remember baghdad bob? they have a lot in common. khadafy s compound has been taken over and the people of libya who don t know what the future will bring know their enslave ri by what they called the mad dog is over. if he is on the run, we don t know. we re at the compound. he can t do anything. where is he? we are looking for you. where are you? rebel forces claim they have taken control of dictator sprawling compound. look at this thing. you can see how big it is. there are seven buildings on this thing. this follows hours of fierce fighting a day after opposition leaders marched into tripoli with almost no resistance. pockets, yes, and regime loyalists did refuse to yield.
fire but off in the distance perhaps near the airport which is under rebel control, we have been hearing very large explosions. it could be artillery or mortars while symbolic by the rebels is true, the fighting here is not over. we are hearing loud explosions in the distance. heavy fighting with trained forces and heavy artillery going in tripoli. shep: it s safe to assume that there is no way to assess how many fighters there are and how long this might go on. at this point its wait and see game, right? reporter: two tough questions how many fighters on the ground because that number is changing dramatically. we saw hundreds of fighters eager to the take place could be a land stand for khadafy forces and take place in celebrations afterwards. people coming from libya or
his henchmen are stalking around the hotel and we can hear the fighting outside. we know they are so close, they are just waiting for them to arrive. it will be over for us at least. shep: do you have food and water now? reporter: in the hotel, there is no staff here yet. we are finding water and living on bananas and orange juice. we should have sufficient water for a couple days. shep: and goons are protecting building are not letting you out. are there concerns about their activities? it s amazing. they are telling us don t worry. it s in the hands of khadafy forces and everything is fine. by this time next week, we ll have the whole country. they are divorced from reality
sees the security at this point, depending on what happens in egypt. is it going to be continue to be at least semi friendly or sit going to turn hostile to israel? with respect to syria if they see syria is now taking actions that may pose a bigger threat to them. much remains unresolved at this point. i can tell you that everyone is going to look now to see what syria is doing, what iran is doing and we have to do more of that because iran and syria together really are the problems we have to contend for with the future. shep: william cohen, always a pleasure. thanks so much. our coverage of the up are rising in libya will continue throughout the day. until this is over, where is moammar khadafy? there is absolutely no question among those who covered this for us for weeks and months on end
khadafy but his control appears to be over. former secretary of defense william coshen with us. great to with with you. congratulations on your journalists, warriors out on the front lines, it s amazing reporting job they ve all been doing there under extreme conditions and very hostile conditions it could cost them their lives as well. shep: secretary cohen, you departmental with antics of the mad dog of the middle east, did you have on your mind to see this? i never expected to see this. khadafy had ruled with such an iron fist. there was little effort to remove him but this arab spring has taken hold. that combined with the ability of the social media today has given aspirations and inspiration to millions of