There is a difference between saying that there is a great number of people out there dissatisfied with the US politics and eager to blow back when opportunity arises, and that there is a well organized conspiracy against the US out there. Both may present a threat to the US, but they usually elicit two different responses. The former asks for a change in hearts and minds of those dissatisfied, which usually involves a combination of changing the policy and PR campaign. The latter calls for a war of terror and the police state that makes that war effective.
It is clear that the Al Qaeda trope peddled by this administration fits the latter scenario. Denouncing it does mean turning a blind eye on the potential danger, but questioning the characterisation of that danger by the authority figures and the policies they pursue to address it.
Wojtek