could be worse

while reading an article about an attempt to form a reconciliation government in somalia, this line jumped out at me:

“It’s true, we’re seeing another Baghdad in the making,” said a Western diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of diplomatic protocol. “But if this conference produces a road map, albeit with a few simple priorities, there’s a little hope.”

yes, that's right. it seems that western diplomats are afraid that mogadishu might become as bad as baghdad. that's mogadishu, the gold standard for a failed state capital for the past decade and a half. apparently there's so much progress going on in iraq, that western diplomats in some of the worst war-torn cities around the world are saying "hey, could be worse. this could be baghdad."