It’s got to be difficult for al Qaeda to maintain the image of a ruthless terrorist network when one of its own documents reveals it’s run by nitpicky, middle management hacks who apparently fired an underling by scathing memo.

The Associated Press got its hands on a 10 page “performance review” of one-eyed fanatic Moktar Belmoktar, who went by the code name “Abu Abbas”.

It accuses him of not answering the phone, not filing expense reports, and causing dissension in the ranks.  Of particular concern to al Qaeda’s HR department was Belmoktar botching the routine kidnapping of a Canadian diplomat in 2008 by settling for too little a ransom.

It goes on to accuse Belmoktar of missing a meeting in Timbuktu, and refusing to use ransom money to chip in for weapons.

“Abu Abbas didn’t participate in stepping up to buy weapons,” the snotty letter says. “So whose performance deserves to be called poor in this case, I wonder?”

After getting canned last year, Belmoktar formed his own terrorist group, which has been on a rampage for months, responsible for kidnappings, killings, and bombings around Africa’s northwest.