Somalia Tops 'Failed States' -- 'Too Failed' For al-Qaida

Of the 10 foundering nations on the Foreign Policy's latest Failed States Index, seven are in Africa, two are the scenes of U.S.-led wars and the remaining one has been cited among America's worst nightmares.
Topping the list (and amazing map), again, is Somalia, which Foreign Policy notes was too rough a neighborhood even for al-Qaida:
A recent report by West Point's Combating Terrorism Center, drawing on captured al Qaeda documents, revealed that Osama bin Laden's outfit had an awful experience trying to operate out of Somalia, for all the same reasons that international peacekeepers found Somalia unmanageable in the 1990s: terrible infrastructure, excessive violence and criminality, and few basic services, among other factors. In short, Somalia was too failed even for al Qaeda.
After the jump, the 10 most failed states.
(Thanks to the Daily Dish for the link.)
Foreign Policy considers aspects of national life ranging from "demographic pressures" and "economic decline" to "human rights" and "factionalized elites." The top 10 failed states, with their index figures:
Somalia, 114.7
Zimbabwe, 114
Sudan, 112.4
Chad, 112.2
Democratic Republic of Congo, 108.7
Iraq, 108.6
Afghanistan, 108.2
Central African Republic, 105.4
Guinea, 104.6/li>
Pakistan, 104.1
26, 1991. http://bit.ly/122Ve6