My point is, hatred for the US (and of COURSE these folks were calling each other great patriots and great Americans on that site) here and in Al Qaeda seems to have a focusing effect. With all the problems in the world, the "complexity" these sorts are always talking about, it comes down to "US = Bad". Even as they are saying some bewildering things ("I'm not saying the west is better than the Middle East but it's more open-minded towards minorities, women, etc."---how is that NOT BETTER???), they keep that focus on US = Bad.
That's why AQ is thriving in pockets while there are divisions in the ranks like this article talks about. You don't need to know anything except US = Bad to be an AQ member, a liberal, or an "open minded" hater who keeps saying over and over he's a real patriot.
"I feel the appeal, believe me. You are exasperated with the manifold faults of Tony Blair and George W Bush. Fighting your government is what you know how to do and what you want to do, and when you are confronted with totalitarian forces which are far worse than your government, the easy solution is to blame your government for them. But it's a parochial line of reasoning to suppose that all bad, or all good, comes from the West - and a racist one to boot. The unavoidable consequence is that you must refuse to support democrats, liberals, feminists and socialists in the Arab world and Iran who are the victims of Islamism in its Sunni and Shia guises because you are too compromised to condemn their persecutors. Islamism stops being an ideology intent on building an empire from Andalusia to Indonesia, destroying democracy and subjugating women and becomes, by the magic of parochial reasoning, a protest movement on a par with Make Poverty History or the TUC. Again, I understand the appeal. Whether you are brown or white, Muslim, Christian, Jew or atheist, it is uncomfortable to face the fact that there is a messianic cult of death which, like European fascism and communism before it, will send you to your grave whatever you do. But I'm afraid that's what the record shows." - Nick Cohen, writing Sunday in London's Observer.
That's what gets me most about liberals- their complete unwillingness to distinguish between right and wrong. Across the board, from our enemies abroad to crucial domestic issues, they are just unwilling or unable to follow a coherent value system. And that attitude is no use when trying to run a country, raise a family, or deal with your fellow man.