Clinton also called on Congress to take additional steps to help farmers, including expanded eligibility for loans and more flexibility in subsidy programs so farmers can plant other crops when their primary crops fail.

CNN: Clinton

An even more market-friendly approach would be to fund these loans into an administered fund in the IMF, which would provide more flexibility for the loans, but would not guarantee that countries are willing to accept direct credit risk from recipient countries.

FORBES: Geithner To EU: IMF Will Play A Role, But Without Fed Money

Untied, "general purpose" loans only serve to postpone the need for tough resource allocation decisions and provide greater flexibility to divert the proceeds of Western loans to finance activities potentially inimical to vital Western security interests.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: US-Soviet Relations