It's the worldview, stupid
Just saw (a bit late, admittedly, but I've been too swamped to check my RSS feeds lately -- and to do way too many other things, unfortunately) this insightful point made by Douglas Rushkoff in connection with the first presidential debate:
'In the absolutist, polar world view, evil quite clearly exists. All enemies are a single thing. Now, the enemy is flying planes into us, so we've got to go there and get them. Think of it more like a father protecting his house. One day, a robber breaks in and hurts one of the kids. Dad buys a shotgun, and you better not be caught riding your bike across his lawn.
If the enemy is understood as Satan, himself, then it doesn't matter which arm of Satan is after you - you respond the same way. See, to Bush it doesn't matter whether there's a causal or conspiratorial connection between America's various enemies. Whether or not our enemies know it, they are heads on the same demon.' (rushkoff.blog entry)