I don't think anyone's saying that these were not evil actions. The point is that we are now being asked to accept all manner of politically motivated causes on both sides of the aisle in the name of "patriotism". The point is that there are far too many people in this country who now believe that placing a flag decal on their (Japanese) car (burning Saudi fuel) makes them model Americans, at the expense of actually living by American ideals, like defending Constitutional rights.
That's not quite the point. The article is about the young man who flew his plane into an office building. The author finds his actions, and his motivations ambiguous. He condems those who find this act evil. I'll re-read the article again and see if he finds us "simplistic."
No one is arguing that we should approve of every action taken in name of partiotism. After all, the Leftist who spit in the faces of returning GIs during Viet Nam referred to themselves as patriots.