Gap lowlights

■"In Egypt, a Vote More for Change Than Faith," by Michael Slackman, New York Times, 29 November 2005, p. A3.

■"Zimbabwe Turnout Hits a Record Low: Mugabe Backers to Dominate Senate," by Craig Timberg, Washington Post, 29 November 2005, p. A17.

■"As Nigeria Tries to Fight Graft, a New Sordid Tale: Antics of a Governor Reinforces Nation's Image as Corrupt," by Lydia Polgreen, New York Times, 29 November 2005, p. A1.

■"'Peacekeeping' a struggle in Sudan: African Union's force outgunned and spread thin," by Rob Crilly, USA Today, 30 November 2005, p. 5A.

Let's face it: failed states generate most of the bad headlines in international news, and fuel most of our fears (real and otherwise) of transnational terror and horrific civil strife.

Some experts say as many as 13 million people have died in, or as a result of, armed conflict since the end of the Cold War, with the vast bulk (upwards of 9 million) in Africa. Rest assured that the vast majority of those deaths occurred in what can be described as failed states, as in, they "fail" to serve the needs of their people.

As when states fail the people, the people turn elsewhere. Extreme times breed extreme solutions. Radical Islam is the radical alternative in the Middle East. After decades of "emergency rule" in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood looks a whole lot more palatable to your average Egyptian, and I don't blame them.

But give credit where credit is due: Mubarek's pretend elections beat Mugabe's. In Zimbabwe, the opposition is so cowed and beat up and depressed, most of them didn't bother to pretend they could win this time around, leaving Mugabe with the only mandate he's ever cared about: his own.

In Nigeria, it's estimated that various corrupt leaders have, over the decades, stolen about $400 billion dollars in national oil revenues. Nice work if you can steal it.

Then there's the African Union's stunning display of "peacekeeping" in Sudan, as the death total shoots toward 200,000.

Think the Gap's gonna go away on its own?