The massive flow of capital in recent years has revealed a large gap in conventional analysis of international currency flows. Rather than starting with pre-conceived notions of sustainable or non-sustainable current account deficits, Dr. Brown presents a new analysis in which the unconventional becomes a possible mainstream scenario. It is likely that market mechanisms, highlighted through this problem, will prove to be sufficiently robust to cope with the record flows of capital now exiting the savings surplus countries and heading via several turntables into the US. The possibility of crisis hinges on various low probability types of market failure or on severe speculative miscalculation. Unfortunately, international economic diplomacy is not concerned with these real crisis scenarios but is instead driven by a combination of yesterday's doctrines and often a simple extension of national or international agenda. Dr. Brown shows how neo-mercantilist forces in Washington have formed an unholy alliance with French euro-nationalists to press unwanted and undesirable currency policies on East Asian countries. This unholy alliance promises not only economic disadvantage to all involved but also sets back the liberal political agenda.