WASHINGTON (AP) Ñ Despite large-scale U.S. support, Iraq and Afghanistan rank among the world’s 10 most vulnerable states, according to a private survey being released Tuesday.

In its second annual “failed states” index, Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace concluded that Sudan is the country under the most severe stress because of violent internal conflict.

Eleven of the 20 most vulnerable countries of the 148 examined in the survey are in Africa. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ivory Coast, both chronically volatile in recent years, ranked second and third.

Each country was given a score based on data from numerous available sources. A “failing state” was described as one in which the government does not have effective control of its territory, is not perceived as legitimate by a significant portion of its population, does not provide domestic security or basic public services to its citizens and lacks a monopoly on the use of force.

Sudan received low grades in virtually all areas surveyed, including protection of human rights, “group grievances” against the government and numbers of refugees and displaced persons. The western Sudanese region of Darfur has generated well over 2 million displaced since 2003.

According to the review, the situation in Iraq (No. 4) and Afghanistan (No. 10) deteriorated since 2005, the first year the survey was taken.

“For Iraq, the index category that worsened most was human flight,” the report said. “The exodus of Iraq’s professional class has accelerated, leaving the country without the trained citizens it needs to staff important posts.”
usatoday.com

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