Al Qaeda is not a cohesive organization with centralized governance. Instead, it is a diffuse network of “franchises” bound primarily by a rigid reductionist ideology and broad strategic outlook. The lack of institutional capacity for sustained action, inherent to the nature of the diffuse network, drastically limits the likelihood of al Qaeda translating its ultimate utopian (or dystopian) dream into reality, but the carnage and dislocation it has inflicted in recent years demonstrate amply that the problem cannot be reduced to one of law and order. Although the next generation of al Qaeda is unlikely to succeed where its predecessor has failed in igniting a meaningful global jihad, it will nonetheless be steeped in ideology and trained in tactical maneuvers, and may deliver more sporadic operations that will pose a grave threat to international stability and to the United States in particular.