Steve Forbes's accusation in "Fact and Comment" (Jan. 21, p. 22) that the IMF serves as "al Qaeda's unwitting ally" is nonsense. It is also an attack on the 183 countries that own the fund and are the backbone of the international response to Sep. 11.

As in Turkey and Argentina, the IMF supports homegrown reforms aimed at resolving an economic crisis. The exchange regime is the country's choice. The IMF supports that choice, whether floating exchange rates, fixed exchange rates or dollarization. In each case, however, the country must put in place economic policies that make the choice work, because the markets ultimately will be the judge.