i'm fareed zakaria. the big news on the foreign policy front is that the afghan government is in secret talks with the taliban, not so secret anymore. regular viewers and readers know i've been advocating this for year. don't expect miracles. but the idea of talking to the people we're fighting with makes sense. most civil wars end with some

we conclude with fareed zakaria whose cove story in "time" magazi thiweek is cled "how t restor thee amerin drm." the middle-class and the ameran dream ne. maybe you want school kids to have more exposure to the arts. maybe you want to provide meals for the needy. or maybe you want to help when the unexpected happens. whatever you want to do, members project from american express can help you take the first step. vote, volunteer, or donate for the causes you believe in at membersproject.co take charge makg a difference >>ose: theentral questiof is picital season is what happened to the ddlelass? whatappened to the americ dream? earlier this month, i spoke with treasury secretary tim geithner about the problem that the middle-class faces in the new economy. >> the middle-class of this country are not just, like, brutally damaged b the crisis, they suffered a long period in the previous decade where the average american household saw no gn in incomover that period of time. found it harder to save for college, live with much more basic insecurity about thr economic and financial future.

i'm fareed zakaria. nine days from now, americans will pass judgment on president obama and the democratic party. i think most people would agree that the underlying issue for most americans is actually not president obama but the american economy. we're barely out of the worst recession since the 1930s and the light at the end of the tunnel looks dim. unemployment is still higher today, 16 months into the so-called recovery, than it was in the worst moments of all but one postwar recession. now, many experts think this pessimism will go away once the economy bounces back. but you read the polls, many americans believe that we're in the midst of something that is more than a cyclical downturn. it is a structural shift that is hollowing out the american middle class. for them the american dream is fading. i happen to think that the experts are wrong and most americans are right. now, why is this happening? there are two big forces at work in the world today. the first is technology. technology, particular

i'm fareed zakaria. the big news on the foreign policy front is that the afghan government is in secret talks with the taliban, well, i guess not so secret anymore. regular viewers and readers will know that i've been advocating this for years. don't expect miracles. after all, the u.s. government has just began its tenth year of fighting this war. but the idea of talking to the people we're fighting with makes sense. most civil wars end with some kind of negotiated settlement, and in the afghan case this is inevitable. much as we don't want to believe it, the taliban is a part of afghan society. it represents some section of the skrve conservative pashtun community. these people are not foreigners who will go away one day. finding a way to integrate them into the political system is a good idea. now talking to the taliban is going to be tough. it will rattle the anti-taliban forces in afghanistan. there are tajiks, uzbeks, who do despise the taliban and they will resist any kind of deal that makes them

i'm fareed zakaria. for the last few week, it seemed every week brings with it some new tidbit concerning the rise of china. the most recent one last week is that japan seceded to china's demands and released a captain. that came on the heels of news that china had surpassed japan and became the world's second largest economy. that came on the heels of reports of the massive efficacy of china's stimulus program. and so on. but in all this news, one rarely gets the chance to hear from one of the people running this remarkable country, one that has grown now for over 9% a year for over 30 years. well, now you will. we have for you a very rare event. an interview with wen jiabao, premier of china. he spoke to me two years ago ago on this program and he hasn't spoken to a western journalist since until now. let me tell you a little bit about this extraordinarily powerful yet little-known man. he was born in a suburb of tianjin, a suburb of china. he's an engineer by training, as are almost all the people run

. >> and the wonderful fareed zakaria, we'll talk to him about those talks with the taliban going on today. >> don't go away, we'll be back in 60 seconds. >> my theory is that obama gets hiss anti-colonial dream, his anti-colonial ideology from his father and i have a very important source for this, his name is barack obama. >> people underestimate america's staying power, we are still on the banks of the rhine? could there be 20,000 troops in afghanistan, 10, 15 years from now? sure.edic e part d plan. we're ready, and we can't wait to switch. [ male announcer ] make the switch to an aarp medicarerx plan, insured through unitedhealthcare. call now for a free information kit. discover why these part d plans are so popular with over 4.3 million members. [ man ] what i wanted was simple. the most value for my dollar. so now that it's time, we're making the move to a plan that really works for us. plus, we'll be covered at like 60,000 pharmacies. [ male announcer ] call now and get predictable copays with no annual deductible, which means you could start saving with your first prescript

. >> and the wonderful fareed zakaria, we'll talk to him about those talks with the taliban going on "today." >> don't go away, we'll be back in 60 seconds. >> my theory is that obama gets hiss anti-colonial dream, his anti-colonial ideology from his father and i have a very important source for this, his name is barack obama. >> people underestimate america's staying power, we are still on the banks of the rhine? could there be 20,000 troops in afghanistan, 10, 15 years from now? sure. on your next business trip, pack your marriott rewards visa card. get triple points every time you use your card at marriott. apply now and earn 22,500 bonus points when you use your card and enjoy a free night stay. so, before you know it, work time becomes well-deserved downtime. apply now at marriott.com/freenightstay. you've got staying power. >>> our next guest has been called anne coulter in pants and she's been going after obama. >> to him tell it obama is not really a capitalist and he wants to make america poorer in relation to the rest of the world. >> that's quite an introduction. >> i can

"fareed zakaria gps" starts right now. >> this is "gps," the global public square. welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. i'm afareed zakaria. for the last few months it seems every tidbit brings news of china, japan exceeded to china's demands and released a trawler captain who it can tap toured on the waters of the two countries. that came on the heels of china surpassing japan, that came on the heels reports of the massive efficacy of china's stimulus program and so on, but in all this news, when rarely gets the chance to hear from one of the people running this remarkable country, one that has grown now at over 9% a year for 30 years. well, now you will. we have for you a very rare event, an interview with wen jiabao, premier of china. he spoke to me two years ago on this program, and he hasn't spoke on it a western journalist since, until now. let me tell you a little about this extraordinarily powerful, yet little known man. he was born in a suburb of tianjin, the northeastern city in china, now connected by the world's fastest train

i'm fareed zakaria. imagine the middle ages, king and loyal subjects. he's never named an heir but finally anoints his son the heir apparent. the son has no experience, little charisma and generally isn't thought of highly. the king appoints a regent, someone to watch over the younger royal, happens to be married to the king's sister, so to boost her power the king puts her in charge of the army. all clear? now this might sound like the middle ages, but it's actually north korea today. kim jong-il has put forth his succession plan. his youngest son, kim jong-un will inherit the seat of power. but real power will be in the hands of the egent, kim jong ill's brother and to keep it in the family, his sister, the regent's wife is a four star general just like that. this would be an amusing diversion, our own modern day shakespearean history except it is not likely to be stable at all. north korea is one of the poorest countries in the world, run by a repressive dictatorship, has 1 million man army, famine occurs constantly, the leadership spends untold mill

zakaria. increased trade, reduced poverty and the telecommunication revolution have indeed made the world a smaller, and in many ways, a better place. but beneath the advantages of a so called "flat world" lies a dark underbelly. a booming drug trade, cyber-terrorism and increased human trafficking are evidence of the more nefarious effects of globalization. >> it's slavery. i mean, the use of the word trafficking, it still sorts of grates a little bit, because it distances it and makes it sound like, you know, that's something about objects, and it's slavery. it's just, slavery's not gone. it's still happening. >> can worldwide organized crime be stopped or at least slowed? >> this is not an issue which can be solved only by one country. ah, we must try to prevent and eliminate the sources of this crime. >> next on great decisions. >> in a democracy, agreement is not essential, but participation is. join us as we discuss today's most critical global issues. today's most critical global issues

he doesn't talk about fareed zakaria. >> i can jump in here? i would say that absolutely his apology was ridiculous. i'm sick and tired of i'm sorry your feelings got hurt apologies which we keep hearing over and over again. the unfortunate thing about, this however, is that rick actually was making a legitimate point. i mean because what he said was so offensive and stupid that got lost in there. george trying to point out elizabeth vargas occasionally appears on prime time, which is not considering part of the, making her a nightly prime time host is sort of like saying we have black friends. i mean the real sit anyone who has eyes and has a television knows there's a lack of diversity on major network programming, not something up for disputed debate. >> i've got to go to a break. one sentence from you, michael, does sanchez have a future in television after all this? >> probably, just because he's gotten a lot of publicity and by the way a lot of this helped publicize his book which had been failing beforehand. >> kelly goff? >> i won't be

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