Analysis: How will America’s failure in Afghanistan affect the dollar?

The answer depends on the evolution of the world economy and the behaviour of its other principal financial players, China and the European Union

It is tempting, but wrong, to dismiss America’s failure in Afghanistan as inconsequential for the dollar. Picture: Getty

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Bretton Woods system, when US President Richard Nixon suspended the US dollar’s convertibility into gold and allowed it to float. We are also approaching the 20th anniversary of the Taliban’s removal from power in Afghanistan at the hands of US-led coalition forces. Now that the Taliban has again prevailed, we should consider whether its victory over the world’s most powerful military and largest economy ...