tactic designed to keep the west out while gadhafi's forces wipe out rebels. that said the rebels were cheering and firing celebration shots in the air on hearing that the u.n. is coming. we'll get a report from nbc's richard engel who is heading in to the area. plus what country will take charge? what role will the u.s. play and did the hundredth vote come too late to stop gadhafi? will gadhafi fight for the death or accept some kind of a deal? we'll try to answer those questions as we prepare to fingt third muslim count -- fight in m country. japanese more or less admit they are overwhelmed. wow. they are ememploying it throw against the wall and see what sticks approach ahead of the u.s. nuclear commission says it could takes wakes to get this under control. score one for the unions in wisconsin. a judge has temporarily blocked that new law shrinking collective bargaining rights. democrats hope that's the first of many obstacles. republicans say it's a speed bump. libya. we know how we're getting in. how will we get out? we start with the growing cry slinsia. richard engel is joining us from cairo. thank you, richard. give us a sense of what's happening as the u.n. begins to take action. what is the condition of the rebel force, especially benghazi. >> reporter: the rebel force is very weak in benghazi and across the country. what happened was the rebels advanced very quickly, they took benghazi almost by surprise and then as they were riding this wave of enthusiasm, they decided to leave third stronghold benghazi. they went out the places towards the open desert and overextended their supply lines they got chopped back by gadhafi force. they have now once again consolidated in benghazi and hoping with air cover with this no fly zone that they can regain momentum and topple gadhafi's regime. >> why were they shooting shots of celebration in the air when they heard of the u.n. vote? >> reporter: well, they think that this u.n. vote levels the playing field right now. that gadhafi's forces won't be able to come in and carry out a massacre. there were people in benghazi and there have been every night who are terrified this is the night that there will be some sort of chemical attack, a massive artillery attack, an air raid and the in international community would sit back and watch. now they are saying it's not acceptable and if there's a massacre or an incident like that that there would be an immediate military response. >> let me ask you to give me your assessment, richard, of what it means to say the united states has unique capabilities. this is what the president said a few hours ago. let's listen to what he said. this is something to try to figure out right now. here so, the president. >> we will provide the unique capabilities that we can bring to bear to stop the violence against civilians, including enabling our european allies and arab partners to effectively enforce a no fly zone. >> that's the question. unique capability sounds like we have the air power. is that what he means? >> reporter: it's not just air power. the u.s., what does the u.s. have uniquely and it's not our charm and ability to make apple pie. there are some unique capacities that the u.s. has. intelligence, satellites, it has aircraft carriers, which would be very important for any kind of no fly zone. it has satellite cover. so there are some enablers and the fact he used enabler is strategic. the u.s. can provide the platform for a sustained air cover over libya that the european countries simply do not have. it's not just "the fighter" jets. it's all of the support mechanisms. the u.s. has more aircraft carriers than the rest of the world combined. >> is this one of the operations where it has the u.n. cover for the admission but led by the u.s., is that where we're headed at this point again? >> what i think we could be headed for is a very long operation where you have the rebels in the east in benghazi, gadhafi in tripoli and in the west to a degree, and the international community with the u.s. involved trying to level the playing field. feign the level playing field and i country where the two sides are separated by 600, 700 miles of open desert you could have a situation where the u.s. is preventing massacres but allowing a low level civil war to take place that could go on for years. so, this involvement could not be, might not be quick, it might be a very, very long sustained operation more like we saw in the balkans. >> what happens if gadhafi is smart and he observes the u.n. rule, which is basically don't go after civilians and simply says all right i'm going to allow all civilians who want to leave benghazi to leave. i'm going to let you leave. i'll have a sanitary car where they can leave with total safety and by the way other countries like the chinese and everybody is coming in there, they can all watch that. i'm going to be completely proper here. but i'm going after the rebels. what stops him from doing just that. i'm going after my rebels in my country. no sanction or no mandate to stop that. >> reporter: i think you were on the phone with gadhafi's strategists, because that's exactly what his strategy is going to be. just few minutes ago as i was preparing for this shot, this live shot, the deputy foreign minister of libya was on television saying that he wants international monitors to come in. they are urgently calling for people from around the world to come not only to tripoli but across libya to see what is actually happening on the ground, and that if there is an armed conflict that the libyan government has the right defend itself. that if it is attacked and there are combatants and this is not just a democratic movement of students, the rebels do have weapon, they are not very advanced weapons but they do have weapons. under any kind of international charter a government has the right to defend itself. that strategy of opening up a humanitarian corridor but calling for international observers to say hey we're not just killing civilian, we're fighting armed militants and the world is top see that. that's going to be -- that's what libya's next step is and a step that's already calling for. >> the libyan deputy foreign minister put out a word crimes against humanity have been commit fwid rebels. is he trying to get the world pinto modify itself and to give him some leeway to go after the rebels? >> he certainly is. he was talking about how the rebels have been desecrating the bodies of people they have been capturing. rebels have been taking prisoners. i've seen prisoners from gadhafi's forces that have been captured anyrebels and he's trying to get the world to see that gadhafi is not just crushing a bunch of unarmed student protesters like has been the case in egypt, like was the case in yemen today, he's trying to show that this is an armed n insurrection. there's civil war that happened in the luns. when the north didn't want the south to break away. >> can you detect a conflict within our administration between the secretaries of state and defense just a few days ago it seems the secretary of defense laid out the role we should not get in a war in the middle east. you would have to be out of your mind. you would have to have your head examined to do it. here we are basically leading it looks like a u.n. effort to go into another arab country, perhaps not on the ground but we're going in by air with everything we got. my question is there a conflict in doctrine between hillary clinton the secretary of state and bob gates? >> reporter: i really am not privy to the conversations that they have been having among themselves but there does seem to be clear contradiction in if you don't want to get involved warren and then declaring yourselves to be involved and i international no fly zone. there seems to be also be a conflict of morality. the u.s. doesn't want to just sit become idly by and allow a massacre to happen. the u.s. has experience with gadhafi. the u.s. knows what the regime in libya is capable of doing without international action and without specifically u.s. action. the president said tonight that there's every reason to believe that without international action or at least the threat of action that gadhafi would carry out atrocities against his people. that's certainly what the people of benghazi do believe and i think the u.s. and the president felt this moral obligation to at least use the threat of force and probably back it up if those atrocities take place but not to launch a ground war to go in and remove gadhafi themselves. that's why i think this could be a very protracted conflict with the u.s. providing this kind of balancing act to keep the two sides together fighting a fair conflict and a fair conflict in libya, we have the rebels in benghazi and gadhafi in tripoli and the armed forces somewhat neutralized or at least put on the shelf could take a very long time. >> great reporting as always. richard engel in cairo tonight. up next what will this resolution against libya mean for us? will we take the lead or fighting yet another war in a third muslim country? how much of this will be an american war. that's a big question as we go into the weekend. we'll try to answer it in the next few minutes. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. >> i also want to be clear about what we will not be doing. the united states is not going to deploy ground troops into libya. and we are not going tose force to go beyond a well defined goal. specifically the protection of civilians in libya. my card lets me work out more. ♪ and ours lets us eat out more. aarp helps us do our favorite thing. the new website is my favorite thing. [ female announcer ] with aarp you get so much more out of life. call now to get the latest issue of our award-winning magazine absolutely free and discover the best of what's next. of our award-winning magazine absolutely free missing something? now you get a cleanser with scope freshness. new fixodent plus scope ingredients. cleans and kills germs that cause odors to your dentures. new fixodent cleanser plus scope ingredients. the conflict in libya is sending gas prices sky ward air long with the crisis in japan americans are pessimistic about our economy. a new poll has 37% more than a third say the economy will get worse in the next year. boy that is bad news. 16 point rise from the bad news estimate since december and five points from the polls all time high in 2000. we're in a bad pessimistic mood right now. we'll be right back. nd unlike ad you have ever known. ♪ introducing the most fuel-efficient luxury car available. ♪ the radically new, 42 mile per gallon ct hybrid from lexus. ♪ welcome to the darker side of green. our economy. we'll be right back. obviously the united states is very pleased with yesterday's vote. it sent a strong message that needs to be heeded. the efforts by the international community to come together to make clear to colonel gadhafi that he cannot continue his violence against his own people, he cannot continue to attack those who started out by peacefully demonstrating for changes that are within the right of any human being. >> there you have it. secretary of state hillary clinton. welcome back to "hardball". that was secretary of state clinton today. the former ambassador to israel and uae and we're also joined by mark thompson. let me ask you, mr. ambassador. i read two things. one the united states through our president reading a very particular u.n. resolution. we're going in with no fly zone and some other effort gross tent civilians. then i hear the secretary of state with a very firm voice saying we're going after gas pi. are we going in to enforce a u.n. resolution from text civilians or going into the topple gadhafi piece by piece. >> maybe she feels he won't pay attention to the resolution. >> does the president have the same perception? >> think so. >> we're starting at first base, heading for a home run. we'll start with this resolution. here's my question. if gadhafi is as smart as he might be, he'll say i'll observe the resolution, i'll not go after civilian, i'll let them leave benghazi. you can't go at me beyond the resolution. i'll survive. >> he can't survive if he acts like that. he's got to still maintain that image of being all powerful, otherwise he loses. he's got a whole group of people ready to come after him if -- he's made a lot of enemies. >> really? >> so i don't think he can afford to look weak or to back down in the face of international pressure. >> here's more of secretary clinton today on the cease-fire. let's watch. >> now we've seen press reports of a cease-fire by the libyan government. this is a fluid and dynamic situation. we are going to be not response jennifer or impressed by words. we would have to see actions on the ground. and that is not yet at all clear. >> that's the look of hillary clinton. didn't you get a sense she was president. i'm not knocking it. didn't she look eletronic? she looks like she knows what she's doing. she doesn't want gadhafi there five more minutes. the president is working at a balancing act. she seems to know what she's doing. she's much more hawkish, a couple of notches. >> she made clear today she doesn't know where this will end up. the president on march 3rd said he must go. the president didn't say that today. >> he already said it. why st. again. >> with the backing of the united nations you would like to have the clout. they continue have egypt or saudi arabia, chris, on their side in this effort. they don't have the u.s. congress behind them. the military people i'm talk are very leery. >> i thought egyptians are arming the rebels. >> they are but that's different than doing this no fly zone. >> in the arab world which you covered, are the young people, people in their 20s and 30s sitting in cafes in damascus and cairo rooting for us to go in there and whack that guy. >> they are rooting fours. it's a different generation. they are not the generation of their fathers. gadhafi represents the generation of their fathers and of the 50-year-old, 70-year-old leaders of the arab world. they want new change. they want a new generation coming in to take over. >> even if it means the west toppling their guys. >> look, i'll play devil's advocate -- what are we doing do we see demonstrations in the streets. do we see screaming for people to come in. i don't see the arab street revolting. >> the arab street. we got trouble in bahrain and yemen. we're not getting involved in there because they are our allies. plainly as the ambassador says this is not a national thing this is a generational thing. >> where do you think u.s. policy is taking us over the next couple of weeks? >> we're on the edge of a slippery slope. somebody in the pentagon said they are not concerned that the president has tunnel vision but he has funnel vision. we're getting sucked in. >> who is this smart person? >> i can't tell you. >> what do you think, mr. ambassador? do you think we're being sucked in? are we going more and more into this quick sand of the middle east again into more and more of a role of war? >> if hillary has her way, yes because she's not going to put up with a repeat or replay of rwanda. >> you're one of those. you believe this is bill clinton and hillary clinton afraid of another rwanda. . >> absolutely. we'll get back to that and i moment. here's more from president obama today. let's listen. . >> it is not an action we will pursue alone. indeed our british and french allies and members of the arab league have already committed to take a leadership role in the enforcement of this resolution. just as they were instrumental in pursuing it. we're coordinating closely with them. and this is precisely how the international community should work, as more nations bear both the responsibility and the cost of enforcing international law. >> well that was very sanitary mr. ambassador. he's talking about a member of the united nations 0 observing the resolution. here's my question. are we more dramatic in what we intend to do. secretary of state clinton is leading the fight loaded for bear, they believe this was a big mistake not going in somewhere. you say we're going in because of her. >> if there's a massacre of citizens of benghazi, the president will never live it down. >> you with that? >> no. i think that's right. i think that's right. that's part of the problem the president find himself in. the resolution is number 1973. iranic as you well know that's the war of powers resolution. >> didn't know that but i'll remember that. >> we're going in without any congressional support. if a u.s. pilot were shot down or civilians to be massacred in benghazi the president would be in deep, deep quick sand. >> no more pilots shot down northeastern rwanda. thank you, guys for covering all the bases. up next from the crisis in libya to the cry since japan. u.s. officials say the nuclear crisis in japan is worse than three mile island. category five. we'll get to the late zwroeft avert an all out meltdown. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. for me cancer was as scary as a fastball is to some of these kids. but my coach had hit that pitch before. turning data into useful answers. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. we're with you when you're saving for your dreams. 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[ male announcer ] and there you go, business pro. there you go. go national. go like a pro. welcome back to "hardball". japan has raised its rating of that nuclear disaster to a level five. former member of the nuclear regulatory commission said the crisis even surpasses three mile island. that's the standard. there it is on that score there on that grid. time is running out as emergency workers raise a full blown meltdown and nuclear chain reaction. more on the desperate situation. let's turn to mike freelander. david albright who is a former nuclear weapons inspector and president of the institute for science international security. well, michael let's go to this whole question. what does it mean to go to five? >> well, probably the more relevant point is what does it mean to be somewhere near three mile island. the real bottom line is we have a situation where the nuclear complex has been compromised as a result of a station blackout. the reactors have a very limited cooling for some period of time and have released some form of their nuclear radioactivity and the issue that makes this similar to three mile island is the reactor. the thing that makes it more complex is we don't have one reactor that's affected here, we have four plus a large fuel pool. >> what's your worry now that it's reached five. does that mean it will keep heading upwards in terms of horror? >> chris, the real core issue, no pun intended to get out of this is getting power restored to the facility and i just saw reports this morning that tepco has been able to bring in power lines from a neighboring electric utility and getting power restored to those facilities is absolutely crucial to getting us out of the woods here. onc