The IMF, a Washington, US-centric ‘bank’, has handed out its first loan package to Iraq. The IMF may be best known for its help in bailing out the Asian and Pacific Island economies in the mid/late 90s from their economic recession. Thankfully, those economies were fundamentally strong (Indonesia, Thailand, etc) and were able to repay the debt. Many other IMF dependant countries (such as Brazil) have not been so fortunate.