| | | | Fareed: America's Forever War | | President Trump's administration has doubled down on more of the same in Afghanistan, Fareed writes in his latest Washington Post column. "It is a tactical approach, designed by generals, to ensure that they do not lose. But it does not even pretend to contain a strategy to win."
"There is surely no greater sign of the bankruptcy of U.S. foreign policy than its Afghanistan policy. After more than 15 years of war and the deployment of hundreds of thousands of troops, a new president entered the Oval Office poised to fundamentally change that policy. Within months he presented, with great fanfare, a continuation of the same. The result: The United States is now firmly locked into its forever war in Afghanistan."
"President Trump's policy differs from the one he inherited only in the addition of 4,000 more troops. Trump vows to eschew nation-building, emphasize counterterrorism, end corruption in Afghanistan and hold Pakistan accountable. President Barack Obama promised the same things."
| | Donald Trump "was a totally unconventional candidate who broke all the rules and did things that would have destroyed anyone else running for president," Fareed argues in his latest special, "Why Trump Won," which re-airs this Sunday. So, how did he win? Indeed, how did he even get close?
"Here's the answer: America is now divided along four lines, each one reinforcing the others. Call them the four Cs," Fareed says. Capitalism, culture, class, communication
"All these forces have been at work for decades, but in recent years, the Republican Party has been better able to exploit them and identify with those Americans who feel frustrated, anxious, angry -- even desperate about the direction that the country is headed in. Donald Trump capitalized on these trends even more thoroughly, speaking openly to people's economic anxieties, cultural fears, and class rebellion. He promised simple solutions, mostly aimed at others -- Mexicans, Muslims, Chinese people and, of course, the elites and the media.
"It worked. He won. Whether his solutions are even enacted is another matter."
"Why Trump Won" airs again this Sunday on CNN at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET.
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