Osama Bin Laden’s attack on America has led to our downfall as a country, as our response led to more invasive government policies that took away our rights in favor of security.

That was exactly his objective. We know, because he straight-up said so in a number of interviews. That was his goal for attacking us, and we have responded exactly as he foresaw. This article (which is easy to read by clicking the Reader Mode button in Firefox) correctly remembers that he knew that the attack would inflame American jingoism, and lead to imperial overreach and eventual self-induced collapse. The idea that he was seeking "regime change" sounds like empty-headed Bush administration projection, since he was playing the long game, and even expected to be a martyr himself before it ended.