European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet says that a strongU.S. dollar is good for a bilateral relationship with the Euro. In aDow Jones Newswire interview, Trichet stressed that the independence ofall central banks of major economies, such as the Fed, is of extremeimportance for confidence — the key factor he believes has beenlacking since the financial crisis. For more on the global impact of the dollar, read this piece from WPR contributor Daniel McDowell.
NewsHour’s Jim Lehrer interviews Defense Secretary Robert Gates aboutthe new strategy in Afghanistan. Gates says that he has signeddeployment papers for the first wave of the 30,000 troops to leave in acouple of weeks. He also says President Obama’s 2011 exit date iscontingent upon the conditions on the ground and is not necessarilyfirm.
General Stanley McChrystal brings the new Afghanistan policy toofficers on the ground in Kandahar. In his presentation, the topcommander in Afghanistan said “I think it’s the end of the beginning.”He then proceeded to lay out President Obama’s plan to add 30,000 moretroops and to focus efforts on southern Afghanistan. Al Jazeera’sClayton Swisher reports on McChrystal’s message to troops.
