The title could also be referring the counterterrorism actions and policies in general, however this year there has been several interesting articles on Al-Qaeda and the fact that it other problems, rather than that network, that are fueling the perhaps stuttering fire.
First, in the Economist, The The growing, and mysterious, irrelevance of al-Qaeda is an excellent explanation of why it has become irrelevant. Though still operating along the Afghan border in Pakistan, perhaps the bigger problems there facing the coalition is a resurgent Taliban allying with other local militants/extremists jockeying for power in the rocky valleys.
Another article in the NYT Magazine, The Saharan Conundrum uses the story of an operative from Mauritania to illustrate the operating model of Al-Qaeda, as well as a terror group in Algeria that has aligned with Al-Qaeda, and the inherent instability of this model.
