An article written under the pseudonym Mr. Y. grabbed my attention this week. The article has a bold thesis, even more surprising given who the mysterious Mr. Y turns out to be.

It argues that the United States has embraced an entirely wrong set of priorities, particularly with regard to its federal budget. We have overreacted to Islamic extremism. We have pursued military solutions instead of political ones.

Y says we are underinvesting in the real sources of national power - our youth, our infrastructure and our economy. The United States sees the world through the lens of threats, while failing to understand that influence, competitiveness and innovation are the key to advancing American interests in the modern world.  FULL POST

This week President Obama laid out his vision for how to fix America’s fiscal problems.  Fareed called it "an intelligent, important speech with one major failing.” In Fareed’s Take, he'll explore where Obama's vision falls short.

Then an exclusive interview with the woman Fortune has called the “most powerful women in business” for the last five years running. PepsiCO’s CEO Indra Nooyi sits down with Fareed to discuss America’s economic future, Washington politics, PepsiCo’s move towards “healthier” foods, and women in the workforce.

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The battle of the 2011 budget has been the hot topic in DC this week.  But, amazingly, the battle for the 2012 budget has already begun.

This week Rep. Paul Ryan laid out his plan for next year and beyond.  Fareed's take is that Ryan is to be commended for trying to tackle entitlements, but says unfortunately the plan just won’t work.

So with the United States facing both fiscal and foreign policy turmoil, who better to talk to than a man who helped guide American policy in both those arenas? Fareed has an exclusive interview with one of America’s elder statesmen, James Baker.

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For years the United States has been the world's leader. And America has the place where anyone can dream the American Dream and build a better life for themselves.

But does all that still hold true?

If America now ranks as the 5th best country in which to run a business, 23rd in infrastructure, 49th in life expectancy and so on, can we still call it #1? And if the American Dream is slipping out of people's grasps (as we discussed in our first special "Restoring the American Dream"), what can we do to put America back on top in every category?

To answer that question we're bringing you the second installment in our "Restoring the American Dream" series of specials. This one is entitled, "Getting Back to #1".

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Is the American Dream dead? And what can be done to revive it? You can see a special edition of "Fareed Zakaria GPS" dedicated to restoring the dream and building the American middle class back up.

For a glimpse on what the four CEOs think about how to restore the American dream check out their video excerpts below:
To watch former IBM CEO Lou Gerstner on the state of the U.S. worker click here.
To watch Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld on why Alcoa had to learn to do more with fewer workers click here.
To watch Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent on whether jobs will come back to America click here.
To watch Google CEO Eric Schmidt on the innovation war being fought with other nations click here.

And don't forget that this was also the topic of Fareed's first TIME Magazine cover story which you can read here.

Read the full transcript of the show here.

Fareed’s been saying for years that we need to talk to the Taliban. And now the Afghan government is in supposedly “secret” negotiations with them. Will this be the path to peace for Afghanistan?  Fareed’s take: maybe, but don’t expect any miracles.

Then, Americans are gearing up to go the polls.  The Tea Party is causing much tumult in the mid-term elections.  But just what IS the Tea Party all about?  And just what political tradition is it “steeped” in?  A GPS panel of great historians and thinkers puts it in all context.

And if you think unemployment in the U.S. is bad then you won’t believe what is going on in South Africa. The World Cup was its coming out party but now that the party is over, will rampant unemployment and massive labor strikes cripple the country? And just who is to blame?

Next up, America’s “car czar”, Steven Rattner, with a behind the scenes look at the bailout of the automotive industry and the goings-on inside the White House. Were the car companies really worth saving at all?

And finally a last look at a politician topping the pop charts. You’ll be surprised to see who it is.

Read the full transcript here.

On the program today, Fareed says let them build the Islamic center near Ground Zero.

And a very special event, two secretaries of the Treasury, Robert Rubin and Paul O'Neill, on what it's going to take to fix our economy.

Then, a man directly accused in the WikiLeaks documents, Hamid Gul, the former head of the Pakistani Intelligence Service. Did he conspire with the Taliban?

And will there be another war in the Balkans? We'll talk to the Serbian foreign minister.

Finally, the U.S. and Iran face off. You might be surprised at who won.

Read the full transcript here.