Corrected entry: In the scene where the reason for the main mission is described, it is said that "Fedayeen thugs have seized what's left of the Iraqi National Mint to run off billions of dollars in unbacked American currency". U.S. currency is a fiat currency system, meaning it is backed by the word of the government to accept it as currency; any falsely printed currency that is identical to official currency would still be "backed" currency in the U.S. (00:23:10)
zephalis
29th Dec 2010
Correction: You've certainly understood the concept of fiat currency, but apparently not of counterfeiting; if a government wanted to back all currency (real and fake) in circulation, then counterfeiting wouldn't be a problem at all. In fact, it could save a government printing costs! But since a government chooses NOT to print an unlimited amount of money every year, for obvious economic reasons, they specifically wish to control the amount of money in an economy and only wish to "back" the very amount they print and circulate. Therefore, "unbacked currency" as stated by Hannibal simply means money that hasn't been authorized by the USA for circulation through stolen plates and a leftover press.