Is Ron Paul a 9/11 Truther?

MORon Paul? Who would have thought?

A natural match, indeed. Nothing surprising here.

In fairness to Ron Paul, he's not a truther. He's very clearly and flatly repeatedly stated he doesn't believe it's an inside job or that there was a government consipiracy. The rumors persist because of guilt by association and because of remarks that we might have somehow have deserved it because of our imperialist foreign policies. In his view, 9/11 happened not because of government inaction (being caught by surprise) but because of the wrong kinds of government action in our foreign relations, probably including the strategic and mutually beneficial special relationship with Israel. In being against that, he puts himself in league with Pat Buchanan, another conservative isolationsist. Unlike Buchanan who has a complex and troubling relationship with Jews and the Jewish state, it's not clear that Ron Paul has a special disregard or dislike for Israel; he votes against all foreign aid.

Btw, NPR is almost gleeful in reporting that with 31% of the vote, Ron Paul won CPAC's straw poll for '12 prez candidate. Say it ain't so. What a great way to make conservatives look bad. Brand-name mainstreamers didn't fare too well (Romney 22%, Gingrich 4%). Lovely Sarah came in third, behind Romney, with 7%.