As the value of the dollar continues to decline relative to other currencies, some of those most affected don’t even live in the United States. Instead, they are citizens of developing countries who receive remitted dollars from family and friends working abroad. For them, the weakening dollar is particularly crippling because it either converts into less local currency or, for those in countries with pegged currencies, can’t keep up with local inflation. It’s a situation roughly similar to American travelers in Europe discovering that it now costs $4.77 for a Big Mac, whereas a year and a half ago the [...]
SEOUL, South Korea — Washington this weekend will roll out the red carpet for the newly inaugurated president of South Korea. On Saturday (April 19), Lee Myung-bak will hold his first overseas summit with President Bush. The two will meet at Camp David, about 60 miles outside of the capital in Maryland. A Korean leader has not visited the presidential retreat since 1942. And in the eyes of many figures inside the Bush administration, none is more deserving than Lee. Since taking office in February, the CEO-turned-politician has pledged to break with previous South Korean administrations and embrace the 50-plus-year [...]
Over the course of the Iraq war, a principal mission of the U.S. military effort has been to build, arm, and train Iraqi security forces capable of quelling internal violence and protecting Iraq from external threats. As with other elements of the Iraq war, this mission has not proceeded smoothly. A number of governmental and media sources have recently highlighted the haphazard procedures and inadequate accountability standards the United States utilized to equip Iraqi soldiers and police officers with lethal firepower, shedding light on the often chaotic nature of the train-and-equip program. While most evidence remains uncorroborated or anecdotal, U.S.-supplied [...]
