Transcripts For CNN American Morning 20110822

all right. good morning, carol. good morning, everyone. it is monday, august 22nd. this is "american morning." i'm christine romans. >> i'm carol costello. thank you for joining us. ali has the morning off. a lot going on. let's get to it. >> that's right. up first, breaking news, new explosions overnight coming from moammar gadhafi's tripoli compound. three of his sons are in custody but gadhafi's whereabouts are still unknown as history continues to unfold in libya this morning. >> quite a sight. rebel forces say they control most of the capital and gadhafi's forces in one tripoli neighborhood are negotiating their surrender. listen. >> talk about happy. after months of fighting the rebels fighting and easily rolled into tripoli, gadhafi's army almost didn't put up any fight. >> wild celebrations as the rebels took green square, the symbolic center of tripoli. thousands of libyans tearing down pictures of the dictator and firing guns into the air, this time firing in celebration. >> thousands also filled the streets to celebrate in the heart of libya's second city, benghazi, second largest city. even though it's a victorious day for many libyans it came at a painful price. a libyan government spokesman says some 1300 people were killed and about 5,000 wounded in this past weekend. >> we are hearing rebels have captured three of gadhafi's sons, a prosecutor for the international criminal court sells cnn talks will be held today on transferring one of them, saif, to the hague. no one knows for sure where their father is. he may not be in tripoli anymore even though he went on the radio vowing to stay to the end. >> who knows where he is at this moment. president obama is monitoring this from martha's vineyard and said libya is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant and gadhafi needs to face reality and acknowledge he is no longer in control. the celebrations continue in tripoli and across libya this morning. sarah sider in rolled into the capital and watched as they seized control of the main square and watched as the people came alive. >> there were expectations of a blood bath, there wasn't one, at least not on this day. we begin our coverage with sarah who is still in tripoli. she's not live. let's -- let's take a look back at what she got and we'll talk to her live. >> fin, finish. >> tripoli very happy. gadhafi finish. now leave. >> what you're seeing behind me are the rebels are now saying there's going to be a massive battle here. they do not have full control of the city. >> at the moment we're not fully in control of tripoli because you can see, you can see that. >> what is this making -- how do you feel about this day? you are from tripoli. why is this day important? a historic day? >> historic day because we had to leave from here and now we had it to fight. i'm not a fighter. i'm a student. it's my first time with a gun. >> civilians are now gone from here and we also have to leave. >> what's happening as everyone starts gathering, [ inaudible ] we are here in the middle of tripoli, what we're seeing is rebels all over the square. really no civilians. mostly men with guns in the square but we're also seeing people running. there's a lot of gunfire. they say they are snipers. we had to pull back. the situation very tense here. but there is a lot of celebrating going on. some of this is just gunfire in the air but people are very, very concerned because they say there were snipers posted on the top of some of these buildings. they're not sure exactly where some of this gunfire is coming from. every now and then you see people just running trying to get out of the way. right now the rebels have green square and it is a historic moment here in tripoli in the capital. the real stronghold of moammar gadhafi has now been taken over by the rebels. >> sarah sider in is still in tripoli. i'm wondering what happened to the thousands of people loyal to moammar gadhafi? >> they're not existent is the best way i can describe it. we are [ inaudible ] main square there, green square, and i can tell you there's not a [ inaudible ] rebel and a [ inaudible ] who have come out. libya, we are united. free libya. there's a lot of [ inaudible ] you ride along, seeing hundreds of people, for example, out of their homes. what you are seeing is long stretches of no one, shuttered buildings, shuttered homes, nobody around, and then suddenly you find where there are a few families on their balconies or at street level and cheering or chanting as the rebels pass to and fro from the middle of the city center out, the rebels clearly have a handle on getting in and out of neighborhoods. they are going neighborhood to neighborhood, trying to what they told us, clear those neighborhood of remaining gadhafi forces including snipers. that's what the situation is right now. we're not seeing at this point and in this neighborhood, any evidence that gadhafi troops are still here in this particular part of tripoli. >> sarah, initially we heard that one of gadhafi sons was leading a small force in tripoli. do you know anything more about that? >> we've heard nothing, but rumors are absolutely rampant. they have been for many months now, to be honest, but now that this has come to a head, the rumors get more and more sometimes outrageous. not hearing that same information. what we are hearing is a lot of screaming, people are celebrating and they are in and out of green square, although they do say there are still some parts of the city, although they may be spread out inside buildings. [ inaudible ] for a second. >> we're going to jump away, sarah, having trouble understanding you right now. communications -- communications, of course -- >> chaotic scene for her? in green square a month ago it was plastered with a picture of moammar gadhafi in full uniform and now plastered with rebels and people celebrating in the streets about the fact that the rebels have entered tripoli. back to sarah in a few minutes. the images of rebel forces rolling into tripoli sparked celebrations across that country. it thousands of fighters shoutsds, fired their weapons into the air in benghazi, the rebels first stronghold and the city where the current rebel government resides. >> and this right here was the scene in misrata, a city that came under heavy fire by gadhafi forces for months in the early part of the conflict. here at home, president obama is being briefed on the dramatic developments in libya during his vacation on martha's vineyard. the president issued a statement saying, quote, tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant. the gadhafi regime is showing signs of collapsing. the surest way for the bloodshed to end, is sim million, moammar gadhafi and his regime need to recognize that their rule has come to an end and has to come to acknowledge the reality that he no longer controls libya. he needs to relin distinguish power. suddenly, again, libya in the headlines on his vication, dan? >> that's right. and so the president has to juggle not only his domestic agenda, but also foreign policy agenda. this is, though, positive news for the administration this coming some six months or so after president obama first called on moammar gadhafi to step aside. as you pointed out, the president has been getting briefed throughout these developments. john brennan, his counterterrorism adviser has been here on the island. we are told to expect that the president will be getting a briefing first thing this morning. the president also conducted a high-level conference call last night with senior level members of his national security team, including his chief of staff, the secretary of defense, and others, we are told. but, you know, the administration so far has been very careful not to put the president out in front of a camera. obviously because the situation is so fluid. as you pointed out, the president did release a statement last night and also in that statement, the president saying, quote, the people of libya are showing the universal pursuit of dignity and the freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator. the big question is, what happens next? there are a lot of questions, uncertain what this new leadership will look like. the president saying that there should be a peaceful transition towards democracy. again, questions as to how that will all unfold. christine? >> dan lothian in martha's vineyard, we'll check in with you again soon. with the gadhafi regime crumbling three of gadhafi sons have been captured. our senior international correspondent nic robertson has reported extensively from libya. nic is live from washington. what's going to happen to these three sons? >> saif al islam gadhafi, his son who has essentially been leading the country, has international arest warrant from the international criminal court out for him. a lot of pressure on the international council to live up to the expectations of the international community, the requests of secretary of state hillary clinton, other world leaders, that they should honor the wishes of the people of the country, they should form a transitional government and key their international obligations to act in a democratic way. there will be pressure on them to hand safe al islam gadhafi over to the international criminal court in the hague. the other sons, one could expect to see them perhaps to go on trial in libya in the not-too-distant future, but certainly in this period where there's still chaos on the streets, where there is still sort of a sense that the battle is not completely over, it's not beyond the realms of imagination to expect, if they were to get in the hands of the crowd, their outlook would be very, very limited. it would be pretty desperate situation for them. at the moment the best they can hope is they're safely under lock and key right now, carol. >> as far as moammar gadhafi is concerned, what is your best guess? is he in al gear, venezuela, or hiding in tripoli. >> he vowed to fight to the end and the fact that three of his sons have been caught is somewhat surprising. you would think they would have been smart enough to read the writing on the wall and get out of the city. gadhafi has been surrounded by fans that told you everyone loves you, the country is okay, you don't need to run. has he listened to them and now holed up in tripoli because he didn't run when he could. i'm surprised that saif al islam and saadi have allowed themselves to be outmaneuvered and caught. there's a possibility that moammar gadhafi himself hasn't run, that he hasn't listened, you know, to what's going on properly, and is believed there's plenty of time and he can get out when he wanted to. he has said he'll fight to the end. anyone's guess is 42 years in power, the guy is not crazy. his paranoid, perhaps, schizophrenic, according to some people that know him, but there's a possibility he may yet be caught inside the country. it wouldn't surprise me if that was still to happen. >> maybe we'll know soon. nic robertson, many thanks. now is your chance to talk back on the big story of the day. the question this morning, was u.s. involvement in libya worth it? there's no question now libyan leader moammar gadhafi's reign is over. thousands are reportedly dead and it's likely more will die. but thanks in large part to nato forces and the united states, libya will likely be free of a cruel dictator. libya is celebrating. here at home, in the united states, the celebrations may be satisfying to watch, but the feeling is tempered like everything else, u.s. involvement in libya was conflicted. liberal congressman dennis kucinich accused president obama of an impeachable offense because mr. obama moved forward on libya without congressional approval. republican senator john mccain was critical because he said president obama didn't move fast enough to prevent a long, drawn out fight for freedom. americans weary of war were concerned about costs. according to the obama administration, the libyan mission will cost american taxpayers $1.1 billion by september 30th. still, in just six months, gadhafi is just about gone. remember he was slaughtering his own people. al jazeera estimated last month 13,000 libyans have died in this conflict. the talk back question this morning, was u.s. involvement in libya worth it? facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. we are still waiting for the end game. we are still waiting for moammar gadhafi, wherever he may be. ahead on "american morning," gadhafi's last stand. president obama said he needs to face the facts and get out. what role would the u.s. play in a post-gadhafi libya. a live report from the pentagon coming up next. >> hurricane irene may be heading straight to the united states. reynolds wolf with the forecast, next. 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[ no audio ] >> all right. we don't have audio from matthew right now. he's at the rixos hotel in tripoli where it's been a harrowing couple of days, is an understatement actually. >> there's sporadic fighting between gadhafi forces and the rebels but it's very sporadic. also snipers on buildings. the reason the communication is iffy is you also have nato forces flying over and blocking communication, satellite communication, so if moammar gadhafi were trying to communicate, that communication would be cut off. sometimes it affects our own transmissions. >> the challenges about the gunfire too, you don't know what is happening. if it's celebratory gunfire, or gunfire between snipers and rebels, there have been some gadhafi tanks that have been rolling out in some parts of some neighborhoods but we know gadhafi really only controls i think less than 20% of the city now. >> yeah. >> and that's going neighborhood by neighborhood at this point. >> do we have matthew back? we have matthew back. this is not celebratory gunfire. matthew said as much at 5:00 a.m. eastern time. what is going on? >> it's, as i say, one of those areas still controlled by the gadhafi loyalists. we've got colonel gadhafi's compound just behind me and that's been the scene of some ferocious battles over the course of the past hour or so between gadhafi loyalists staging a sort of defense there and the rebels who very much want to take that symbolic target. rebel forces want to come to the rixos hotel as well [ inaudible ] and the internet and media presence. but again, this is an area, one of the few areas in tripoli, where the government forces of colonel gadhafi are apparently still, you know, kind of making a stand, are still kind of like not allowing rebels to just walk in, which is what they've done in the vast majority of areas in tripoli. you've seen these incredible pictures of rebels simply driving into tripoli from the west, from the effort, from the south, with very little or no resistance. on their trip into the libyan capital, which is the intention to what the libyan government of colonel gadhafi said yesterday, they have tens of thousands of soldiers bracing themselves to make a vigorous defense of tripoli. >> all right. matthew chance, we'll continue to check in with you about the situation there. in the meantime it is 21 minutes after the hour. hurricane irene is gaining speed and strength. hurricane warnings in effect now for puerto rico, dominican republic. irene could hit the u.s. by the end of this week. reynolds wolf tracking irene from the cnn hurricane headquarters. >> you mentioned speed and strength, the two things that have increased since your last update. you're right on both of those. when it comes to maximum sustained winds, 75 miles per hour. the situation is it may intensify at least over the next several days. possibly with winds going to up about 90 or so. however the farther out you go, you extrapolate from the original forecast to the current forecast, things get a little bit inaccurate. a few more errors that sometimes pop up. something else, the intrusion of dry air moving into the top half of the storm. the thing is you still have plenty of convec sln closer to the center of circulation and back to the forecast in terms of the national hurricane center their forecast brings it through the turks and caicos, into the bahamas, possibly moving into the state of florida as we get into possibly thursday or even into friday. keep in mind that is just the center of this storm. this is something that's very big. in fact, if you were able to pick this thing up and drop it over the state of florida it would nearly cover the entire state. when you include the outflow, even the center of the storm, before we get too nervous the farther out we go, the more like we are to see changes to the forecasts. it pay pull deeper into the atlantic and miss land altogether, it could venture into the south and the gulf of mexico. florida is certainly in the cone of uncertainty. if you live in the state of florida it is the time to go ahead and prepare some of the freedness kits -- preparedness kits. store water and batteries. doesn't mean you need to evacuate. time to keep a sharp eye on what's happening in the atlantic. back to you. >> thank you so much. still to come on "american morning," a cloud of fear lifting over libya this morning as gadhafi's 42-year rule nears the end. we will show you a passionate interview with a 19-year-old woman from tripoli who finally thinks it's safe enough to speak. >> and even though the war in libya is not over just yet, we're already seeing the effects in oil markets. on oil prices. we're going to tell you why right after the break. mind. investors bracing for another potentially rocky week in the rockets. u.s. stock futures for the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 are trading higher as you can see ahead of the opening bell. that's just getting a bit of a boost from a dip in oil prices overnight after news that the war in libya could be coming to an end soon and the country could resume oil production. before the war started libya produced about 1.6 million barrels of oil every day. that accounts for almost 2% of global supply. european markets trading higher on the news out of libya, likely a short-lived distraction from the mounting concerns about debt problems. in several european countries. france becoming a bigger player in the credit crisis in that region. french president sarkozy is expected to announce austerity measures this week. they were a major contributor to steep losses last week. the dow lost 4%, the s&p 500 down 4.5%, the nasdaq dropped more than 6.5% to end the week and over the past month the big three have lost between 15 and 18%. and looking ahead to friday, fed chief ben bernanke will give his keynote address at the fed's annual retreat in jackson hole, wyoming. at this event last year he hinted at another round of stimulus for the u.s. economy which was implemented a few months later. analysts have been debating whether a third round of so-called quantitative easing could be on the hor ri zune to boost an ailing u.s. economy. bloomberg reports $1.2 trillion were borrowed during the height of the financial crisis. the fed told bloomberg all of those loans have been paid back in full with interest. don't forget for the latest news about your money, check out the all new cnnmoney.com. 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[ woman announcing ] new beneful healthy fiesta. another healthful, flavorful beneful. thousands celebrating as libyan rebels reach the heart of tripoli. the big question remains, where is moammar gadhafi, on this "american morning." and good morning. it's monday, august 22nd. welcome back to "american morning." i'm christine romans. >> i'm carol costello. ali has the morning off. a lot going on internationally today. we are watching breaking news for you this morning. new explosions rocking moammar gadhafi's compound overnight. nato and libyan rebels hope he'll come out from wherever he's hiding. across libya, thousands of libyans are celebrating after rebel forces rolled into the heart of tripoli. >> president obama is monitoring all of this, of course, and be said libya is lib slipg from the grasps of a tyrant and gadhafi needs to face reality and acknowledge he is no longer in control. as gadhafi's regime begins to crumble a 19-year-old woman who lives in tripoli who does not want to be identified, called in to our newsroom to do something she has never been able to do before, speak freely. >> this is the freedom we've been waiting for for 42 years. not to mention the last six months, where we weren't allowed to do anything here in tripoli, sitting at home at night you don't know where your neighbor is. today when the day came, i don't even know how to explain it. we were outside of the windows screaming. everyone is screaming. we realized no one wants him, this dictator. most of us had our phones closed because we were scared. there's no more fear. gadhafi is gone, we don't want him anymore. the end. game over. >> remember when gadhafi used to hold those press conferences and he surrounded himself with people who supposedly loved him and cheering for him. where are those people now? >> the square where people are gathering that has been taken by the rebels, a month ago was covered with a poster of him and his regal la, but being torn down. >> sarah sidner rolled into the capital of tripoli with the rebels and watched as they seized control of the city and the people came alive at a time when no one knew for sure if gadhafi forces would fight or fly. take a look. >> [ inaudible ]. >> tripoli very, very happy. gadhafi finish. now leader free. >> we are in green square what you're seeing behind me are a few people that the rebels are now saying there's going to be a massive battle here. they do not have full control of the city. >> at the moment, we are not fully in control of tripoli because you can see, you can see that -- >> what does this make you -- how do you feel about this day? you are from tripoli. why is this day important? this day historic day? >> a historic day because we had to leave from here and now we had to fight. i'm not a fighter. i'm a student. it's my [ inaudible ]. >> the civilians are now gone from here and we also have to leave. what's happening as everyone starts running, we are in green square here in the middle of tripoli. what we're seeing is rebels all over the square. there are really no civilians. mostly men with guns in the square. but we're also seeing people running. there's a lot of gunfire. they say there are snipers. we had to pull back. the situation very tense here but there is a lot of celebrating going on. some of this is gunfire in the air. people are concerned because they say there were snipers posted on top of some of these buildings. they're not sure where some of this gunfire is coming from. every now and then you see people running try to get out of the way. right now the rebels have green square and it is a historic moment here in tripoli in the capital. the real stronghold of moammar gadhafi has now been taken over by the rebels. sarah sidner, cnn, tripoli. nato says the gadhafi regime is crumbling. but two key questions this morning, what's the tipping point that removes gadhafi from power and what will the u.s. role be. barbara starr live at the pentagon for us. good morning, barbara. >> good morning, christine. this is what u.s. officials have been looking for for days, that tipping point at which gadhafi can no longer recover, he cannot credibly say, again, that he leads libya, something that's been in question for some time, of course. the tipping point factors they're looking for, can he communicate with his loyalists forces. can he even issue orders to them. can he pay them. what can he do with his forces that will change the play on the ground on this battlefield. right now, all of that by all accounts appears to be ebbing away. you are seeing these interrupted communications in tripoli. nato by all accounts is interrupting those communications to do that very thing, to keep him from communicating and issuing orders to his forces. u.s. officials for many days now have said his days are numbered over the last several hours, saying really, his grasp on control, whatever it was, is slipping away. but the question now, of course, is what does come next. what does nato do. what does the u.s. do. how can the rebels transition all of this into a credible functioning government in libya very quickly. christine, carol. >> that's a question, what could the u.s. role be here? there's been criticism about the u.s. role so far. some saying it went too far. that's what liberals say. senator john mccain, for example, said we didn't give enough of an active role. >> well, look, the u.s. did something very different here as everyone has seen than it did in iraq or afghanistan. this was a nato operation. this did not have a u.s. face on it. that was very deliberate. the u.s. did not want to get involved with combat forces in a third war. the idea was to have nato take the lead in this, back up from the united states, with support, with some air power, with some communications. by all accounts, it's worked up until this point. you know, clearly the gadhafi regime has taken some time, but it is crumbling very, very rapidly today. the question now will be, the economic assistance, the humanitarian relief, medical supplies, assistance in forming a new government, if the libyans want it, trying to get this country back as rapidly as possible, to a functioning government, and a functioning society. there are oil resources at stake. libya's very strategic on the southern coast of the mediterranean, very important. things should start moving very quickly. we'll see how it goes. carol, christine. >> thanks, barbara. planning for libya with no gadhafi, the state department has already mirrored what president obama said about the dictator, which is sort of a face it, it's over already. what the transition will look like exactly is much more involved, as you just heard. jill dougherty live at the state department now. so, what do you hear from the state department about what a new libya will be like? >> well, you know, there's a short-term and a long term. right now you have the fighting and as that transition occurs origins at least, it's very important that the tnc, of course that's the transitional national council, which has been leading the rebel movement, is doing everything that it says it would do and that is to be as democratic as possible and create next a democratic structure. so, if there were reprisals or retribution, that would be a big problem. let's say that they began unilaterally shooting gadhafi supporters. so, the -- i just was in communication with a senior u.s. official with direct knowledge of what is going on, and this official says that the news reports from tripoli are encouraging. so far, the people are avoiding retribution. that's one. and then the state department issuing a statement and listen to exactly how it's phrased. assistant secretary of state jeff feltman visit to ben zazgy, which is a rebel strong hold, we encontinue efforts to encourage the tnc to maintain broad outreach to across all segments of libyan society and to plan for post-gadhafi libya. that broad outreach is important, because libya is a tribal society. if they do not include everybody that could be an indication or an invitation to some very serious problems within the country. then they also have to make sure that they create this post-gadhafi society. what would happen, actually, is they would have a transitional, not just the tnc, that would lead to an interim authority, that interim authority would then create the structures for having elections, writing a new constitution, et cetera. there is a lot of work and a lot of challenge here, especially when you get into the issues, carol, and christine, of money that will now be freed up for the tnc. huge amounts of it, 30, $34 billion coming from the united states alone, which is the money that was freed up in the united states. when you get that amount of money, how it's going to be divided up, who's going to use it, will it be done correctly, becomes a very big issue. >> very big issue, especially for taxpayers who are essentially paying the bill and we're talking about this and gadhafi still out there. >> yes. but we should make clear that is money that belongs to the libyans, that was frozen. it's their assets that were frozen. those would be freed up. we're not at that point talking about u.s. tax dollars. >> thanks for clarifying. we appreciate that. jill dougherty live from the -- live from washington today. what are the opinion pages saying this morning about libya and other news of the dade. here's some of what's being said in paper and on-line in our morning opinion segment. "the wall street journa journal" critical of the u.s. for not taking a stronger stand on libya from the beginning. editorial in the "journal" says the shame is how much faster gadhafi might have been defeated, how many fewer people might have been killed and how much more influence the u.s. might now have. with all going on in libya not to mention high unemployment and a volatile stock market, margaret carlson addresses those who have been critical of the president for taking a president. some of what she says in "bloomberg." a president can't solve most of the problems on his desk, even if he never leaves the oval office. he might as well take a few days off. >> just a little sampling of the op-eds this morning for you. coming up next on "american morning," the rebels say libya is now under their control, but moammar gadhafi is not backing down. coming up next, we'll talk with a woman who's interviewed gadhafi and written a book on the arab spring. >> arab spring just got a new whiff of life. >> hurricane irene gaining strength, could the u.s. be in its path and when, on this "american morning." ♪ [ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. 43 minutes past the hour. we are watching breaking news for you this morning. the end appears near for libyan dictator moammar gadhafi. libyan rebels say they now control most of the capital. and yes, they're happy. thousands filled the streets and erupted in sheer joy after rebel trucks moving in with barely any resistan resistance. >> the rebels say they have captured three sons, including one time heir apparent saif al islam who along with his father faces charges against crimes against humanity at the international court. gadhafi's whereabouts are unknown at this hour. >> that's the mystery this morning. we want to bring in the author of "rock the bar rage and rebellion across the arab world" and an analyst at the woodrow wilson center. you have interviewed leader moammar gadhafi. where do you suppose he is? give us your best guess. >> i suspect he's trying some place from tripoli to figure out his future very quickly. the importance of the arrest of his three sons is a fact that saif al gadhafi was the one who was his political adviser and was the key figure in negotiating gadhafi's re-entry in the international community, his surrender of weapons of mass destruction and compromise on pan am 103. this will be a moment where gadhafi doesn't have the wise counsel. he's an unstable leader. he will be relying on his fourth son khamis, leader of a critical military unit trying to defend probably just the family and inner circle right now. >> nic robertson was saying he thought he had been surrounded by these who kept saying you are impervious to international pressure. the people love you. where are the tens of thousands of people who neighbor after neighbor were worried these were these supporters for gadhafi, they're not there. >> this is not over and there is the danger there is some settling of scores, some people who may come back in the aftermath of gadhafi's demise and try to stake a claim in the future, potentially, in an insurgency. i think the reality is after 42 years, the majority of libyans are willing to see something different. tripoli is quite different from eastern benghazi in that you have different tribes, different players. this is not going to be neat as it was in benghazi. but -- >> i'm sorry. i was going to bring up his sons again. they will likely face some kind of court. do you think moammar gadhafi will face a court and maybe receive some kind of justice or do you think he'll go to venezuela or algiers or some place like that. >> i suspect it's too late for him to negotiate some way out snls he's managed to get outside of tripoli already. i think that the noose is tightening. he's just waited too late. it's hard to see also, you know, any leader in the arab world who would want to take him. i'm not sure hugo chavez in venezuela would want him. maybe some african leader. gadhafi has always thought of himself more as a member of the african union than a part of the arab world. he had visions of leading the african union. that's a place that's part of the world where there are more regimes that might with a hefty paycheck take in him. i suspect we may be beyond that. >> what triggers him giving up or does he ever give up? >> again, this is where he doesn't have the counsel of his sons and i think the danger is he's relying on his -- khamis, the fourth of seven sons, and looking at that military option. he's such an unstable man. you know, i've interviewed him, many world leaders, and there's no one like moammar gadhafi in terms of his quirkiness, unpredictability, rages. he can turn on a dime. and this is, you know -- it's very hard for anyone to really know what he might do. >> how does -- >> you know what a vision comes to my mind, pulling saddam hussein out of that hole. >> right. >> might we see that? >> i suspect he's going to be cornered. i doubt he's going to be in some place buried in the ground, but whether he's got a bunker potentially, we don't know what provisions. i've been to el aze ca military barics where i've interviewed him and a site kind of bizarre. a military barracks and he's brought in this tent made of quilts where he brings, you know, foreign dignitaries, people to interview him. he's got some camels in the middle of the bare racks. he wants to set the scene. this is -- this has been -- was his stronghold and the compound where he lived and those are the two places that the rebels will be trying to conquer most of all. >> they may be already there for all we know. robin wright, thanks for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> so unstable, the way she talks about the rages and ir rational behavior to survive and lead for 42 years. we'll monitor the latest situation on libya. here's what's coming up on "american morning," missouri teachers fighting for their right to facebook. we'll tell you why they're suing the state. and after a volatile week on wall street, we'll tell you how markets are looking this morning. you're watching "american morning." ♪ with diabetes, it's tough to keep life balanced. i don't always have time to eat like i should. and the more i focus on everything else, the less time i have to take care of me. that's why i like glucerna shakes. they have slowly digestible carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes, which can help lower a1c. glucerna products help me keep everything balanced. 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[ male announcer ] glucerna. delicious shakes and bars. helping people with diabetes find balance. 51 minutes past the hour. here's what you need to know to start your day. new video from libya showing rebels taking control of the capital city of tripoli. new explosions rocking leader moammar gadhafi's compound. no one knows for sure where gadhafi is right now. three of his sons in custody. hurricane irene churning near the caribbean islands. forecasters say irene could dump up to 20 inches of rain in haiti and the dominican republic. it could hit the united states by the end of the week. the families of who american hikers sentenced to eight years in prison are urging the iranian government to show compassion and free those two men. josh fattal and shane bauer convicted of espionage and illegal entry into iran. they were arrested more than two years ago. a missouri teachers union is suing the state over a new law that prevents them from using the social networking site facebook to connect with students. they say it violates their constitutional rights. the law takes effect on sunday. a possible break-through that could lead to an effective treatment for lou gehrig's disease. researchers say they have found that the basis of the disease is a malfunctioning protein recycling system in the neurons of the brain and the spinal cord. these neurons become severely damaged when they can't repair op or maintain themselves. investors bracing for another rocky week in the markets after steep losses across the board last week. right now u.s. stock futures for the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 are all trading higher ahead of the opening bell. investors getting a boost interest a dip in oil prices overnight. and that's the news you need to know to start your day. "american morning" back after this. 54 minutes past the hour. we asked you to talk back on one of big stories of the day. that would be libya. we asked you this question -- was u.s. involvement in libya worth it? this from craig, he says you make it sound like our involvement there is over. if we never spend another dime on libya maybe it was worth it but we know that will not be the case. this from ann -- and this from a different craig -- please keep the conversation going. facebook.com/americanmorning. and i'll read some of your comments a bit later. your top stories coming ahead after this quick break. it's 55 minutes after the hour. 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? 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[ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. we are in green square here in the middle of tripoli. >> at the dictator's doorstep the rebels rolling into moammar gadhafi's last stronghold reaching the heart of tripoli celebrating on his turf and cnn was on the back of a truck to witness it all. >> the big question that remains this morning, where is moammar gadhafi? still no sign of the man who vowed to fight to the finish. as a new battle rages outside his compound. >> dsk off the hook. his accuser meeting with prosecutors today. why attempted rape charges against the former imf chief may be dropped. and areene -- irene picking up steam. on this "american morning." good morning. monday august 22nd. this is "american morning." i'm christine romans. >> i'm carol costello. ali has the morning off. a historic day today. >> that's right. >> let's get right to it. >> breaking news. new explosions overnight coming from moammar gadhafi's tripoli compound. three of his sons are now in custody. but gadhafi's whereabouts are still unknown as history continues to unfold in libya this morning. >> rebel forces say they now control most of the capital and that gadhafi's forces in one tripoli neighborhood are negotiating their surrender. after months of fighting the rebels finally and easily rolled into tripoli yesterday. gadhafi's army almost didn't put up any fight. >> wild cell brags erupting as the rebels took green square, the symbolic center of tripoli. thousands of libyans tearing down pictures of the dictator, firing guns into the air. this time in celebration. >> thousands filled the street to celebrate in the heart of libya's second largest city, ben za zazi. even though it's a historic day it came at a painful price. a spokesman says some 1300 people were killed, 5,000 people injured in just this past weekend. we're hearing rebels have captured three of gadhafi's sons. a prosecutor for the international criminal court tells cnn talks will be held today on transferring one of them, saif gadhafi, to the hague. still, no one knows for sure where their father is. he may not even be in tripoli anymore. even though he went on the radio, vowing to stay, quote, until the end. president obama, of course, monitoring all of this. he said libya is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant and that gadhafi needs to face reality and acknowledge he is no longer in control. >> and we want to go live to libya where our matthew chance is standing by. just a short time ago you heard gunshots where you are. there is still fighting near the hotel where you're staying. what's happening right now? >> there is, in fact, even though the past few seconds some ferocious gun fights taking place just over my shoulder near the compound of colonel gadhafi, a place heavily bombed over the last several months, but still an area where gadhafi loyalists are staking out their defense. this is a patchwork of control in tripoli. you know, large areas of the city have fallen under rebel control. they walked into many of those areas without any resistance at all. there are certain areas like this one around the rixos hotel where i'm talking to you from right now and the gadhafi compound virtually next door, where the governments are kind of resisting any rebel pressure, they are putting up some kind of defense. obviously choosing which areas they want to hold on to and which ones they aren't. it's one of those areas, one of the few areas in tripoli, which is still under government gadhafi loyalists control. >> matthew, tell us about the government minders and all the people who have been following western media for so many months now in tripoli. are they still there? have they disappeared? what is this telling you about i guess the condition of the gadhafi regime? >> well, obviously the gadhafi regime to some extent has been crumbling and part of that evidence for that is that the hotel here which was so full of government minders, we were under such close supervision, about 12 hours ago or so, those minders essentially just left as the fight continued to intense iffy, as the rebels came into certain areas of the city. you know, we saw the hotel basically abandoned, except for a skeleton staff of government loyal gadhafi security personnel. those gadhafi loyalists are still in the hotel very much, in the lobby area, there are men armed with machine guns and heavy weapons as well on the perimeter of the hotel, so as i say, we're not seeing the level of government officials here that there was previously. we haven't seen any government officials in the course of the past 12 or 18 hours. it's still an area which is under the control of the gadhafi forces. we haven't seen any rebels come into this area yet, any that have come in have been met with fierce clashes of the kind taking place over the past several minutes. >> matthew chance in tripoli, stay safe. thanks. despite those sporadic gun battles, the celebrations do continue in tripoli and all across libya this morning. as libyans flooded green square in the heart of tripoli, rebels announcing they were bringing back its old name, martyr square, what it was called before gadhafi. sarah sidner rolled into the square with rebels as watched as fighters braced for a blood bath that never happened. take a look. >> finish, finish got done. >> tripoli very happy. gadhafi finish. now freedom. >> we are in the square and what you are seeing behind me is the rebels are saying there's going to be a massive battle here. they do not have full control of the city. >> at the moment, we are not fully in control of tripoli. you can see, you can see that. >> what does this make you, how do you feel about this day. you are from tripoli. this day is important? >> historic day because we had it to leave from here like without anything and now we had to fight. i'm not a fighter. i'm a student. and they -- it's my first time that i handled a gun. >> civilians are now gone from here and we have to leave. what's happening as everyone starts, we are in green square here in the middle of tripoli. what we're seeing is rebels all over the square. there are really no civilians. mostly men with guns in the square. but we're also seeing people running. there's a lot of gunfire. they say they are snipers. we all had to pull back. the situation very tense here, but there is a lot of celebrating going on. some of this is just gunfire in the air, but people are very, very concerned because they say they were snipers posted on the top of some of these buildings. they're not sure where some of this gunfire is coming from. every now and then you see people running, trying to get out of the way. right now the rebels have green square and it is a historic moment here in tripoli in the capital. the real stronghold of moammar gadhafi has now been taken over by the rebels. sarah sidner, cnn, tripoli. >> and sarah sidner is still in tripoli. we're trying to get her on the phone. when we get her on the phone we'll bring her to you live. president obama wants gadhafi to face faxes and give up. in a statement the president says tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant. the president is being briefed on developments while on vacation. dan lothian joins us live from martha's vineyard. republicans have already come out, namely senator john mccain, and said that if the united states and nato had thrown more at libya, wouldn't have taken six months for this thing to drag on and moammar gadhafi to be knocked out of power. still, it was only six months, so is the president happy with the way things turned out? >> well, look, this is good news for the administration as you pointed out. it was just six months ago that president obama stepped in front of the cameras and said that moammar gadhafi needed to go. and there has been, as you pointed out, a lot of criticism from republicans that the administration should have been more forceful, more forcefully engaged from the very beginning because it would have not taken six months. nonetheless, the administration pleased with these latest developments. they have been very careful, though, not to get out too far in front of the developments on the ground. you did not see the president step in front of the camera last night. instead releasing that statement that you read from just a short time ago in addition to those words, the president also said, quote, the people of libya are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator. now what is the president doing this morning? we are told that he will be getting a briefing some time this morning on the situation in libya. john brennan, his counterterrorism adviser, has been here on vacation with the president. he gave the president several briefings yesterday in addition to that, the president held a conference call with senior members of his national security team. unclear at this point whether or not we'll see the president or hear from the president today, but we do have a briefing here with the white house, a deputy white house spokesman, some time this morning. should be getting more reaction on what the administration thinks about the developments in libya, carol. >> i suspect if they find moammar gadhafi and he is completely knocked out of power, we might see the president. >> that's a very good bet. but so far, nothing on the president's schedule. other than what we have been told is that he will be getting a briefing some time this morning. >> dan lothian, reporting live from martha's vineyard, many thanks. not known exactly where moammar gadhafi is holed up, but libyan rebels say they've captured three of his seven surviving sons. nic robertson is in washington and joins us now. it was in february that moammar gadhafi, nic, said he would never leave, he was defiant, he would not step down, he would not leave his country. is there any reason to believe that he is no longer in tripoli or do we think he's holed up there in that compound somewhere? >> i think you have to look at what's happened to his three sons. three guys never thought, never wanted to be picked up by the rebels, saif al islam, saadi gadhafi, mohammed gadhafi. they miscalculated, i think they miss calculated on the speed the rebels would get into the city, the amount of fight that their loyalists were going to put up to save them, and the indications were from that, based on that, would seem to be that gadhafi has perhaps made a similar miscalculation, surrounded by people that tell him, libyans love you, we'll keep you protected, don't worry, the capital is safe. he lost touch it seems with the reality on the ground of what was happening and seems to have been outmaneuvered and outflanked. the best guess, it is only a guess, perhaps he still is there in trig holed up somewhere, hoping to get away and hasn't managed it. we don't know. he might have tried to flee across country to sert to get to his ancestral home if you will, go out to the desert, hide out there. nato has been looking out for him from the skies. that wouldn't be a smart move either. i think the smart money must be right now he is still in tripoli some place, christine. >> nic robertson, thank you so much. time now to talk back on the big story of the day. the question this morning, was u.s. involvement in libya worth it? there's no question now libyan leader moammar gadhafi's reign is just about over. thousands are reportedly dead, and it's likely that more will die. but thanks in large part to nato forces and the united states, libya will likely be free of a cruel dictator. libya is celebrating. here at home in the united states, the celebrations may be satisfying to watch, but the feeling is tempered. like everything else, u.s. involvement in libya was conflicted. liberal congressman dennis kucinich accused president obama of an impeachable offense because mr. obama moved forward on libya without congressional approval. republican senator john mccain was critical because he said president obama didn't move fast enough to prevent a long, drawn out fight for freedom. americans weary of war were also concerned about costs. according to the obama administration, the libyan mission will cost american taxpayers $1.1 billion by september 30th. still, in six months, gadhafi is just about gone. and remember he was slaughtering his own people. al jazeera estimates last month 13,000 libyans have died in the conflict. the talk back this morning, was u.s. involvement in libya worth it? facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. still to come this morning on this rapidly developing story with gadhafi's regime disintegrating maybe once and for all, prevailing questions like what would libya look like without its dictator. a leading expert on the middle east about the road ahead for libya. >> and dominique strauss-kahn's accuser is set to meet with prosecutors today. why her lawyers think the charges could be dropped. >> and hurricane irene gaining speed, gaining strength, and it may be headed straight for the u.s. that's right, the first named hurricane of the season. you're watching "american morning." it's 12 minutes after the hour. 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[ male announcer ] new bayer advanced aspirin. welcome back to "american morning." we're watching breaking news and what could be the end game for libyan leader moammar gadhafi. new explosions rocked his compound overnight. the rebels now taking the heart of tripoli. thousands of libyans celebrating and saying that gadhafi is through, but no one knows for sure where gadhafi is right now. >> it's the mystery of the morning. let's bring in a senior fellow at the hoover institution, formerly the director of middle east studies at johns hopkins university and a leading authority on the region. you've always said, if gadhafi falls it's justice. >> look, the libyan be people have been living in prison for four decades and four decades of tyranny is good enough, if you will. whatever they do next, whatever becomes of libya, it will be better than the libya of moammar gadhafi. moammar gadhafi robbed the libyan people of their freedom. it's the richest country in africa with the poore poorest population. it was living in a twilight zone, a zone of moammar gadhafi, only one who spoke, moammar gadhafi the only one who lived, moammar gadhafi the only one who acted and now it's up to the libyans. >> yeah. the largest oil reserves in frick kashgs 95% of the economy driven by the oil industry. one hopes whatever it looks like after this, those riches will be shared with the people but that means -- that is a lot of ifs until that happens. >> libya became basically a thief and it began with all kinds of pretensions. when you go back, i'm old enough to remember when gadhafi came to power as a young man and he came to power in the first year of the nixon presidency and this gives you an idea how long this man hasslingered about and hasslingered on. i think now libyan people, this is their moment, their right, their liberty and it's a right to fashion their own destiny. we kept saying who are these guys, the transitional council. they're good people, members of the oil regime, ordinary libyans keen on rehabilitating their country. >> let's talk about the transitional national council. there were op-eds this morning in newspapers across the land saying that they have a huge job ahead of them, because libya has no middle class that will make things more difficult for them to put an effective government into place. will you need humanitarian aid from throughout the world, including the united states to get things done? i'm not sure they need humanitarian aid. these people have a lot of money, we have $35 billion of their money and billions stashed in europe which gadhafi had socked away. i think what they need is they need this faith in the -- of the outside world in them. we shouldn't continue to second guess them. we take a look at the obama administration. it second guessed this rebel yon and for five long months refused to recognize them. >> they weren't particularly organized at first, they didn't have any weapons to fight, there were no trade military leaders. there was a lot to criticize there fairly. >> that's more of a tribute to them, they were people who got up and, you know, students, x-ray technicians, economists, pharmacists, they got in the back of their toyota corollas and rushed to the front to claim their country and to fight this man and we discovered something about tyranny. gadhafi at the end had these mer sen naries, from chad, from algeria. what he missed was only his four ukrainian nurses who traveled with him, the voluptuous nurses were the only ones missing in the standoff. it's a terrible nightmare that the libyans have been in and it's one celebrates their freedom, i was giddy watching the coverage. >> we're going to sarah sidner in tripoli. apparently some new violence there. sarah, what's going on. >> we can hear gunfire and i heard a loud blast, sounds like perhaps artillery fire. we know now we have to leave this area, about a half mile from green square which the rebels are now trying to call martyr square, to return it to a name that they prefer. but we're told we need to pull back all of the rebels in this area a few moments ago, have pulled back. they are getting together to coordinate some sort of action. now we don't know exactly what that action is, but we saw them streaming through here just literally about five, six seconds ago, the last remaining gunner truck that is here behind us is about to leave the area and we also are being told to leave the area because they're going back to do some sort of offensive. we don't know where exactly in the city, but we are told it has to do with gadhafi troops. >> all right. sarah, i think we should let sarah go to figure out what the situation is and pull back. if the rebel forces are pulling back, that means that sarah needs to get out of the situation. >> put her helmet back on. >> as quickly as she can. sarah sidner saying that rebels are massing together and pulling back, about a half mile from the square right now and pulling back and going some place else to confront gadhafi forces. showing you that this isn't over yet. >> of course. of course. look, this man, he still has his money, he still has some of his loyalists but the regime is done, the regime is cooked. his heir apparent saif islam, who bought a ph.d. from the london school of economics, this regime is finished and the libyan people, it's day or two or three and i think they will have the chance at making a new dawn. >> so, moammar gadhafi says he wants to die a martyr in his country. >> yes. we know about this declarations. people have a choice, they can either die bharts martyrs in th country or die with their bank accounts abroad. we don't know what gadhafi will do, to be truthful. we know saddam hussein he stayed in the country and faced the music of it and was sent to the gallows. we know other dictators like the tunisian dictator next door to moammar gadhafi, he simply absconded to saudi arabia with 1.5 tons of gold bar and his wife. so i think nic robertson is right, perhaps gadhafi miscalculated, perhaps he's still there, perhaps he wasn't able to make it to algeria and chad. >> we'll see over the next couple days or maybe even today will tell. thank you so much for talking with us this morning. >> all right. still to come this morning it's a been a rough few weeks in the market but a survey says we could gain it back by year's end. >> come on. >> all of us have our fingers crossed. we'll tell you more right after the break. 23 minutes after the hour. minding your business this morning. investors bracing for another potential rocky week in markets. u.s. stock futures for the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 are trading higher ahead of the opening bell. investors getting a fwroost a dip in oil prices overnight after the war in libya could be coming to an end and the country could resume oil production. before the war libya produced 1.8 million barrels of oil a day. european markets trading higher on the news out of libya, likely a short lived distraction from the mounting concerns about the debt crisis in europe. france becoming a bigger player in the credit concerns in that region. french president nicolas sar quo ski is expected to announce austerity measures for france this week. the s&p 500, the best indicator for your stock portfolio, lost about 16.5% in the last month. wall street experts are saying the index is expected to rebound by up to 20% by year's end. that's according to an exclusive survey by cnnmoney.com. looking ahead to friday, fed chief ben bernanke will give his keynote at the annual retreat? wyoming. at this event last year he hinted at another round of stimulus for the economy which was implemented a few months later. analysts have been debating whether a third round of stimulus or quantitative easing could be on the horizon to boost the ailing u.s. economy. bloomberg reporting $1.2 billion borrowed by the u.s. and european banks from the fed. city group and bank of america taking out the largest loans. the fed told bloomberg all those loans have been paid back in full with interest. don't forget for the latest news about your money, check out the new cnnmoney.com. "american morning" will be back after this quick break. really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. new ensure high protein... fifty percent of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. see? he's a good egg. [ major nutrition ] new ensure high protein. ensure! nutrition in charge! i know you're worried about making your savings last and having enough income when you retire. that's why i'm here -- to help come up with a plan and get you on the right path. i have more than a thousand fidelity experts working with me so that i can work one-on-one with you. it's your green line. but i'll be there every step of the way. call or come in and talk with us today. purina cat chow helps you well-being. we're all striving for it. nurture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition and helpful resources. purina cat chow. share a better life. this is cnn breaking news. and we are watching breaking news for you this morning. witnessing history unfold in libya. celebrations erupting across the country as rebels enter the heart of tripoli. moammar gadhafi's 42-year reign may be in its last day. good morning to you. it is monday, august 22nd. ali has the day off. >> all right. top stories, the top story, after six months of fighting, libyan rebels appear to be on the brink of ending moammar gadhafi's 42-year rule. they rolled into the heart of tripoli yesterday and despite a few remaining pockets of resistance, the rebels say they are in control of most of the capital and most of the nation. >> the rebels say they've captured three of gadhafi's son including one time heir apparent saif al islam who with his father faces charges of crimes against humanity at the international criminal court. >> we don't know where gadhafi is. new fighting has been reported overmight around his bombed out compound in tripoli. no one knows if he's there or in the country anymore. the opposition believes that gadhafi may have fled to neighboring chad or algeria. >> it's the big mystery this morning. a wild sight on libyan state television. you can see the news anchor, yes, the news anchor waving a gun, warning rebels she and her colleagues are ready to become martyrs to defend the station saying, quote, with this weapon, i either kill or die today. >> in tripoli some of moammar gadhafi's forces are still putting up a fight. what you're hearing is sporadic gunfire in the capital. rebel forces claim they now control a great majority of tripoli at this hour. and as moammar gadhafi's power appears to wane, the rebels are only growing stronger. overnight they celebrated in tripoli's green square. the symbolic heart of that country's capital. here you're looking at pictures of rebel forces celebrating after they seized control of the military base known as kilo meter 27, sits just outside tripoli. the base was considered one of the biggest obstacles on the road to capturing the capital. >> in benghazi thousands shouted and fired their weapons into the air. benghazi was the rebels first stronghold and where the current rebel government resides. could today go down in history when gadhafi's 42-year reign ends. >> joining us live is the former undersecretary of state and professor at the harvard kennedy school of government. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. pleasure. >> everybody's wondering this morning, where is moammar gadhafi. care to guess? >> well, you know, i think gadhafi had a chance over the last couple weeks to leave the country, to go to a third country, perhaps chad, perhaps alger algeria, where he could have lived out a life. if he's still in the country, likely at a military base. he may not be in tripoli, no one knows. the danger is that this insurgency could continue, the fighting could continue, as long as gadhafi believes he's still in power. obviously imperative he be found quickly and this battle, the battles can end as quickly as possible to preserve human life. >> how dangerous are the pockets of resistance. some saying there could be an insurgency that stems from that if you don't get gadhafi quickly or look these are mer sen naries, his support is not widespread in the country. >> i think gadhafi has lost power. the rebels are in control of nearly all the country, nearly all of tripoli, but there is a possibility that some remaining gadhafi loyalists could gather around him and rally support and perhaps continue the fighting for a couple days, perhaps longer. that's unlikely. i think the handwriting is on the wall. his hours are numbered, not just his days being numbered. his 42-year rule is coming to an end. and now the real challenge will be, can this rebel alliance, which is really a people's army, can it now begin to constitute a government, to find a way to govern across that very vast country, a diverse country. as you know, gadhafi played off one tribe against another to preserve his own rule over 42 years. gaining effective early control is going to be very important for this courageous, but obviously vast alliance that spreads over many, many states. >> let's talk about that as far as the united states is concerned. president obama has always wanted the united states to take a back seat, but it's still very much involved. how involved will the u.s. be with establishing a new government within libya? >> well, i think first of all, the european countries ought to take the lead here. france and italy, germany, britain, they have much more pronounced interests in libya than the united states certainly closer political and economic relations, so i think you should look to the europeans to lead. the united states can certainly help. with perhaps early economic aid, with political encouragement, perhaps even recognizing the rebel government once it does, once it is able to take power. but in the final analysis, it's going to depend on the libyan people to be able to get this government up and running, to spread the control of that government outward from tripoli and benghazi, to all the other cities where gadhafi still held power as of yesterday. there were a number of them. and that's going to take some time. i think we have to expect to see a slow transition, perhaps a chaotic transition, perhaps, even, unfortunately a violent transition that wouldn't be surprising at all given the degree of this unity that this country has suffered for so long. >> for 42 years it's been ruled by one person and finally the people's army as you describe it, has a very big task ahead of it. one has to wonder, how much influence and support from, say, europe and the united states is going to be needed? because there aren't even institutions that are functioning for the people in this country. the middle class has been decimated in this country. i mean you have to undo 42 years of behavior almost. >> you do. and part of gadhafi's ability to control a country over four decades was to destroy civil society, not to allow citizen groups to form, certainly not to allow any regional groups to form that might challenge him from power and those are the things that run a civil society, democratic society that work in our own country. they will have to grow over time. what we can do from abroad is to try to give some space, provide some space to the libyan people, to get their lives together after six months of warfare, to heal the wounds of a very fractured and badly divided society,. it's a poor country. perhaps help the poor people of the country to get on their feet again. there's a lot of work that has to be done, and frankly the arab countries, particularly the countries of the gulf, should be able to come in. they should come in with economic assistance. they're wealthy, they have the ability to do so, they have an interest because the arab league should want to see this society in libya heal itself rather quickly. it's been the most violent revolution of all the revolutions we've seen in the 22 arab countries since the arab revolt started in january. and obviously there's an interest in the arab world in seeing libya succeed in the future, not under gadhafi, the tyrant, but under this people's government, this people's army that has succeeded so brilliantly in the last couple days. >> just a final question for you. now that libya is drawn to what many call a successful conclusion, will that put more pressure on, perhaps, nato or the united states to deal with syria? >> i don't think so. remember, when president obama agreed to the nato mission, in libya, it was because the arab league invited nato to come in. the u.n. security council authorized it. there was an imminent seize of benghazi six months ago. a humanitarian impulse. none of those exist right knew in syria. syria is not a place where i think the united states or any other country is contemplating military involvement, but i think the obama administration has been absolutely correct to break relations with that country, to call for a -- the resignation of bashar al assad, the syrian president, and to put quite severe u.s. economic sanctions on syria. those are the things that the united states is doing and i think the obama administration has acted correctly and very wisely to keep us out of syria militarily. >> ambassador burns, thank you for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> shows you each of these conflicts, revolutions, each of these movement since the arab spring six or seven months ago has been different, has been very different, but the same kind of thread running through it. we'll see if this one is drawing to a close in a matter of hours. >> we'll see. stay with us for the latest from libya. plus, new development in the case against the former imf chief, dominique strauss-kahn, criminal charges may be dropped this morning. we're live with the latest. it's 37 minutes past the hour. whether it can be done safely and responsibly. at exxonmobil we know the answer is yes. when we design any well, the groundwater's protected by multiple layers of steel and cement. most wells are over a mile and a half deep so there's a tremendous amount of protective rock between the fracking operation and the groundwater. natural gas is critical to our future. at exxonmobil we recognize the challenges and how important it is to do this right. we're following breaking news the end appears near for the libyan dictator moammar gadhafi. rebels firing their guns in celebration on the road into the heart of tripoli. libyan rebels say they now control most of the capital. gadhafi, though, has still not given up and remains in hiding. a warning from embattled syrian president bashar al assad. in an interview with sir ran state run television, assad said any military action against syria would bring repercussion to any countries. he's not worried about security the his country and doesn't think his regime is in danger of collapsing. the revolt against his family's 40-year rule erupted in mid-march. the families two of jailed american hikers are speaking out urging the iranian government to, quote, show compassion and free those two men. josh fattal and shane bauer sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of espionage and illegal entry in iran. they were arrested more than two years ago. dominique strauss-kahn, the former head of the international monetary fund, could soon be a free man. prosecutors are widely expected to drop this sexual assault charges against him as early as today. >> susan candiotti joins us now, following the story from the beginning. lawyers for the accuser aren't very happy about that are they? >> not at all. because nafissatou diallo's attorney, ken thompson, does tell he he expects the charges to be dromds. cnn has learned from several sources an official announcement could be made as early as today in advance of tomorrow's court hearing. diallo and thompson are scheduled to meet this afternoon with prosecutors to discuss this case and things will probably get tense. thompson feels his client is being treated as a criminal defendant, rather than an alleged victim. the meeting is billed as a one-time opportunity to find out what will happen in court on tuesday. that's when dominique strauss-kahn makes his next appearance and gets the official verdict on whether charges will be dismissed. >> what a colossal embarrassments for prosecutors if this case is dropped or dismissed. how did it fall apart? >> well, that's a long story, but it boils down to credibility issues. basically, prosecutors appear to have lost faith in diallo's credibility. among other issues, investigators said she admitted lying on asylum forms, not just any lie, she claims she was gang raped to make her asylum claim more powerful. she lied on tax forms and had a questionable relationship with a jailed friend, allegedly involved in money laundering. then there was diallo's tv and print interviews. prosecutors generally don't prefer alleged victims coming forward before a trial and she also filed a civil lawsuit before trial and that opened her up to criticism from dsk's defense attorneys who claim she's just doing this for the money. her attorneys countered it gave her a chance to tell her story, and hopefully get support in the court of public opinion and put pressure on prosecutors to go forward. that does not appear now to be the case. >> what's next for strauss-kahn? who's been in new york this whole time. >> that's right. assuming that prosecutors go ahead and drop the charges as expected, and the judge accepts it, he's likely to be a free man. but he'll need to deal with the civil lawsuit here in the u.s. and another civil case from another alleged attack in france and, obviously, his reputation has take an major hit. he resigned as chief of the international monetary fund. was once considered a strong candidate for the french presidency, but will he be on the next plane out of here? >> i don't know. probably a good bet. >> let's go back to the original criminal case for a second because the alleged victim in this case isn't quite giving up. she's going to file a motion, or her attorneys are rather. >> that's correct. that's expected to happen today. he is asking the court to take the d.a. off the case and appoint a special prosecutor to take over. her lawyer tells cnn, it's the prosecutor, not his client, who's damaged her ability to get a fair trial. in the end for prosecutors, analysts say there were too many credibility issues to be able to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that's what the problem appears to be. >> what a colossal mess. >> sure is. >> susan, many thanks. also developing right now, the first named hurricane of the season, tropical storm irene, is now hurricane irene. picking up strength overnight, now a hurricane, lashing puerto rico with heavy rain, 75-mile-an-hour winds and irene could pose a severe threat to the florida coasts by week's end. >> let's see exactly when. reynolds wolf live in atlanta in the cnn severe weather headquarters. tell us, give us the specifics. >> okay. . the specifics we have right now is that this system has really been intensifying at a pretty rapid rate. in fact, less than 24 hours ago, this was a fairly strong tropical storm. at this point it is a weak hurricane. category 1. the threshold point is 74. once you get in excess of 74 it becomes classified as a hurricane. it is hurricane irene as we speak. there is some deep convection with this storm. one of the things you have to know about these tropical systems they drive all their power from warm ocean water. the situation is, this is going to take a path that's going to go very close to the dominican republic and haiti and if it happens to really move right over the island, especially over towards the southern half of haiti it will interact with very high mountain ranges if you will and that is the possibility of disrupt something of the circulation. if that happens we could see this weaken very quickly. the problem is, if it takes more of a northerly pass, it will stay out open some of the warm water, has the chance of interacting with islands over the bahamas but those are smaller in size and won't disrupt that circulation. the latest forecast from the national hurricane center is pretty daunting, to say the least. bringing it as we fast forward into wednesday, then into thursday notice the times. thursday at 2:00 a.m., possibly moving the center of this right into the bahamas. remember, we're following the center, okay. this thing is pretty big. if you were to stretch this out, it possibly could cover when you talk about the outflow, it could be bigger than the state of florida altogether. if you follow this time frame and this forecast holds we're looking at intensification of maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour, still a category 1 storm, by thursday morning with the potential of making landfall in florida, still a potential of staying offshore altogether and missing the u.s. a lot of uncertainty. certainly i think should become a bit more clear within the next 24 to 36 hours. back to you. >> all right. we know you'll be watching for us as it progresses. thanks. morning headlines coming your way next including new developments overnight as rebels fight for control of tripoli. it's 46 minutes past the hour. in met an old man at the top asked him if he had a secret and the old man stopped and thought and said: free 'cause that's how it ought to be my brother credit 'cause you'll need a loan for one thing or another score 'cause they break it down to one simple number that you can use dot to take a break because the name is kinda long com in honor of the internet that it's on put it all together at the end of the song it gives you freecreditscore-dot-com, and i'm gone... offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com you know, the ones who do such a super job, they're backed by the superguarantee®? 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[ male announcer ] glucerna. delicious shakes and bars. helping people with diabetes find balance. 48 minutes past the hour. here are your morning headlines. breaking news this morning, moammar gadhafi hanging on to his last thread of power right now. new explosions rocked his compound overnight. rebels have now taken the heart of tripoli and say they are in control. gadhafi's whereabouts still unknown, though, right now. the opposition says he may have even fled to a bordering country. rebels have now captured three of his sons. one is expected to face charges of crimes against humanity at the hague. investors bracing for another potentially rocky week in the markets after steep losses across the board last week. right now, u.s. stock futures for the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 all trading higher ahead of the opening bell. investors getting a boost from a dip in oil prices overnight. fan violence at candlestick park in san francisco this weekend. it happened at the 49ers/raiders pregame. cameras captured fans brawling in the stands. another fan was severely beaten in the rest room and police are investigating a double shooting in the parking lot. parking lot. wow! the hotel maid who accused dominique strauss-kahn of assau assault. meantime, lawyers are expected to ask for a special prosecutor. eye on irene, the season's first hurricane, pounding puerto rico with heavy rain and 75-mile-per-hour winds. hurricane warnings are up for the dominican republic. irene's projected course could take it over the coast of florida by the week's end. that's the news you need to start your day. "american morning" back after a break. people told me i wasn't going to do anything. and i just decided i have more to offer than that. i put myself through nursing school, and then i decided to go get a doctorate degree. university of phoenix gave me the knowledge to make a difference in people's lives. my name is dr. kimberly horton. i manage a network of over a thousand nurses, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. and i am a phoenix. following breaking news this morning, people in tripoli celebrating what appears to be their newfound freedom. moammar gadhafi, though, has still not given up. he remains in hiding this morning. president obama says gadhafi should now recognize that this is it for him. >> what are the opinion pages saying this morning about libya and other news of the day? here is your morning opinion. now that the gadhafi regime is coming to an end, an op-ed in the financial times of london says the hard part is about to begin and asks the u.s. to help out on the ground. some assistance and likely international force is likely to be needed for some time to restore and maintain order. most importantly, u.s. president barack obama may need to reconsider his assertion that there would not be any american boots on the ground. leadership is hard to assert, absent participation. >> nick burns said this should be a european-led effort. eric cantor writes that neither increased spending or raising taxes will fix the problem. fueled by efforts to incite class warfare. why does the president insist on higher taxes? >> we asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day -- actually, the big story. we asked you this question. was u.s. involvement in libya worth it it? this from maryann. it's worth it when we see libya liberated. however rs if america is going to continue policing the world they need to be consistent. thousands of people are being massacred by bashar al assad yet the u.s. does not get involved. why? >> this from avery. absolutely not. america should not go seeking monitors abroad and steer clear of these foreign civil wars. what do we know about the rebels and the leaders who will replace gadhafi? from andrew, do the ends justify the means? obama refused to get congressional support like the law requires but a dictator is now gone because of obama's actions. not one american casualty. but it's too early to tell. crowds rejoiced in baghdad as well when hussein fell. if the rebels can consolidate power, not splinter into factions and fight among themselves and prevent the lawlessness that prevailed in baghdad, then they have a chance. the next few weeks will be important. keep the conversation flowing. face book/americanmorning. it's 55 minutes after the hour. what do you got? restrained driver... sir, can you hear me? just hold the bag. we need a portable x-ray, please! [ nurse ] i'm a nurse. i believe in the power of science and medicine. but i'm also human. and i believe in stacking the deck. energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy developement comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to drling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self contained well systems and using state of the art monitoring technologies, and clean for our communities and the environment we are america's natural gas. his hours may be numbered. i'm carol costello. i'm christine romans. the big question that remain this is morning, where is moammar gadhafi? there's been no sign of the man who vowed to fight to the finish on this "american morning." good morning to you. it is monday, august 22nd. ali has the day off. >> he certainly does. it is a big day of breaking news. what could be the last day of moammar gadhafi's 42-year reign in libya. his regime on the verge of total collapse right now as rebels rotripoli. thousandof rebels fr the capitalinto the air and saying , wherever he is hiding, gadhafi is through. >> no one knows where gadhafi is. sarah sidener went in with the rebels and witnessed very scary moments. she has the latest. >> reporter: just heard a loud blast that sounds perhaps as artillery fire. we have to leave this area, about half a mile from green square, which the rebels are now trying to call martyr square, to return it to a name that they prefer, pulling back all the rebels in this area, a few moments ago have pulled back. they are getting together to coordinate some sort of action. we don't know exactly what that action is. we saw them streaming through here, just literally about five, six seconds ago. the last remaining gunner truck that is here behind us is just about to leave the area. and we also are being told to leave the area, because they're going back to do some sort of offensive. we just don't know exactly where in the city. we are told it has to do with gadhafi's troops. >> sarah sidner reporting live -- actually on tape from tripoli. we had to let her go. we are also hearing from someone claiming to be one of moammar gadhafi's sons. he spoke exclusively to al jazeera. saying one of his guards was injured and a rebel fighter was killed. >> translator: standing outside my house. i'm being attacked right now. there's gunfire outside my house. they're inside my house. good-bye. good-bye. good-bye. >> three of moammar gadhafi's sons have been kptured by rebels and could be turned over to the international criminal court. let's take a look at the role that they've played in libyan politics. mohammed gadhafi is the eldest son, first wife to whom he was married only about six months. he ran and controlled libya's phone operators and satellite communications. he was not considered gadhafi's heir apparent. that was the second oldest son, saif alice llama, the face to the west, widely viewed as a force of change in libya. he was the heir apparent and has a phd from the london school of economics before the uprising, before he vowed that rivers of blood would flow if the rebels didn't stop. he is in custody and, like his father, is facing charges of crimes against humanity at the hague. and saadi, a soccer player in italy, which is interesting. he didn't see much on-field action and failed a doping test. many say he bought his way into the sport. where is moammar gadhafi, that is the question that is still unanswered. he may not even be in tripoli. carol? >> president obama is calling all of this a tipping point for libya, take-over of tripoli by rebel forces. he said tripoli is stripping from the grasp of a tyrant. the gadhafi regime is showing signs of collapsing. the surest way for bloodshed to end is simple. moammar gaud autographi needs to acknowledge he no longer controls libya. he needs to relinquish power once and for all. do we expect to see the president on camera at any time soon? >> reporter: it's unclear at this point right now. nothing on schedule for the president to be to appear on camera. he will be having a briefing with a deputy white house spokesman some time this morning. the exact time not locked in at this point, the white house being very careful about getting too far out in front of the developments on the ground. what the president has done, as you pointed out, released a statement last night. one of the things i found notable was the u.s. again reaffirming support for the transitional national council. the president saying in that statement that, quote, tnc should demonstrate the leadership that is necessary to steer the country through a transition by respecting the rights of the people of libya, avoiding civilian casualties and protecting the institutions of the libyan state. a senior official saying based on reports, that the reports they're seeing are, quote, encouraging and so far pele are avoiding retribution. that, of course, will be something that this administration will be watching very closely over the next few hours, carol. >> dan lothian, reporting live in martha's vine yard this morning. thank you. right now, in a state of euphoria, rebels are celebrating a dictatorship that seemed would never end is likely over. in hours, at the very least days, it seems as if we'll be talking about the gadhafi regime in past tense. we did get word that the u.s. state department had people in ben gazi this weekend. i guess everyone is assuming that moammar gadhafi is out of it. >> that's a safe bet. the problem now is that libya is a country with no voluntary political social organizations. there is no functioning legal system. you have the usual old regional tribal ethnic divisions. it's a moment of celebration, but i think the transition blues are already beginning. and now after you establish law and order in the major metropolitan center like tripoli and the other cities, you have to deal with the political transition. this is going to be extremely difficult, extremely delicate and the libyans will be in bad need of support, technical and otherwise, from their neighbors and europeans and the united states. >> what should the united sta s states' role be, in particular? already you have people saying should there be u.s. troops' boots on the ground or no? >> it will be difficult to send troops on the ground, especially in libya, they're very sensitive about being involved militarily and they'll be looking for european support. there has to be roles for regional powers like egypt and the europeans. i think the americans will be supporting. we've seen the president setting the right tone yesterday in his statement, warning against any kind of retribution, saying we would be interested in safeguarding the human rights of the libyan people. it's a -- it's going to be a long, bumpy transition. >> it is going to be a long, bumpy transition. and in no small part because this was a very violent conflict. >> absolutely. >> a lot of people died. 13,000, we here. society has been virtually destroyed. so, how do you set up a government? >> well, i mean, the government has to be representative. it has to take into consideration the region differences in libya, tribal makeup, different forces. there are a great deal of libyan talent. most of it is outside the country the you have to bring those people back and benefit from their technical skills. this is a country, unlike tunisia and egypt, where they have functioning snugs. in libya, you have to start from scratch. it's daunting but it's promising. you can do away with the system. in tunisia and egypt, the whole structure did not collapse. only the tip of the pyramid. in libya, the whole regime will fall with gadhafi and this will present, you know, some problems for the libyans who will be involved in leading the transition. it's going to be tough. it's going to be messy. there is no clear road map. but i think they will have the support of their neighbors and the international community. >> there should be vast oil wealth in this country. it's the largest proven oil reserves in africa. oil runs 95% of the country. and the power of the gadhafi regime. how difficult will it be for this country to use that oil to its own benefit and not be corrupted by it? >> again, one would hope there would be trance parsparency ear. obviously, there is money in frozen banks. money from the europeans and americans should be unfrozen soon. it should be the richest country on the african continent, had it not been for moammar gadhafi, a country with a small population, large -- lot of resources. and i think that dream of restoring the potential of libya should be the guiding principles for the libyans. but now you have a shattered economy, shattered infrastructure and they need to be time. the truth now is to maintain a degree of stability during the early phases of the transition. by nature, transitions are very precarious. >> our thanks to you. thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. now is your chance to talk back on the big story of the day. the question for you this morning, was u.s. involvement in libya worth it? there's no question now, libyan leader moammar gadhafi's reign is just about over, thousands are reportedly dead and it's likely more will die. thanks, in large part to nato forces and the united states, libya will likely be free of a cruel dictator. libya is celebrating. here at home in the united states, the celebrations may be satisfying to watch, but the feeling is tempered. like everything else, u.s. involvement in libya was conflicted. dennis kucinich accused president obama of an impeachable defen impeachable offense. senator swrm was critical because he said president obama didn't move fast enough to prevent a long, drawn out fight for freedom. and americans weary of war were also concerned about cost. according to the obama administration, the libya mission will cost american taxpayers $1.1 billion by september 30th. still, in just six months, gadhafi is just about gone. remember, he was slaughtering his own people. al jazeera estimated last month 13,000 libyans have died in the conflict. the talk back question this morning, was u.s. involvement in libya worth it? facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. the story is still developing in libya. we also have a live report from tripoli coming up. we're following developing news in that case against the former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn. he may be, soon, a free man. reports that criminal charges may be dropped as soon as sttod. we've got the latest on that. yes, it's unbelievable. stunning violence at the 49%/raider preseason football game. two men shot, beaten in separate incidents. >> look at people just standing there, taking pictures and videotaping it. it's lord of the flies. >> where is security? hurricane irene barreling toward the u.s. it is about 12 minutes after the hour. ♪ [ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? 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[ major nutrition ] new ensure high protein. ensure! nutrition in charge! we are watching break iing news for you this morning. the battle raging on in parts of libya. it could be the end game, however, for leader moammar gadhafi as rebels roll into the capital city and force the leader in hiding. no one knows where moammar gadhafi is right now. the hotel maid who accused one of the most powerful men in international finance of sexual assault will meet with prosecutors today. the attorney for nafi diallo says he thinks the d.a. plans to drop the criminal case against dominique strauss-kahn. diallo's credibility was questioned after she lied about some of the events surrounding the day of the alleged attack. her lawyers are expected to ask for a special prosecutor in this case. fan violence erupting at the annual preseason football game between the oakland raiders and the san francisco 49ers. take a look. cameras at candlestick park captured fans brawling in the stands while dozens of others looked on and, frankly, cheered. one fan was severely beaten in the stadium bathroom. two men were also shot in the parking lot. they are expected to survive. the mayors of san francisco and oakland released a statement saying violence will not be tolerated in either stadium and public safety remains a top priority. >> what is so disturbing, all of it is disturbing but those pictures of people taking pictures of it as if they're going to go home and show their friends, look at this guy getting beat up. it's horrific. >> i can't tell you how many time i've seen that at a football game. philadelphia has the best idea. they have a jail at the stadium and throw their butts in there. >> do you think no action out on the field, people are are just drinking and drinking and drinking? >> people are drunk before they even get into the stadium. what was tropical storm irene is the season's first hurricane. it could hit the u.s. by the end of the week. 75-mile-an-hour winds. irene could pose a severe threat to the florida coast by week's end. >> reynold wolf is keeping a close eye on this hurricane. what does it look like? >> pretty impressive on radar, at least our enhanced satellite imagery. this thing could die out all together and remain out in the middle of the ocean until it fizzles out. what's going to happen, it will continue its westerly movement. next 18 to 24 hours will be the most crucial timeframe in the future of this storm. the reason why are two words. p-i-c-o-d-u-a-r-t. a peak in the central mountains of hispanolia. if this storm gets very close to that, there's a chance that that high elevation could begin to break up the inner circulation of this hurricane. if this storm or hurricane remains a bit to the north away from hispaniola, it could gain some strength. that's the scenario we don't want to see. the hurricane center shows it moving past hispaniola. there's a chance it could stay away from the united states but in the middle you see the possibility of it making landfall into florida as we fast forward from thursday. you can extrapolate that on. that gives us an idea of how strong it's going to be and where it's headed. scattered thunderstorms and showers possible across the southeast. northeast, morning showers that. will move out. drier air will move in. already felt through parts of the great lakes. sunny in the northern plains and central northern rockies. central plains, chance of thunderstorms and hazy, hot and humid conditions continue for texas. take a look at this. we've gone over 50 days with triple-digit heat in dallas. today, no exception. up to 104 degrees. 100 in el paso, 91 in tampa, 86 in washington. 82 in portland, cool in san francisco with 69 and 72 in los angeles. you're up to speed. let's pitch it back to you, in new york. >> thanks so much, reynolds wolf. fast-moving events in libya could affect gas and oil prices and stocks. what es happening in libya could drive down oil and gas prices for you. how long will that take? we'll let you know. it's 23 minutes after the hour. minding your business this morning, wall street bracing for a potential ly rocky week in th stocks. now all stock futures are get i ing. before the war started, libya produced 1.8 million barrels of oil every day. that's about 2% of global supply. uncertainty over the debt crisis in europe still has investors rushing to gold. gold prices are up by about $30 this morning, right around $1,880 an ounce. stocks in your 401(k), the s&p has lost 16.5% in the last month. investors are saying that the n index is expected to rebound 20% by year's end, according to an exclusive survey at cnn.com. the union announced saturday that the company agreed to serious bargaining over employee benefits but the two parties still have not reached a final agreement. job fair and town hall meeting today in miami. top of the agenda, the high unemployment rate. about 16% of african-americans are out of work. there could be a turnout similar to the one last week in atlanta that drew thousands of people. up next, majority of libya's capital is under rebel control. we're live next right after this break. we continue to watch this breaking news for you this morning. we're witnessing history unfold in libya. celebrations erupting across the country. moammar gadhafi's 42-year reign may be in its last hours. >> good morning to you. it is monday, august 22nd. welcome back to "american morning." ali has the day off. >> after six months of fighting, libyan rebels appear to be on the brink of ending moammar gadhafi's 42-year role. they rolled into the heart of tripoli and besides a few remaining pockets of resistance, rebels say they are in control of most of the capital and the nation. >> rebels have captured three of gadhafi's sons, including one-time heir apparent. >> gadhafi's whereabouts are unknown. no one knows if he's at his compound in tripoli or if he's even in the country anymore. the opposition believes that gadhafi may have fled to neighboring chad or algeria. >> in tripoli, pockets of resistance. gunshots can be heard outside moammar gadhafi's compound. >> matthew chance is standing by. you heard gunshots near the hotel where you were staying earlier. tell us what's happening now. >> gunshots have been continuing past several minutes as well. the compound is a short distance behind me here. i'm at the hotel in the same area of tripoli as these key governments, gadhafi installations. that's one of the reasons why gadhafi's forces, capitulated and allowed rebels to come in, virtually unopposed in this area of tripoli and other pockets as well. we're seeing some quite heavy resistance from gadhafi forces. we've not seen any rebels, for instance, in this area. we have heard those fierce clashes. you might be able to hear gunfire behind me right now. we haven't seen celebration or seen the rebels take this area of tripoli. it's kind of a patchwork across the city of areas of control of the rebels and areas in control of gadhafi loyalists. this is one of those areas, as i say, in control by gadhafi's troops. >> can you get out of the hotel or are you being held inside? i know it's dangerous outside, too, so taking that into account, are you sort of stuck in that hotel? >> reporter: yes. we've been weighing out our options. we're in a difficult position. we're sort of -- we don't have a cameraman with us. we also haven't got a vehicle. so, that's a problem. previously we had been depending on the government to get around. we now have been deprived of all of that. the overriding situation, of course, is the fact that the government is still very much in control of this hotel and the perimeter and they're not permitting us to go outside now. a number of journalists have requested to leave the hotel grounds and they can refuse. remember, you've got armed men in the lobby of this hotel. armed men in the trees, hiding beneath the trees, around it, the compound as well and quite heavy weaponry on the perimeter of the hotel. it's not a possibility of us going out at the moment. we're just hunkering down and waiting for this to pass, whatever comes next. >> matthew, before this, western media were in tripoli only under the watchful eye of the government. you all reported that the government was around you with minders and the like. wherever you had to go, you had to go with a government escort. what is the relationship with the western media, i guess, the last vestiges of the gadhafi regime? >> as i described really. we're not seeing any government officials in the hotel anymore. the government spokesman is not at the hotel anymore. we're kind of alone here except for these men in the lobby and the security forces on the perimeter of the hotel. we don't have any contact anymore with the government officials and the minders who were such a huge presence in this hotel previously. i think one of the interesting things, christine, that's happened over the course of the past 24 hours is elements of the gadhafi regime have clearly crumbled. we've seen three of his sons taken into custody by the rebels. whereabouts of the leader, as you say, unknown. clearly, the regime is very much on a back foot, if you look at all the images and rebel advances that have been made elsewhere in the city. >> and certainly armed on a back foot and around you, armed. so, that's a scary situation. matthew, thank you. best of luck there. on libyan state television over the weekend, take a look at this. she is waving a gun. that's the news anchor, warning rebels that she and her colleagues are ready to become marytyrs to defend the station. people are very much loyal to moammar gadhafi. >> gadhafi's regime has fallen apart. he is nowhere to be found. libyan rebels who have battled him for months may have the next best thing. three of his sons are now in custody. nic robertson is live in washington. you know about these men, have follow this had renl eem for so long. his inner circle is crumbling here. how unstable is gadhafi now without his three sons? >> it will be very unstable. he really has just trusted his family, according to saadi gadhafi, one of those picked up, who i was meeting when i was in tripoli, the rebel in the family, if you will. there was even talk about him wanted to defect at one point. he said very clearly to me that it was his brother, saif gadhafi, it was very clear that he was essentially running the country on a minute-by-minute basis. his father, moammar gadhafi, may have the overall picture but it's saif, the man now captured by rebels. this will leave the father much more isolated than he was before. he would have lost key people and lost the ability to perhaps control and influence his ability to even escape the city, if he is still hiding out there right now. >> let's talk about that, nic. let's say gadhafi remains in hiding for a week or two or a month. does it really matter as far as the state that libya is in now? will these opposition groups just go ahead and build a new government, no matter if they find moammar gadhafi tomorrow or next month? >> certainly he has lost his ability to run the country. he certainly retains the ability at the moment, it appears, to at least disrupt the peace that the rebels are going to try to put in place. in terms of a political building, political, to bring different groups together, it won't impede that physically. while he is still at large, it will worrisome people that he might be coming back. i don't think people will believe for one minute that he can take power again. the bottom line is it's probably not going to matter that much. but the reality is as long as there is still pockets of resistance there in the capital, this is going to be a problem for the rebels. they don't know where these people are going to crop up. they don't know where the attacks can come from over the coming days and weeks. gadhafi on the loose is a small, minor military irritant. it is politically slightly destabilizing, but it shouldn't, if these pockets of resistance are small that are loyal to gadhafi, upset the rebels, perhaps in the weeks going forward. if they know where gadhafi is, they know he's surrounded, it's just a matter of capturing or killing him or whatever it is they're going to do with him. >> nic robertson. it is fascinating, isn't it? thanks, nic. sense of urgency as nato bombers topple gadhafi's troops this morning. where do you go to find a super business? you know, the ones who do a super job? superpages.com®. for local maps, reviews and videos & it's the only local search site with the superguarantee®. so next time, let the good guys save the day. get the superguarantee®, only at superpages®. in the book, on your phone or at superpages.com®. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. that's good for our country's energy security discover customersl are getting five percent cashback bonus at the pump... and at many of the places their summer plans take them. it pays to switch, it pays to discover. welcome back to "american morning." following breaking news this hour. after 42 years of iron fisted ruled libya, it appears to be the end for moammar gadhafi, rebels controlling most of the capital tripoli. >> there are questions about the role the u.s. should play. cnn's barbara starr is live at the pentagon for us. good morning, barbara. >> reporter: good morning, christine. good morning, carol. a lot of people may be waking up and thinking, so, another place for the possibility of u.s. combat troops? no, says the pentagon. no plans, no thinking about putting u.s. troops on the ground here. they want whatever happens next to continue to be a coalition-led, nato-led operation. there will be support for any transitional government, certainly. humanitarian relief supplies, economic assistance, that sort of thing, political assistance if they ask for it. but don't look for u.s. troops on the ground. that doesn't mean that nato is going away any time soon, however. what a nato official just described to me is that nato will stay in the air over liba maintain the arms embargo, the no-fly zone. they want to make sure that the gadhafi oilists cannot re-emerge, cannot mass their forces, their weapons and make some sort of last-ditch stand on civilians. they will be keeping a very sharp eye out for that. nato says it will be ready to act if that possibility were to emerge. christine, carol? >> thanks, barbara. let's bring in retired army general spyder marks. i want to talk about this idea of troops on the ground. close adviser to colin powell back in the day. this is what he writes in the financial times. he says u.s. president barack obama may need to consider his assertion that there would not be any american boots on the ground. leadership is hard to assert absent participation. but whatever the international response, speed is essential. the passage of time is unlikely to make the options any easier or more appealing. in other words, if the united states wants libya to become a democracy, doesn't the united states have to get intimately involved in what happens in that country in the creation of a new government? >> carol, they do. it's a great question. clearly, what the united states has been trying to achieve is not the removal of gadhafi, but the transition to something post gadhafi. removing gadhafi is simply the first step. now the hard part begins. it has been stated, very emphatically, will not participate. no one trains better than the united states. no one understands the match of requirements and the application of force in order to achieve those requirements than the united states and the u.s. military can do that. an in between or negotiated position can certainly be described by barbara, which is absolutely spot on. what she did not say is that there will be an over-the-horizon president of ground forces in the form of army and the marine corps that will be available at a moment's notice to provide for some -- it looks like at least the administration says right now they will not. >> how many troops would we be talking about? >> that's speculative. the primary -- first of all, it would have to be assessed based on the mission and the circumstances on the ground. i think problem number one is who now takes control of gadhafi's military? they have tanks. they have artillery, rockets, air defense systems, surface-to-surface missiles, ground to air missiles. who will take control of that stuff? granted, they haven't demonstrated that gadhafi's military has a very good handle on it right now. they're not very well trained. nor are these opposition forces. who takes charge of this stuff? that's kind of number one. number two, what happens immediately? will there be score settling that would require forces on the ground to separate those individual individuals. >> let's talk about european influence. we talk about the u.s. on the horizon, as you say. what about the french or others supplying military weapons and intimately involved in this already? should we assume that there's special forces on the ground from other countries? >> i don't think we would assume that. the united states knows that. they know right now. they may not be telling us, that there's presence on the ground from other country's special forces. maybe some of our own cia folks or special ops guys to provide that very last -- what i call that last tactical decision on the delivery of a number of those air strikes taking place, because they are so incredibly precise. that presence may be there right now anyway. but we certainly will negotiate right now and in very close quarters ask those european powers to be prepared to put boots on the ground. >> just to quantify how this mission has gone -- republicans were very critical of president obama for not acting faster and not hitting harder. it's been about six months for all intents and purposes, gadhafi is out of power. how would you characterize the mission overall? >> carol, i wouldn't put a republican or democratic slant on this at all. first of all, the president made a declaration early on that he wanted to achieve the departure and transition of gadhafi out of there. there was a huge mismatch between the application of air power alone and trying to achieve that. what happens happened over the course of six months is a number of nations have stepped up and very surreptitiously kept them moving on the ground, in the right direction with a little bit of training. the end result is very positive. gadhafi is going to be done gone. we don't know what that's going to look like. the key thing is who is going to take charge of this very toxic, chaotic situation that exists right now? >> in the end, has the nato mandate been the right way to go? there's been some criticism that nato just had to protect the people, not in charge of removing him from power. >> i think this is a classic example of mission creep. we kind of stumbled into what we're seeing right now. that's okay. if the end result is a transition is taking place in libya, let's work hard to make sure it's the right transition. >> major general spider marks, interesting as always. morning headlines coming your way next, including how developments in libya are impacting stock markets right now. what if we designed an electric motorcycle? what if we turned trash into surfboards? whatever your what if is, the new sprint biz 360 has custom solutions to make it happen, including mobile payment processing, instant hot spots, and powerful devices like the motorola photon 4g. so let's all keep asking the big what ifs. sprint business specialists can help you find the answers. sprint. america's favorite 4g network. trouble hearing on the phone? visit sprintrelay.com. 48 minutes past the hour. here are your morning headlines. breaking news this morning. moammar gadhafi hanging on to the last threat of powd of powe now. rebels have taken over most of tripoli and say they are in control. the fighting in the past hour has forced some of them back. gadhafi's whereabouts still unknown. the opposition says he may have fled to a bordering country. rebels have now captured three of his sons. one is expected to face charges of crimes against humanity at the hague. stocks open in about 45 minutes. dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 all trading higher above the opening bell. stocks and your 401(k) has lost about 16.5% in the past month. wall street experts are saying that index is expected to rebound by about 20% by year's end. that's according to an exclusive survey by cnnmoney.com. violence at candlestick park in san francisco this weekend at the 49ers/raiders game. fans brawling in the stands. another fan was severely beaten in the restroom. and police are investigating a double shooting in the parking lot. hotel maid who accused dominique strauss-kahn of sexual assault will meet with prosecutors today. the lawyer for nafi diallo says he thinks prosecutors are going to drop charges. the first hurricane of the season, lashing puerto rico with high winds as it moves on a path that could take it to the florida coast in a few days. that's nuts you need to start your day. "american morning" back after this break. the end of moammar gadhafi's regime, fireworks in the city of misrata. no one suffered more than misrata. rebels say they control the capital city of tripoli. intense fighting is still going on right now. gadhafi has not given up and remains in hiding. >> carol, to show you an aerial view, rebels say they control 80% of the city. there are still some hot spots. old gadhafi defensive line that has been breached by the rebels. this is where rebel forces say they captured one of gadhafi's sons, saif alice llama. saadi and mohammed have also been captured elsewhere in the city. matthew chance is hearing gunfire there right now as loyalist forces try to hold on to this tripoli landmark. one reason, because it is so close to gadhafi's compound, about two miles away. gadhafi loyalists there are also reportedly trying to defend their leaders' massive compound, reuters is reporting tanks are being positioned along the perid meter there. much of this has been bomb ed out. it's not clear if gadhafi is there. tripoli's main square used to be called green square. this is the site of progadhafi's loyalists. rebels streamed into the area last night. loud explosions in the area as rebels there are organizing some sort of new offensive as well, carol. >> thanks, christine. what are the opinion pages saying about libya this morning? here is your dose of morning opinion. wall street journal is critical of the united states for not taking a stronger stand from the beginning. ity editorial says, in part, it's a shame how faster it could have taken, how fewer people could have been killed if america had led more forcefully from the beginning. coming up next, our talk back question of the day, was u.s. v in libya worth it? we'll read some of your responses. naomi pryce: i am. i'm in the name your own price division. i find empty hotel rooms and help people save - >> - up to 60% off. i am familiar. your name? > naomi pryce. >> what other "negotiating" skills do you have? > i'm a fifth-degree black belt. >> as am i. > i'm fluent in 37 languages. >> (indistinct clicking) > and i'm a master of disguise >> as am i. > as am i. >> as am i. > as am i. >> well played naomi pryce. [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. so, why would you let something like erectile dysfunction get in your way? isn't it time you talked to ? 20 million men already have. with every age comes respons. ask your doctor if your heart. do not take viagra if you tak, as it may cause an unsafe dro. side effects may include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of tak. viagra. talk to . see if america's most prescribed ed treatment is right for you. people in tripoli celebrating what appears to be their newfound freedom. rebels say they now control most of the capital. moammar gadhafi still has not given up and remains in hiding. some rebel forces were forced back in the past 90 minutes. president obama is saying gadhafi should now recognize that it's simply over for him. >> we've been asking you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. actually, the big story of the day. was u.s. involvement in libya worth it? from jeremy, he says this could go both way with his u.s. involvement. a dangerous dictator is being taken down, but using our american tax dollars to help with it is an irresponsible move by the u.s. government. this erratic spending of tax money is why america is in debt in the first place. so in my opinion, the only reason we are involved is to take control of the oil in that region. dennis, absolutely, any involvement in fight for freedom is worth it. that said, i am glad the president decided to act in support of the nato koegs coalition instead of acting unilaterally. i am convinced this helped avoid an exacerbation of anti-american feelings in the area. and chelsea says it's too early to tell. if libya's new government turns out to be stable and democratic, if it respects the rights of its people and maintains good relations with other nations, yes, it was worth it. if the country devolves into mob rule, another dictatorship, corruption, then i'm not sure the libyans will be better off than before. thank you for your comments. >> absolutely. still waiting for the end game. where is moammar gadhafi and how many hours will be left in his rule? >> you heard nic robertson say it doesn't matter if they catch him or not. it's a new day in libya. >> that's right. >> planning for a new government there. >> circle has been broken. three of his sons have been arrested. now it's just a matter of time for moammar gadhafi after 42 very long years, maybe long hours or days ahead, but it is the beginning of the end. kyra phillips picks up the story from here. good morning, kyra. >> thank you so much. i'm kyra phillips live at the cnn center with special coverage

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