Thanks, Stratfor
Stratfor, whose "World Terrorism Report" can probably keep safe anyone with the $350/year to spend on a subscription, helpfully reports that Al Qaeda has now become a misleading brand name used to describe any number of terrorist groups with Islamic leanings and only tangential connections to one another. Which is pretty much exactly what I, among many researchers, have been saying for a long time.
Most important, however, Stratfor (here's a link to the full story, reported on an email list) points out that the Qaeda name now leads to "hyper-confusion." As, of course, does the word hyper-confusion.