US government action on US-held Afghan foreign reserves:
“This is the worst thing he could do right now,” one expert said.
foreignpolicy.com
Some people will have very strong feelings about this, particularly around half the money going to 9/11 victims, families, first responders.
I‘m sympathetic, but also aware of the extraordinary amount of US government money that has already gone to the 9/11 victims, families, and first responders already.
It’s another $1.1 million per fatality(average), after approx $3 million per fatality(average) has already been distributed.
An argument could be made that with so many hundreds of billions wasted, the US deserves to hold it back.
That argument is valid, if also seemingly vindictive.
And it’s that seeming vindictiveness, rather than Realpolitik, that will cause damage.
The US Dollar is the global reserve currency, and maintaining that extraordinary privilege requires trust.
Every time the US does things like this it reduces trust in the US, the US Dollar, and the US led SWIFT inter-banking system.
If we lose the US Dollar as global reserve currency, we will lose everything.
This alone will not cause it, but it is #XXX in Death By 1000 Cuts.