Saudi Ambassador to the United States for more than two decades and had developed personal relationship with President Ronald Reagan and President George H. W. Bush. When Bush drove Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait in 1991, Prince Bandar had been virtually a member of Bush war cabinet. As reported in the book 'State of Denial' by Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, Prince Bander had become a mentor to President George Bush at the request of his father.      
President George W. Bush saw the trampling down of human rights in the Guantanamo Bay prison, where unlawfully detained alleged terrorists from Afghanistan suffered inhuman torture followed by grave mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners of war at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad in 2004. This caused worldwide condemnation. While presenting its annual report in May, 2005 former Amnesty International secretary-general Irene Zubaida Khan pointed out that Guantanamo Bay prison " had become the Gulag of Soviet Union of our time." The International Red Cross also held the Bush administration responsible for violation of human  rights.
It will not be an exaggeration to suggest that actions by the Bush administration had no small role in the current situation in Afghanistan and Iraq. The cumulative effect of torture and mistreatment of prisoners of war in violation of UN Convention might have caused outrage to prompt many to join extremist groups.
Secondly, the American administration and some Western countries are equally responsible for the rise of extremist groups around the world. It's simply because the United States of America and other Western countries have continuously been pampering autocratic Muslim countries in the Middle East in particular.
Hostility of Muslims towards the West has also emerged because no solution to the conflicts following Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories in 1967 has yet been found. Conflicts that began between the Palestinians and the Israelis now remain a sore point against the West.  
The present scenario in Muslim countries around the globe reflects hard realities indeed.
The writer is a retired diplomat and former president of Nova Toastmasters International Club of America.  amjad.21@gmail.com