>> i'm wolf blitzer. we are watching breaking news, history unfolding in libya. >> we are following breaking news. we will be in the hours ahead as developments continue. it is early monday morning there in libya. moammar gadhafi is under siege from rebel forces. the rebels say they have two of moammar gadhafi's sons captured. we have pictures of saif. the international criminal court at the hague has an arrest warrant for him. now we are told in the heart of tripoli's green square which they have renamed martyr's square. we heard moments ago that some of them are pushing back with word that gadhafi forces may be going to reenter that part of the city. the government has been saying 1,300 people have been killed over the past 12 hours. our people on the ground have seen no evidence of that though. one of our reporters with the rebels say there are no signs of pro government forces on the streets of tripoli at the moment. >> our colleague matthew chance is holed up in a hotel in the middle of tripoli. with him other journalists and a skeleton security staff. last time we spoke, matthew, we could hear machine gun fire behind you. are we still hearing gun fire? >> not at the moment, wolf. it's pretty quiet outside. it's strange. the ferocious clashes we have been witnessing and hearing a couple hours ago have diminished now. as we speak now i'm not hearing anything at all. maybe the occasional gunshot here and there. it seems the rebels -- i haven't been reporting for the rebels so i don't know what they are doing but they have been in control of large areas of the city. as we get into the middle of the night, it's 4:00 in the morning, early morning almost, waiting for day break there is still a good deal of confusion there. confusion about who runs this capital. i can hear machine guns going on behind me now having said it's all quiet in tripoli it all starts to break loose as i make the point. but, yes, the confusion about who controls which areas of tripoli at the moment. it's a very confusing picture in the libyan capital. wolf? >> we have a lot of viewers in the united states and around the world just joining us now at the top of the hour. set the scene for us. tell us what happened over the past six hours, shall we say, at this hotel where you are based. >> well, there have been absolutely intensive gunfights between various armed groups. the gadhafi sprorupporters on o side. many have driven into zawiyah. when they have driven in we have had reports of people welcoming them rather than resisting them as had been called for by gadhafi troops. people were celebrating in the streets. there were fireworks set off. scenes of celebration. the rebels reached green square which is the central square in the middle of tripoli. and there were celebrations as well. none of the fierce clashes. none of the fierce, ferocious resistance that was promised by the government. in fact, just a few hours ago when we last spoke to the gadhafi government's information spokesperson, information minister mussah ibrahim he said there were tens of thousands of professional troops ready to defend tripoli, but we haven't seen anything of them. there have been clashes but nothing like the staunch resistance promised by the gadhafi supporters in the run up to this. >> dick robertsson is with us in washington. as you know, he spent a lot of time with gadhafi's troops as officials at the same hotel where you are now. i know, nick, you are worried about security at the hotel and elsewhere. we are obviously always worried about our correspondents and camera crews and producers on the scene for us. nick. go ahead and talk to matthew and ask whatever you want. >> i remember when we were there. it's good to talk to you. when we were there, people like ibrahim had an office down stairs and all the other people we later came to know as government security thugs who beat up the woman who came into the hotel who was raped. really showed their hand of what their role was. really menaced the floors, occupied the building. are they absolutely no longer in presence there? >> no. i think the hotel if you came tonight would be very different from the hotel you remember. i was lucky. i have been here for a couple of weeks. so i have experienced exactly the scene you just painted. the grim government minders, you know, hostile to the international media. basically categorizing us as spies for nato is how they often refer to us to our faces in a hostile way. they wouldn't let us go anywhere. when you were here at least they were taking you on trips. in the last few weeks the trips have dried up. we're not committed out of the hotel at all. what happened earlier on this evening was a sea change in the atmosphere. there were ferocious gun fights just outside the hotel. we were hearing rocket-propelled grenades exploding. sending shock waves through the corridors and rooms in the hotel. there was a rumor that the manager of the hotel was a foreign national and received a message from the rebels that they were going to attack. within minutes of the rumor being circulated the hotel virtually empties of the government minders and other hanger-onners who moved here after their offices were struck and the critical ultra western media officials that were in the hotel kind of using us as cover. they disappeared and left us essentially alone with the exception of a few gunmen who have been circling around the hotel, moving through the corridors and basically, you know, making themselves known to be there on the lower floors of the hotel. it's not entirely abandoned. there are still gunmen inside the hotel. but you could count them on one hand. >> that area you're in, matthew, if i remember correctly, there are other government buildings that we would be taken to where gadhafi would show up, where saif al-islam would show up. i know sadi gadhafi, his offices were right across the road from the hotel there. says a lot in that area that the government would normally want to keep protected. it gives the impression right now, and it's hard for you where you are now to get a sense of this. but it gives the impression if you have only light security on the perimeter of the hotel, the rebels know the importance of the building and would want absolutely to secure journalists like yourself. i know they would want to make you and others there safe. they would want to get there and secure the building. it gives the impression that some distance from you, perhaps there is a perimeter of stronger government forces and perhaps controlling perhaps the area of the city that you're in. these other buildings that we know have been used by government loyalists and his family. do you get the sense there may be another perimeter not far away? >> i get the sense that this is an area that government forces loyal to gadhafi want to hold onto. it's patchwork in tripoli tonight. some areas under rebel control, some under government control. the rebels say this is a hot area around this hotel. the rebels do not control it. they are expecting resistance when they come to approach the area. you're right in saying, yes, the rebels want to come here. there are many important installations here. colonel gadhafi's compound, not the least of them we mentioned. also the fact that, you know, i heard earlier on the word from the rebels that they want to come to the hotel, be here so they can use the international media's facilities to make press conferences and address the world with the satellite technology in house in the hotel. there is a strategic holding for whichever side holds it. they have the advantage of having access to the international media here. you might be able to hear what's behind me. it's been quiet for an hour or so. clearly there are snipers around. there are government forces in key areas outside these important installations. i get the impression this is not an area the governments are going to let go quickly, but i thought they wouldn't let tripoli go quickly but look what happened to many parts of the city. >> it's been breathtaking how quickly it's been going. i want everyone to stand by. we are getting in a statement from the white house. the deputy press secretary josh ernest is traveling with the president on vacation in martha's vineyard. that's being interrupted because of the developments in libya. the statement says this from the white house. since this morning the president has received regular updates from john brennan, his counter terrorism adviser, about the situation in libya. shoort shortly after 9:00 p.m. eastern time, a little bit more than an hour ago the president conducted a conference call with senior members of the national security team who briefed him on dramatic developments there. the president asked that he continue to be updated as necessary and is scheduled to be briefed on this topic again tomorrow morning. the statement also lists some of the individuals who were on the president's conference call including bill daly, the national security adviser, the secretary of defense, the chairman of the joint chiefs, admiral mike mullen and others. obviously the president interrupting his location to be on top of what's going on in libya. michael holmes is watching what's going on. this is one of the moments that the president obviously has all of the communications equipment at martha's vineyard in order to deal with an urgent national security crisis as is the situation in libya now. >> right, wolf. absolutely. the u.s. state department as well watching developments in libya. i understand dan lothian is on martha's vineyard where the president is vacationing. we heard the statement from the white house from wolf. we heard brief comments from the president as well. so this is happening during the president's holiday. what happens in a situation like this when a major foreign policy development occurs, what happens in the president's inner circle, dan? dan, can you hear me? you're on the air. >> reporter: okay. sorry, i didn't hear you. can you ask the question again? >> what happens when the president is on holiday and a major foreign policy development unfolds like that? what goes into motion? >> reporter: well, this is something we have been reporting on over the last several days. the president, when he 'cause come on vacation, while he's away from the white house, he's very much on the job surrounded by advisers, if you will. either in person or via conference call. he's had his counter terrorism adviser john brennan here giving him updates throughout the day. and the white house as wolf pointed out telling us that the president after 9:00 tonight held a conference call with senior members of his national security team. i should point out we received a statement from the white house. this is a statement from president obama. i will read it to you now. tonight the momentum against gadhafi's regime reached a tripping point. tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant. the people of libya are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator. the surest way for bloodshed to end is simple. moammar gadhafi and his regime need to recognize their rule has come to an end. gadhafi needs to acknowledge the reality that he no longer controls libya. he needs to relinquish power once and for all. meanwhile the united states has recognized the transitional council as the governing authority in libya. at this pivotal and historic time the tnc should continue to demonstrate that the leadership that is necessary to steer the country through a transition by respecting the rights of the people of libya, avoiding civilian casualties, protecting institutions of the libyan state and pursuing a transition to democracy that is just and inclusive for the people of libya. a season of conflict must lead to one of peace. the president goes on to say in a statement the future of libya is now in the hands of the libyan people. going forward the united states will continue to stay in close coordination with tnc. we'll continue to insist that the basic rights of the libyan people are respected and we will continue to work with our allies and partners in the international community to protect the people of libya and support libya and to support a peaceful transition to democracy. so that's a statement coming from president obama tonight. again, repeating that i said earlier, wolf, the president has been getting briefed on the situation in libya throughout the day. he did conduct that conference call shortly after 9:00 p.m. tonight. he's asked that his national security team continue to give him briefings as necessary and is expected to receive another briefing tomorrow morning. wolf? >> dan, moammar gadhafi needs to, quote, relinquish power according to the statement by the white house. of course the question is to go where, to do what? what would the u.s. administration like to see going forward as far as gadhafi is concerned? >> right. well, you know, that is always the big question. critics of the administration have said when the president calls on a leader to step aside, and we heard this most recently on the situation in syria, what happens next? and the call from the president came back in february. that's when the president first came out and said that moammar gadhafi had to go. but that remains very much up in the air. i mean, will there be stability and this democracy and peaceful transition that the white house wants to see there, will that actually happen? we don't know. right now what we know is the situation going on at the ground, the statement that the president put out, the situation is fluid and that's why i think you have seen the administration, the white house being cautious about moving the ball any further because they are still trying to get a grasp on what's happening there on the ground. >> all right. dan lothian, our white house correspondent there on martha's vineyard covering the president. of course this is working holiday. this is new video coming in, michael, of the road from zawiyah to tripoli. this is from our team who's been traveling with our reporter there on the ground sara side ner. this is video of what looks like deserted streets. >> so much for the resistance everyone was counting would happen once the rebels got into the libyan capital. sara has moved back from where she was. she got up to green square. now she's backed away. the rebels said they were anticipating gadhafi forces moving back into that area. but a lot of that was supposition. sara saw no sign of that. pulled back out of concern for safety. but, you know, there was no sign of that. but there are rumors spiralling around. >> you call it green square. i hate to remind you that according to the rebels it is now called martyr square. >> they backed out, so it might be green square again. >> there maib may be another name change in the future. it's a fluid situation. very important to underline the fact that nothing is a done deal yet in tripoli. there is speculation and perhaps expectation that this was all just a little bit too easy. >> the rebels have made amazing advances over the last three weeks, three and a half weeks when it all started when they swept down off the western mountains and took half a dozen towns in a day including takut. they moved farther down to the coast taking other towns and then up the coast. we have been with the crew as they moved up from the key town zawiyah through tripoli. >> that's new video. we'll let the viewers look at it. the road to tripoli. the road the rebels took today to reach the libyan capital. we'll continue to follow this developing story from libya. breaking news on cnn next. introducing the schwab mobile app. it's schwab at your fingertips wherever, whenever you want. one log in lets you monitor all of your balances and transfer between accounts, so your money can move as fast as you do. check out your portfolio, track the market with live updates. and execute trades anywhere and anytime the inspiration hits you. even deposit checks right from your phone. just take a picture, hit deposit and you're done. open an account today and put schwab mobile to work for you. but for some of us with overactive bladder, our pipes just don't work as well as they should. sometimes, i worry my pipes might leak. but i learned there's something more i can do. now, i take care with vesicare. once-daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle and is proven to treat overactive bladder with symptoms of frequent urges and leaks day and night. if you have certain stomach or glaucoma problems, or trouble emptying your bladder, do not take vesicare. vesicare may cause allergic reactions that may be serious. if you experience swelling of the face, lips, throat or tongue, stop taking vesicare and get emergency help. tell your doctor right away if you have severe abdominal pain, or become constipated for three or more days. vesicare may cause blurred vision, so use caution while driving or doing unsafe tasks. common side effects are dry mouth, constipation, and indigestion. so why wait ? 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[ male announcer ] it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. these are pictures we are getting in from sara and her team in tripoli now. you can see the video. you can see the streets around what's called green square. it used to be called green square. now the rebels call it martyr square. not crowded. the rebels went in and pulled out concerned about security. sara joins us on the phone now. the images are powerful from tripoli. you were right there in green square, now martyr square. give us a sense of what you're seeing and hearing. >> reporter: we are outside the city. we had to turn and run. we were following the rebels in. one of the gentleman with us in the car said get out, get out now. we have information that gadhafi's troops are headed this way. they say they have it from intelligence. we didn't see any of gadhafi's forces in the area. we certainly felt the tension. we got quite a scare when they said there were snipers. we didn't see them. often you wouldn't see them but you would see people shot. we didn't see that. however when we were told to leave there was definitely fear in the eyes and the rebels said they meant business. they were taking their positions, so we moved out of the square. i can tell you the square picture is very empty for the most part. what we were seeing is perhaps 30, 40 rebels who were there, most of them armed and ready to fight. we were not seeing civilians really. we saw maybe a few people who were milling about. but, again, most of them seemed to be people who were intent on fighting and staking their claim. >> am i right in assuming that all of the rebel forces who were at the green square area have all left or did some remain behind? >> reporter: no, no. the rebels, 90% of them stayed behind. they were taking positions, preparing for a fight with what they thought were gadhafi's forces pushing into the square. on our way out of town, we saw dozens upon dozens, the most number of cars we have seen so far with rebels inside all headed toward tripoli with their guns ready. so what they are expecting is a real battle here. and there are a lot of rumors flying, as you might imagine, wolf. you have been in the situations where there is so much going on. there is a lot of fear, a lot of nervousness but also the feeling of jubilation. but it's tempered because they are not quite sure what's happening with the gadhafi regime. they were expecting army members in the streets and they are not seeing it. they're not sure what to expect. >> sara, we know two of gadhafi's sons have been arrested, saif al-islam and saadi. do you know where moammar gadhafi might be now? >> reporter: no, but one of the main rumors going around now -- and we heard people celebrating in zawiyah because they believed moammar gadhafi himself was arrested. there was quite a bit of firing in the air, cheering. we heard children and women cheering and chanting "free libya, free libya," but that died down because everyone said, oh, that might be a rumor. his son was arrested. so far nobody has heard from moammar gadhafi in the last hour or so. we are wondering where he is and so are the rebels. >> rumors are flying around about gadhafi that he's escaped to algeria, africa, that he's hiding out in tripoli. we are standing by to get accurate information. sara, hold on for a moment. general wesley clark is joining us now. general clark, nato obviously very much involved in this operation. the nato air power. but ground forces as well training the rebels. what can you tell us about what nato troops have done on the ground as opposed to in the air to help the rebel forpces get rd of the gadhafi regime? >> it's clear that the french and british advisers and others are in there helping them plan and organize this. what you have seen in the last four weeks is a dramatic improvement in the ability of the rebels to maneuver on the ground. it's the maneuver augmented by air support that could go after the forces of gadhafi. >> hold on, general. we have tape of sara doing a report. i want to listen to her report. >> reporter: ten minutes later after we talked to those in the square who were happy to be in their homes who left, they had come back to fight. >> all right. we're going to cue up the tape, general, sorry. let's continue this conversation. we'll get sara on the phone. i want you to talk to her. you were telling our viewers in the united states and around the world that there are nato troops on the ground with the rebels helping them. is that right? >> no, i don't think that's technically accurate. what i'm told is there are advisers in there from national forces, but these are not necessarily under nato command. it may be under the british government's control. it's clear they have done work in helping the libyan rebels organize and plan their maneuver. >> i want to inter rurupt, gene. these special forces under the command of nato or other nato allies, they haven't just been training the rebels. they have helped them go in with precise logistics and intelligence and information to help in this assault. is that your understanding? >> they have been able to provide information to them. clearly there's been logistics brought in. not primarily by nato member countries but by arab countries involved in this. there is a broad coalition working on the ground. it's not under nato control. nato is working the air campaign in accordance with the u.n. security council. >> all right, general. hold on for a second. sara sidner is with us from the outskirts of tripoli. they were at green square but pulled back for security. sara, do you see evidence of westerners aiding the rebels as they move towards tripoli? >> reporter: we are not seeing evidence of that. we drove quite a bit around. we went directly to green square to the city from the west. we didn't see anyone in the vicinity of the square. all we saw were rebel checkpoints and then rebels in the square. that was about it. now, to be fair it's about 4:30 in the morning our time. it's not a time when people would normally be out. if we were to see anything such as, you know, certain kinds of security forces, we are not seeing that anywhere near the square. >> general, do you have a question for sara sidner who is on the scene? >> i do. sara, can you talk to people and find out whether they have pushed the gadhafi forces back into this so-called district that's controlled by gadhafi? >> reporter: i'm sorry. you will have to ask me that again. >> apparently gadhafi's forces control one small district in the city. but are the rebel forces pushing against it? are they staying away from it? have they probed it? what's the status of that? >> reporter: we did hear the rebels say they are not in complete control. that gadhafi forces control a small section of the city. that much we know. what we do not know is how they got the information they believe the troops were then coming into green square which the rebels had taken control of. yes, we know they are not in complete control of the city. and there are parts, if not just one part that gadhafi forces are still in and still control. we are not hearing the blasts, booms and bangs you hear when there is a fire fight going on. >> general, it's going to be daylight in libya soon. it's 4:30 a.m. there now. what do you expect once the sun comes up in terms of fighting and resistance and what remains of gadhafi loyalists? >> he'll tighten up the resistance if there is anyone left in control of that. snipers will have better fields of view. the rebels will crash down and try to get a few hours of rest. reload and eat something. so real time to have broken through gadhafi's resistance is tonight. right now. before that line of defense hardens around gadhafi's district. the fact that sara said she's not hearing the shooting going on indicates to me that the rebels' attempts to clear the city aren't well organized honestly. >> i'm sure they are not well organized. is that your assessment, sara, that the rebel forces, as they move in, they obviously aren't highly trained professional military. is that right? >> reporter: that's absolutely correct, wolf. what we know is in a really surprising turn we butched into someone we talked to about five months ago in benghazi who had never held a gun before. who was from tripoli but lived in canada for years as someone who worked in i.t., never picked up a gun and had to start training because he wanted to come back to the country because he was upset and felt it was about time for the uprising. we just met him in tripoli. he and his tripoli brigade as they are called, they know the city. that's one advantage they have. they know the city well. but they have to start learning how to be a soldier from ex-military, from anyone who would teach them in just about four to five months time. what you are seeing is a group of people who may not have the kind of coordination you might expect certainly from a professional army. they are definitely not a professional army. what we saw in the square was panic, a little bit of concern about how to deal with -- in there. different guns welded to the trucks. these guys say they are not leaving. they plan to keep hold of tripoli by any means necessary. >> it looks like gadhafi loyalists may control a small part of tripoli. the overwhelming part is under the control of the rebels as is the country now. as the president of the united states said in a statement that he just released tonight, the momentum against the gadhafi regime has reached a tipping point. the president saying tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant. the gadhafi regime is showing signs of collapsing. we'll take a break. more coverage after this. 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>> reporter: certainly. there is surprise. first of all, we have been told from sources within tripoli that there was widespread expectations of a blood bath when the opposition fighters finally got to tripoli. clearly there have been casualties. certainly nothing along the scale of what we were told to expect. the speed they got to tripoli was faster that be expected. the critical thing was when they took the town of zawiyah and to the south of tripoli. basically the capitol was cut off from the world. it was a matter of time before things started to fall apart. >> i want to reference the images we are seeing for viewers. if we could run it again. sara sidner and her team filmed this on their way to martyr square or green square. the streets are deserted and sara was saying some parts are earily quiet. it's empty again. >> rebels said gadhafi's forces would reenter that part of town. you talked about zawiyah, getting to the coast and the western rebels and the speed they moved off the mountains and hit the coast. not to dilute what's gone on because there's been severe fighting, many casualties as the western rebels headed for the coast. but in the big picture of it all, this is a bunch of, generally speaking, amateurs. one of the rebel commanders i was with was an x-ray technician calling in missile strikes up against what's a trained army. are you surprised at how quickly the army melted away in many cases? >> reporter: i think there was a certain amount of mo ten item with the opposition fighters. they were convinced of the justice of their cause. it was rough going. i remember certain points in the ajdabiya area often times there was no progress. they would come under fire from gadhafi's forces and retreat in chaos. we have seen a certain higher level of military confidence. it's not clear where it came from. we interviewed captured soldiers and there was the feeling that there wasn't high morale among the forces. they didn't know if they were fighting foreigners, libyans, al qaeda, terrorists. they complained of officers who would leave them in the a front lines. they had shortages of food, ammunition, little in terms of logistical support. the libyan army on the surface at least is better equipped, better trained they didn't have much in the way of good leadership and their heart wasn't in the fight. >> we'll leave it there with ben. ben will stand by and stay with us for the remaining hours of our breaking news coverage. interestingly as we were discussing the official libyan army melting away, when we spoke to steven cook of the council on foreign relations he said, you know, don't write them off so quickly. there could be an iraq scenario where in the beginning the insurgency didn't materialize and little by little -- >> live to fight another day. >> they had other factors at play in iraq. this was a different scenario. it is not impossible to imam than the pro gadhafi fighters are retreating today to better organize themselves in coming days. >> this is a different dynamic to iraq. particularly on the sectarian side of things and the al qaeda side of things which built up quickly in iraq. it's a good point that it could be a problem in terms of disintegration really of the cohesive nature of the rebel front that we have seen until now. to get rid of gadhafi. think the risks in the days and weeks afterward is holding it together when everyone sits down to work it out and government the country. everyone says, that's what i want and i have always wanted that and have a falling out. >> in the meantime, where are the pro gadhafi forces? >> where are they? >> we continue to look at pictures from sara sidner and the team as they drove into green square or martyr square which is temp ti -- empty of the celebrating opposition opponents to the moammar gadhafi regime. libya is watching the developments closely. jill joins us live from washington. >> what do you think, jill? is this a case of the u.s. in particular and others in nato as well saying, be careful what you wish for? >> you know, that's exactly what we were talking about. now all of the sudden what they wanted to happen is happening. if you look at the president's statement it's like, okay, this is what you promised -- you, the rebels. now do what you promised. that's crucial. this is the way it's supposed to play out. the tnc wins the war, wins the battle. and puts together the interim authority. what this interim authority is isn't clear. it's not an elected government. it's a body that will become like a government. it will move toward elections. we understand that might be six to eight months down the road. when you get into the interim authority, that's where power is going to be divided. that's where tribal loyalties could come into play. the question sof who switched, when thad did they switch, that could come into play. that's where the oil revenues and the money frozen that's now going to be released, all of that becomes very difficult to deal with and potentially could be divisive. those are some of of the really important issues. the other thing, i was talking with nick. the issue of saif gadhafi. if he's in custody, what do they do with him? this is a big, really the first test for the tnc. because if he were to be killed, which is entirely possible in a chaotic situation, it would be very bad for the reputation of the tnc as a group that wants democracy. do they give him up to the international criminal court, the icc, because he was accused of crimes against humanity? that's a test now of whether the tnc can move toward democracy. very complicated. >> lui ocampo spoke to us and said he was hoping negotiations would start tomorrow to arrange for the transfer of saif gadhafi. there wasn't direct contact between the icc and the tnc that through channels, the belief was that saif al islam had not been harmed. >> it's a tough decision. do you keep him and maintain the sovereign hold over someone who's guilty of crimes against your people or is it a good hot potato to get rid of. >> the expectation is he'll be transferred to the international criminal court but it is an uncertain, unstable situation. many things have happened over the past three days that nobody expected to happen so quickly. it's a situation we need to monitor. >> right. by the way, the state department really has been urging them to be democratic in this transition. i looked back recently at what hillary clinton said back in july when they recognized the tnc as a legitimate authority in lib yachlt she pointed out democratic reform, of course. be inclusive. uphold political obligations. you have to say that's where the issue of saif gadhafi comes in. and finally disperse funds transparently. that's when oil revenue and money has to be transparently dealt with. those are very important issues. for this group, the tnc to begin to transition into something democratic. >> it's important the perception of how much u.s. involvement there is in this transitional council. this is something very sensitive in the arab world. these revolutions were created by arabs. >> organically. >> and you see the reaction in the reeng when you say the u.s. says this or the u.s. feels that. many will say, you know what, this is our country. you hear it a lot. >> it's interesting in the western mountain region. i saw thank you britain, thank you france. virtually no thank you u.s. >> for the nato operation. >> probably the u.s. is happy about that, i would imagine. is that fair? >> the libyan people doing this. it really is true. at the beginning it was really france that pushed this and the nato allies eventually for the united states. of course supporting it. but the united states stood back. it supported the nato mission, but it was never the major part when you could argue physically they really were. but the lead was really the europeans. there were a lot of questions. they did not recognize them until july 15th. so the u.s. didn't exactly jump into this. now the hope is that the tnc will do what the united states is hoping they will do. >> all right, jill, our state department correspondent. live in washington. thank you very much. we're going to take a break and continue our coverage of the breaking news out of libya. stay with us. the safety of onstar is now available for your car. ♪ [ recorded voice ] onstar. we're looking for city hall. i'm sending directions to your car. 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[ female announcer ] introducing onstar fmv. get it installed on your car at best buy or visit onstar.com for more stores. a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t network... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. welcome back to the continuing coverage. history unfolding in libya now. the rebels are in tripoli. we don't know precisely what has happened to moammar gadhafi. we do know two of the sons have been arrested. joining us now here in washington is the ambassador of the libyan transitional council. was the ambassador of the government of libya. he broke with gadhafi and now represents the rebels. this is the organization that's recognized by the u.s. government. the other nato allies and many middle eastern countries. thu thanks for joining us. give us your impression about what's going on now. >> this is the happiest day in my life and the people of libya. we are very happy that the control was peaceful. it was with less casualties, minimum of casualties. and now the revolutionaries are dealing with the principles. they are surrendering their arms and the coordination between the tnc and the leader from the revolution in different cities and in tripoli. i was really surprised to be very quick and with less casualties. we are now having a more serious job to do after this. my concern is about gadhafi. i do understand he's in tripoli. they do understand also that there are two airplanes to lend air support. they do understand also that they have not been touched by the revolution. i cannot say if there is preparation for gadhafi to leave or not. >> would the tnc allow gadhafi to leave based on everything you know, mr. ambassador? >> well, that's what was said this morning. i think that if there is an exit for gadhafi to want to leave that's probably what they want to do. but for the libyan people that would be very hard. i'm sure that the tnc, they don't want to be challenged with the people. anyhow, the main thing for the libyan people and for me, he would be safe until they deal with him as with the itc. >> can you confirm that saif al-islam and saadi are in control or have been arrested by the tnc? >> saadi, i cannot confirm, but saif, yes. the other son mohamed came voluntarily after the revolution came to his house. >> stay with us, please. don't go away. we have more questions. i want to bring back michael holmes and holla. they are helping us cover this historic event in libya. >> thanks, wolf. we were speaking, in fact -- funny you should mention your country libya. we have here a man of egyptian origin who lived for years in libya. you have had a few hours to digest now this historic story from libya. what are your thoughts now? >> it's definitely historic, especially if you look at the perspective of the region and what happened over the last six months. for our generation it seems like a beautiful dream coming true without any preparation. >> gadhafi was the only leader most libyans ever knew. >> exactly. the same for the father of bashar. the whole area is changing. the whole area is not guaranteed what the outcome would be. however today we have hope. yesterday we didn't have that. this is the most important thing arabs are feeling tonight. >> are you optimistic it could be held together? >> once again in egypt, in tunisia, despite all the attempts from the former regimes it seems the young people have enough passion and have enough intelligence to keep coming back to tahrir just to remind everybody that they are still there. they are willing to defend what they have accomplished. >> you talk about the younger generation. i remember interviewing the former foreign minister who said well, i feel shame that my generation wasn't the one to do this. my kids did it. >> this is so real. i remember having tears in my eyes many, many times during the egyptian revolution. it is for th e