the government was smart enough to suspend its 20-year emergency law. that was a good first step but it doesn t seem to have exactly appeased the protesters there. what they want is something different. they want the opportunity that all people everywhere should have, to have some voice in their political futures, to be able to decide for themselves who leads them, who makes decisions for them. this is an aspiration that s reaching all across the region. and every dictator gadhafi to assad in syria has to understand that the old days are over. reza aslan, appreciate your time. thank you. relations between libya and the west have been a roller coaster to say the least. first tensions intensified. decades later, tensions eased even leading to a meeting with former u.s. secretary of state condoleezza rice. up next, we break down the history between libya and the west. [ male announcer ] this.is the network.
also reza aslan. let s go to gordon because, gordon, aslan said he is keeping an eye on algeria. what are your thoughts, gordon? i think it could go anywhere. remember, gadhafi is using massive, deadly force against the protesters. if he fails and i think that s pretty likely, basically, other autocrats around the world realize that killing citizens doesn t work and when they realize they won t use force against them they will be bold and really means no regime, no regime will be safe. also hearing at least i ve been hearing saudi arabia could be next. is that a real possibility, though? i would not bet on that at all. saudi arabia is not so much a country as it is the personal property of the clan and they have enough money and very few
they re technologically savvy, politically sophisticated, socially conscious. they what s going on around the world, internet or satellite tv and they want what they see around them and the idea that the regimes can contain a monopoly on the levers of communication has become something of a fantasy now. there s no way that you can keep these kids in the dark any longer and we re seeing the results of this. and reza, whether egypt or libya or bahrain, we are seeing the young protesters are taking the lead and leaving behind the traditional opposition party. so when all the dust settles here, what role will the opposition parties have and what role will the young people have? well, that s certainly remains to be seen and it certainly depends on the country we are talking about but the best example is egypt where during the two and a half weeks of that uprising most western analysts kept assuming
tonight, libya, a country in turmoil. gadhafi s people rise up against him. his allies back away. the president is obviously concerned about the safety of american citizens. is the strong man losing his grip? cnn is now inside the middle of this unpresented upheaval, a country that oppressed journalists and its people with an iron fist until now. how will the fate of a dictator affect your world? we want to welcome viewers from around the world to our coverage. we ve been seeing young people take center stage during the uprising, not just in libya, but in tunisia and egypt and may be no accident. there are a record 100 million young people between the ages of 15 and 29 in the arab world right now and becoming a powerful force for change. so we re joined now by resla
ask, where s this going? which country is next? well, i ll be honest. i had my eye on algeria for quite sometime now. the government was smart enough to suspend its 20-year emergency law. that was a good first step but it doesn t seem to have exactly appeased the protesters there. what they want is something different. they want the opportunity that all people everywhere should have, to have some voice in their political futures, to be able to decide for themselves who leads them, who makes decisions for them. this is an aspiration that s reaching all across the region. and every dictator gadhafi to assad in syria has to understand that the old days are over. reza aslan, appreciate your time. thank you. relations between libya and the west have been a roller coaster to say the least. first tensions intensified. decades later, tensions eased even leading to a meeting with former u.s. secretary of state