1/8 This is a bigger deal than it might seem. It’s good news for both Syria and the West. Let me explain why. Most large, developed countries print their own currency. Smaller countries like Syria have to rely on larger countries for help. www.reuters.com/markets/curr... - ThreadSky

tomwarrickac.bsky.social • 13 days ago

1/8 This is a bigger deal than it might seem. It’s good news for both Syria and the West. Let me explain why. Most large, developed countries print their own currency. Smaller countries like Syria have to rely on larger countries for help.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/syria-plans-print-currency-uae-germany-ending-russian-role-2025-05-16/

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tomwarrickac.bsky.social•13 days ago

2/8 The greatest danger to currency is counterfeiting. In the U.S., the Secret Service investigates counterfeiting. This is why the Secret Service started in the Treasury Department in 1865. Only later did it protect the President. It moved to DHS in 2003.

https://www.secretservice.gov/about/history/150-years

tomwarrickac.bsky.social•13 days ago

3/8 Counterfeiting on a large scale is both an economic danger and a national security threat. During WW2, the German “Operation Bernhard” tried (unsuccessfully) to use counterfeit British currency to destabilize Britain and fund German covert action.

https://www.spymuseum.org/exhibition-experiences/about-the-collection/collection-highlights/operation-bernhard-printing-plate/

tomwarrickac.bsky.social•13 days ago

4/8 Problems like this are especially serious when a country tries to leave dictatorship by a brutal family regime and move forward, as Iraq had to do in 2003.

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3966065

tomwarrickac.bsky.social•13 days ago

5/8 When I led State Dept. postwar planning on Iraq, we brought in the US Treasury’s expertise on currency security to help stabilize Iraq’s currency. This was a successful part of the postwar Iraq efforts.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/10/05/new-iraqi-currency-unveiled-in-effort-to-foil-counterfeiters-and-stabilize-rates/96513710-360d-4a49-8679-c85918209992/

tomwarrickac.bsky.social•13 days ago

6/8 Millions of Iraqis owe a great debt to Sinan al-Shabibi, first post-liberation head of the Iraqi Central Bank, who led efforts to stabilize Iraq’s currency.

https://www.mei.edu/publications/sinan-al-shabibi-immortalizing-legacy-iraqs-best

tomwarrickac.bsky.social•13 days ago

7/8 Even though there are always security measures in place to prevent unauthorized print runs, having another country print your currency is a sign of trust. The danger is that the country doing the printing could, if it wanted to, destabilize your economy.

https://americangerman.institute/2023/12/hyperinflation-weimar/

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