My Conversation with Fareed Zakaria

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria has written extensively on U.S. foreign policy and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. His latest book, The Post-American World, argues that America's power will wane as the global economy continues to rapidly grow. We recently spoke about his outlook on the world:

Comments

[morbie5]

How many time do I keep needing to say this? 6.5 billion people and growing live on this planet! There isn't enough resources for everyone or even half of everyone to live like America or the EU. Oil is $120 per barrel and food prices and other resources are ski high! The reason is because this planet isn't big enough for everyone!

[freshnotbitter]

Basically what he means is: Dems are nuts on trade and repubs are nuts on something else, guns I guess, because putting the US in the center of a broad coalition would mean having to broker a peace agreement in the region and Israel is against that because they want war and more conquered land.

He can't actually say that because he would not be invited back on any of the shows controlled by the Federal Communications Commission which means he would be out of a job and back to driving a camel.

[PKSSK]

Charlie, I honestly stopped watching your show as it became apparent that you are biased towards anyone that does not fit into your box of the distorted ideological views of the status quo. The interview with author Naomi Klein confirmed it for me, especially after I read her honest articulation of the negative impact of our foreign and domestic policies on our nation and the world in her book Shock Doctrine. I realized that the truth of her book explains the economic impact of our policies on the class structures of the world, which only allow a postive impact to those in the top 1%, who greedily cherish their way of life, while the rest fall into poverty.

[Marlyn]

"The Democrats have gone nuts on trade" ???

How so?
Wanting to stop the loss of jobs here at home?
Wanting to modify trade agreements to include environmental standards?

[Marlyn]

"the plus side ... there is a need for coordination ..." ???

The USA has LOST ALL CREDIBILITY because of GW Bush and Iraq!
so the USA can no longer lead.

[Marlyn]

So if Obama or Clinton is elected, they will be faced with a bitter situation?

BUT what if McCane is elected? Would it be any different?

[HeevenSteven]

Charlie this was excellent! I agree with the other posters here about your treatment of Arianna; you seemed to be channeling Chris Mathews.

[Dandrea]

Charlie Rose is a brillant man who night after night has conversations with his guests that are so appreciated when compared to the ranting , screaming, and raving that goes on in the cable shows. Instead of a bowl of ice cream before I go to bed, I give my brain a treat and I watch Charlie!
The interview with Fareed and the indepth discussion of the post American world made me realize how much we need a Barack Obama type to lead us into the post American world which is looking for American leadership of another kind. There's a great opportunity. Fareed believes that the rest of the world will give us another chance but if not, it will go on without us. He fears the US will pass up on the opportunity as evidenced by our wanting to withdraw from the global market place. A most interesting discussion.
BTW--- I agree with Rockerbabe. He seemed a bit peevish with Arianna. He is usually not argumentative.

[apoyo]

Dear Mr Rose,

I usually look forward to watching your show but I have to say that I was very disappointed and at times disgusted with your treatment of Ms Huffington. You were disrespectful and talked over her with disdain.

One of the reasons I tune in to your show is because I am able to actually watch a civilized conversation on TV. This was not one of those moments. I think you owe her another chance to state her views. I have never seen you treat a male guest so rudely. The way you held up her book and opened the interview with "What's the point?" expressed very clearly that you did not consider it worth reading or worth discussing.

[raskolnikov72]

I saw the show in its entirety. Fareed, while intellectually impressive, is intellectually dishonest. You gave him the opportunity to renounce his support for the invasion of Iraq and what he renounced were "the tactics and the way the war was fought." You let him off the hook, Charlie.

He then went on to say [paraphrasing]: 1,000,000 Iraqis have died, and when we leave there will be more bloodshed, but it won't be as bad as 1,000,000 maybe just 250,000 ...

Charlie, where is your intellectual honesty? You can basically try to rough up Harrington, but you can't hold this guy's feet to the fire.

He then goes on to claim that because 128 countries in the world grew at 4%+ last year, and that the US has had economic prosperity for 20 years, we should be active, navigational leaders that help to set the global agenda with a much more humble approach to foreign policy (I tend to agree).

I just disagree with how he slips in "20 years of economic prosperity for the US" while not having the intellectual honesty to discuss flat incomes for 50th percentile of American's and below. Clearly Fareed is in the top part of this graph ...

http://tinyurl.com/68ru9x

[Rockerbabe]

Hey Charlie Rose!
Your interview with Arrianna was a missed opportunity at enlightenment. Your conduct was most ungentleman-like. You have so few women on your show and when you get one who is articulate, beautiful and influential, you treat her with disrespect and distain. Your aggressive interruption of Arrianna's answers to your questions was annoying and anger-provoking. You seldom treat the male guest with such distain. You need to go back to school and learn how to show respect ot your guest as well as how to properly interview a guest and not put yourself in the middle of the interview.
You should be ashamed.

[nccp1870]

Charlie Rose's show continues to offer meaty arguments and ideas whether or not one agrees with them. Too bad the Cable News networks have few, if any, talking heads who come near to offering the level of dialogue he does.

[PFHarlock]

A very similar argument to Mr. Zakaria's was made in relation to China by the Clinton administration and others, and we can all see how well that's worked out.... A mind-boggling trade deficit, the widespread loss of manufacturing jobs and destruction of communities due to the explosion of "big box" stores in America, the further enabling of human rights abuses and environmental destruction in China... Yes, it's all gone very well - for the tiny number of individuals who are raking in the profits, at the expense of two billion others who are, frankly, getting screwed.

In addition, Mr. Zakaria's rational that American financial institutions need countries like those in the Middle East and Asia to bail us out doesn't acknowledge that "the trouble we've been in" (we ARE in) is the result of the illegal and immoral actions of said American financial institutions. Therefore, one can easily interpret his point to be that we must encourage the growth of additional foreign financial systems in order to continue the existing cycle of massive financial fraud/irresponsibility in the United States.

Summing up my position in short - On the day that free trade becomes fair trade for all members of any given society involved, I will support it. I believe we can get there, but, sadly, on this day, we are not even close.

All that said, I'm a big fan of the show, Mr. Rose. Seriously. I almost never miss it. Please tell the robots I said "Hi." ;)

[DennyCrane]

The U.S. is too arrogant to admit this. We're still the country who say we're the greatest country on the face of the earth. You can't declare that about yourselves. That's like CNN calling itself the best political team on television.

[Steven G. Brant - Huffpost Blogger]

See Steven G. Brant's Profile

This was a great show... talking about the REAL issues we face, if we all are going to prosper in the future. One great moment (out of many): Fareed saying that the opportunity we have before us is to stabilize the entire world. This came as part of a discussion of the relationship between all the nations on Earth... a relationship which has been all about nations competing to see which will be the biggest and strongest for years... a dynamic which no longer works.

When Fareed said "The US could be like the chairman of the board of a global board of directors" (something like that), I thought that was a great analogy.... except, of course, the "organiztion" this board of directors is responsible for would have to have a social (not just profit-making) mission statement!

[Marlyn]

"the opportunity we have before us is to stabilize the entire world."

Oh yeah? just like we "stabilized" Iraq with SHOCK & AWE?