I agree with your straight interpretation - the dad said he was an alQueda friend. There are some true anomalies here though: the "Bush supporter", "yamaka-wearing conservative Jew", etc...
Still, I'm not entirely convinced that he was simply trying to be a philantropist in Iraq while making a buck or two, but I'm still having trouble ripping off the tin foil I wrapped around my head when I made my first comments about this a few days ago. I should definitely not have used super-glue for that...
I do not think he is a" yalmulke wearing conservative jew". His memorial is at Cogregation Beth Israel of Media. This is a reconstructionist temple. See
http://www.bethisraelmedia.org/WhoWeAre/WhoWeAre.htm
The reconstructionists are an ultra liberal american offshoot of reform Judaism.