Yes, it's true.... As hard as it is to believe that Barack Obama didn't single-handedly take out Osama bin Laden between black-tie galas and lining-up putts, there's another iconic president we should thank: Ronald Reagan.  When the Gipper took office, U.S. Special Forces and Tactical Unit Teams were under-funded, under-trained, under-manned and in disarray.... But, as Thomas Mcardle writes:
                                     

With the same visionary perseverance employed in his commitment to replace mutual assured nuclear destruction with missile defense, President Reagan executed a long-term strategy to build an array of elite, high-tech special force units that could carry out operations like the one that killed bin Laden.

As documented in the 1987 study, "Terrorism, U.S. Strategy, and Reagan Policies," a 1990 target was set by the Reagan administration to increase special operations forces by 50% from 1981 levels.  By 1987, a U.S. Special Operations Command was established to oversee the special-ops forces of the various branches of the military.