On the other hand, if this crisis is resolved with the perpetrator of aggression decisively defeated precisely because his aggression was backed by weapons of mass destruction, this first conflict of what might be called "the Proliferation Age" may well send a highly salutary deterrent message to those considering obtaining such weapons.
As such, those who believe the IMF must look beyond Europe after the DSK scandal have a valid point, as they do when they argue that a managing director from an emerging nation will have a most salutary impact by underscoring the message the IMF sent in 2008 when it reformed its system of quota shares to better represent smaller countries.