therefore, the main task of latin america is to recover the lost time and tap all of its potential. we have lots of things in common with the u.s., fast, generous territory, homogeneous people, hardworking people. we don't have racial problems that affect some african countries or the wars that are waged in europe nor the religious conflict of europe itself. and therefore latin america is called to compromise or rather commitment with its own fate. and therefore we are looking forward to president obama's words. we are all left-handed. we have many coincidences. we studied in harvard, both of us. we are sportsmen. president obama continues to be a basketball player. i was in my time as well. i think the first lady of the u.s. is very good-looking, and president obama has said the

same thing about the first lady of chile. there are plenty of 0 coincidences. but the most important one is the one we'll find this afternoon, and modestly if i could suggest to president obama, we hope to have a partnership that is two -- one where we have all responsibilities and not existentialism because it's never been enough. rather a partnership of collaboration between latin america and the united states sharing values, principles and a common vision. that alliance should be comprehensive. it should tout to the fields of democracy, freedom, defense of human rights. and i think we have to improve the democratic charter of oas. it should also open up the doors to the free trade of goods and

services and faster than what we have done hitherto. in addition to that, to include those subjects which are the true pillars of the 21st century, quality of education, science, technology, innovation, entrepreneurship. therein lie the pillars for latin america so as to leave poverty and underdevelopment behind. and we have so much to learn from a country like the united states that in its 230 years of independent life has really given true evidence of being an innovative country and that has made the largest contribution to progress of mankind. and thus latin america and the united states have a lot to gain from this alliance. that also has to reach out to two of the most important challenges of the 21st century --

energy. to have clean, safe, renewable energy. and water. if global warming keeps on, it could be the most scarce resource of our century. and also facing the major problems of modern society that cannot be faced unilaterally, organized crime, terrorism, drug trafficking, global warming. the subject of world security, it can no longer be faced individually. we need to work jointly together. and in our view that will call for a new international order that will replace that which emerged after the second world war and to be appropriate and adapted to the needs and chal evens of the 21 t century where the only constant thing we have is change. so the time is right to recover all that lost time. and time is here so that finally

this relationship of encounters, disencounters, of shaking hands, put that to be in the past and let us initiate a new era, collaboration, reencountering, frankly, effectively, concretely, that we're truly facing the major problems that will also open up the doors to tap the main opportunities. this society of knowledge and information is knocking on our doors. latin america was late to the industrial revolution. we cannot be late in this tremendous revolution which is so much deeper, which is that of knowledge and information. and it has been very generous with the countries that want to embrace it but very cool with those countries that do not tap it. no tide should be left behind. i heard this from president obama.

and here we say in latin america, no country should be left behind. thank you. >> so you have been listening to president obama and chilean president sebastian pinera. bit of a statement from both and then q & a. that was the first time we have seen president obama speaking in front of the camera since the military 0 bombardment has begun in libya. the picture on the right half of your screen -- are these live pictures? these are live pictures of tripoli. we want to listen? let's listen. you can hear the echoing of the anti-aircraft fire there in the capital city of libya.

i want to bring in wolf blitzer. wolf, i know you were listening as we watch these pictures. the lights, the skies over libya illuminated for, what, the third day in a row here. wolf, what did you make of what the president said? it seemed to me he was making it very, very clear that the military action we have seen over the past couple of days is very much so in line with the u.n. security council resolution signed back on thursday, resolution 1973, to protect libyan civilians by all measures necessary. but wolf it was very clear the president, very clear, to differentiate it is still u.s. policy they want gadhafi out. >> yeah. he was very clear on that, a lot blunter than i thought he was going to be, given the international sensitivity on alots of these issues right now. he made it clear, yes, the united nations security council resolution 1973 strictly designed for humanitarian

purposes to protect libyan civilians, to create an environment for a no-fly zone over libya. that's the united nations policy. that's what the united states supported at the u.n. security council. that's what the international community, the mission of the u.s., british, french militaries involved. at the same time, the president was very precise. he said the u.s. policy, u.s. policy, remains the same. you've got to get rid of gadhafi. he says there's no ifs, ands or buts. gadhafi must go. the president was very forceful so saying there's a whole rangeful options that the united states has beyond the u.n. security council resolution to make sure when all the dust settles there's no gadhafi ruling libya. he spoke about some of the international sanctions, the unilateral u.s. sanctions, the freezing of about $30 billion in libyan assets already in the united states. he didn't go into other specifics, but there are plenty of other unilateral u.s. specific operations under way

right now designed for what's called regime change, in other words, getting rid of gadhafi. and that's -- the president minced no words on that. he said that's the u.s. policy. the united nations policy, the united nations resolution, stops way short of that. >> you're absolutely right. in case people missed it, part of the q & a, when he was asked about what ace happening here in libya, we've quickly turned around some of the sound in chile. listen, this is president obama. >> we have done all the work and it was just a matter of seeing how gadhafi would react to the warning i issued on friday. he, despite words to the contrary, was continuing to kill his civilians. after consultation with our allies we decided to move forward and it was a matter of me directing -- >> unless you speak spanish i know it's difficult to be able to hear the president speaking in english. we're ghoing to work on that and get a better translation.

wolf blitzer, i know you and i will be speaking a little later this hour. we know the president will actually be giving his speech. >> brooke, let me make one other point because i thought it was very significant what the president said, even as there's obviously anti-aircraft fire going on over tripoli right now. we don't know if there's another coalition air strike that triggered the anti-aircraft fire. nic robertson is on the scene for us. something the president said raised an eyebrow, at least with me. he was asked in a follow-up question, how long will the u.s. remain in charge? when will the transition to others take place? he said several days. he said, days not weeks. then he emphasized several days. i don't know whoo he means by several days. earlier in the day i had been hearing the days, not weeks was already obsolete, given the complexity of this operation. the u.s. was going to remain in charge not just for a few more days but perhaps for weeks right now. so we need some clarification.

was the president giving the final definitive word? had he been formally finally briefed by his military commanders that there was no way this transition could take place over a few days, it's going to take a few weeks? those are questions we'll have to work on to see if when the president says it will take days, not weeks, then he said several days for the transition to take place, whether he was up to speed on what's going on. because earlier in the day we had been getting indications that it was going to be weeks, no longer days, as admiral mullen the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff suggested yesterday. >> good point. we don't know, days or weeks. hopefully we can perhaps hear a little bit of clearing up the confusion. maybe he'll address that. we'll hear from the president later this hour. wolf blitzer, you and i will chat again as well. as we continue to hear some of the sound there over the skies of tripoli, i want to bring in arwa damon. arwa, i want you to tell me as best you can where you are, what you're seeing and hearing.

>> reporter: well, brooke, i'm in benghazi, which is basically the heart of the opposition-controlled eastern part of libya. and it was a very, very dramatic development here when those fighter jets came in overhead on the weekend on sunday and pounded gadhafi's military that was masked some 20 miles outside of the city. on zoo, gadhafi's forces had launched an attack on the city of benghazi. at least 95 people were killed in that, according to hospital sources, and residents, eyewitnesss, were telling us horrific stories about how they saw gadhafi's troops coming in on vehicles, mounted with heavy machine guns, firing indiscriminately into residential areas. people here very grateful about this foreign interintervention. we went out to the scene to the air strikes. an eyewitness saying at least eight bombs dropped. we saw a graveyard of gadhafi's

military vehicles. we counted at least 70 vehicles that had been disabled. so here in this part of the country, those fighter jets overhead very welcome, the population very grateful. because up until this point, they firmly believed that no matter how hard the opposition tried to hold out, a massacre was basically imminent. >> brooke, last time we spoke was arwa, when the opposition forces were distraught because there was not an intervention yet. i know over the weekend there was a bit of celebration. have you from your vantage in still rebel-controlled benghazi, have you seen evidence of retreat of gadhafi's forces? >> reporter: well, they're no longer outside of benghazi, as they were over the weekend, based on what we have heard. no way to independently confirm this, but theyretreated all the way to ajdabiya, 100 miles to

the west. that's where they're facing off with opposition, the opposition trying to get that area and other areas back under their control. they say they're growing increasingly worried about the population in these areas that the military is controlling. great fears that the military is perhaps using local residents as human shields to protect themselves from these air strikes. we're also hearing stories that residents are being intimidated, that gadhafi's forces have basically hit lists of those who were actively involved in this opposition, going after these individuals in their homes. and so the fight does appear to have very much moved away from benghazi, thanks to those air strikes the opposition says, and is now centering once again around the city of ajdabiya, brooke. >> arwa damon, live in benghazi, my thanks so you. we're working to try to get nic robertson up for us live. nic has been reporting out of tripoli. in fact, nic was one of the very few journalists given a tour inside the gadhafi compound that

was bombed yesterday. so he can speak a little bit more about that and what he's seeing and hearing in the skies of tripoli at this moment. again, live pictures as we're seeing and hearing some of the anti-aircraft fire. also we have learned today there is a meeting at the united fa nations right now. apparently the libyans would like to meet with the u.n. we'll talk to richard roth at the u.n. stay here. a lot of ground to cover. cnn, be right back. coldwell banker. we never stop moving. [ male announcer ] ylord of the carry-on.. sovereign of the security line.

you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i deserve this. [ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro.

today, investors want retirement planning on their terms. i want to work with people who are objective. how about a plan with my name on it... not someone else's. can we start with realistic goals please? and research that's strictly third party. show me how to keep more retirement money in my pocket. now, and down the road. those are my terms. those are my terms. those are my terms. then this is your place. td ameritrade. where millions of investors plan for retirement on their terms.

these are live pictures over the libyan capital of tripoli. tracer fire, apt tie-aircraft fire. taped. forgive me. i'm being told this is tape from moments ago. we're working on nic robertson who is reporting from tripoli. we'll get him here momentarily. i want to move on and talk about the u.n. here. libyan officials want this emergency meeting with the u.n. security council. they didn't get one yet, but something is going on right now behind closed doors at the united nations. for that i want to bring in richard roth, our senior u.n. correspondent. richard, i just want to make sure i'm hearing and understanding this right. the u.n. right now is holding a meeting to consider holding a meeting with libya. is that right? >> reporter: that's pretty close there. the u.n. has its rules and regulations, and certainly when there's this major security

council resolution passed last thursday night and then you have all of this action going on in the arena of north africa, somebody is going to ask to discuss something. now, it's libya that is asking for a security council meeting, but you have to have a meeting really to talk about it. but the council was going to meet anyway about sudan at this hour. so now delegates are behind closed doors discussing libya's request for a security council meeting. western powers are not going to be looking favorably on this request, we're told. they think the council has spoken and the resolution passed strongly last thursday night, five abstentions but it did pass, and we'll find out the chinese ambassador, current president of the security council, he'll tell what's going on. russia denies all calling for the meeting. libya doesn't have official representatives from the gadhafi government. they politically defected.

usually you have a lone figure standing for the country under attack. that person does not exist publicly right now. >> i remember it was some weeks ago, it was libya's deputy ambassador effectively defected, once a confidant, so is there no one now, richard, speaking on behalf of libya at the u.n.? >> reporter: there really isn't anybody attending these meetings speaking up for libya. lebanon, which voted for this resolution, could always pass notes. but things get through the system. the libyan government, colonel gadhafi, wants his former ambassador to come back here, president of the general assembly, but he has to present his credentials here in new york to ban ki-moon as part of the procedure. they may meet privately in north africa, but today the spokesman for u.n. says, no. for libya to get his man here, he has to fly here. whether he wants to come here to represent gadhafi is a whole other issue. the security council, will this

coalition hold at the council? certainly it has so far, despite comments by prime minister putin of russia who said what's happening in the skies over libya is a medieval crusade. president medvedev didn't agree. it's a first test if someone wants to come out publicly and say, listen, this has gone too far. we didn't vote for cruise missiles to be raining down on the gadhafi compound. >> i know the meeting going on right now, very much so behind closed doors. richard, are you privy at all to knowing what specifically libya is seeking from the u.n. security council? >> well, we have two letters sent from libya. libya wants to have an emergency meeting held in order to halt the aggression, which libya says is not aimed at protecting civilians but it's rather to strike civilian areas, economic facilities and armed forces. and also libya insisting in another letter it's adhering to a cease-fire, though there's

widespread dispute about that on the ground. >> there were reports, you mentioned secretary-general ban ki-moon was accosted by anti-american demonstrators in cairo today. what do you know about that? >> reporter: well, i wasn't there. i don't know much. he was meeting with arab league leaders. secretary ban has been one in front leading the call for you might say this democracy movement in north africa and the middle east. he accepts what happened in libya and what's going on and he's not coming out and saying gadhafi has to go, but he's certainly saying that democracy must occur. secretary ban is up for reelection this year and is not going to be going against the u.s., china or other leaders on this issue. >> well, obviously if you hear that the u.n. security council is willing to meet with libya, let us know. we'll get you back on tv. richard roth live at the u.n. richard, thank you. and the u.s. thought it could count on their support in libya, but we're now getting

word that a key country in the middle east is saying, not so fast. what that means for the whole mission as we move forward. that's next. also, we're going to bring you up to speed as to what's happening right now in japan where there is even more smoke, grayish-black smoke, sort of emanating from this nuclear reactor plant. workers have been evacuated again. stay here. can be a project. but cascade complete pacs have 70% more tough food cleaning ingredients to get the job done. cascade complete. beyond your wildest clean. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] with amazing innovation, driven by relentless competition, wireless puts the world at your command. ♪

canada and belgium joining the coalition in the skies over

libya. planes from that group flew their first missions today, but the uea, united united arab emi it's only providing aid. is it necessary for the military role in what's happening in libya. joel dougherty is live in paris. jill, if i may, i want to begin with some sound from admiral mike mullen. here's what he cold cnn just yesterday. >> i'm fairly confident, actually very confident, that there will be military capabilities from some arab nations and that they are actually moving into theater now. so that's been the commitment on the part of the political leadership in some arab countries, and i expect it to happen militarily as well. >> so, jill, militarily admiral mullen say they'd be heading

into theater, into country. we also heard from u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon saying support from arab nations is key to this resolution 1973. so going forward here, how important is it that these arab countries play a military role in libya? >> reporter: it's extremely important, brooke, because, after all, let's go back a little bit. you know, it was the arab league and the gulf cooperation coalition that asked for this. it was pushing -- the gcc, it was asking for this. and the western countries do not want it to look as if it's a western operation. they definitely want arab and gulf participation. in fact, secretary of state hillary clinton called it -- she said it changed the political landscape when they came out and asked for that. >> jill dougherty, forgive me for interrupting you. got to go live to president

obama speaking in chile. >> thank you so much. thank you. thank you. please, please, everyone be seated. thank you. it is a wonderful honor to be here in santiago, chile, and i want to first of all thank your president, president pinera, for his outstanding leadership and the hospitality that he's extended not only to me but also to my wife, my daughters, and, most importantly, my mother-in-law. to the people of santiago, to the people of chile, thank you so much for your wonderful welcome. and on behalf of the people of the united states, let me thank you for your friendship and

strong bonds between our people. there are several people that i just want to acknowledge very briefly. we have the president of the interamerican development bank luis alberto moreno who is here. we also have alicia, the executive secretary of the economic commission for latin america and the caribbean. throughout our history, this land has been called the end of the world. but i've come here today because, in the 21st century, this nation is a vital part of our interconnected world.

in an age when peoples are intertwined like never before, chile shows that we need not be divided by race or religion or ethnic conflict. you've welcomed immigrants from every corner of the globe, even as you celebrate a proud indigenous heritage, at a time when people around the world are reaching for their freedoms, chile shows that, yes, it is possible to transition from dictatorship to democracy and to do so peacefully. indeed, our marvelous surroundings today just steps from where chile lost its democracy decades ago is a testament to chile's progress and its undying democratic spirit. despite barriers of distance and

geography, you've integrated chile into the global economy, trading with countries all over the world. and in this internet age becoming the most digitally connected country in latin america. and in a world of sometimes wrenching pain, as we're seeing today in japan, it is the character of this country that inspires. our original guiding stars, our struggle and hope. but there is no such thing as a lone struggle, no such thing as a lone hope. the chilean people have shown this time and again, including your recovery from the terrible earthquake here one year ago. credit for chile's success

belongs to the chilean people whose courage, sacrifices, and perseverance built this nation into the leader that it is. and we are very honored to be joined today by four leaders who have guided this nation through years of great progress. presidents elwin, fray, lagos and of course your current president, pinera. thank you all, for the former presidents, for being here, as well as president pine itra. >> so i could not imagine a more fitting place to discuss the new era of partnership that the united states is pursuing, not only with chile, but across the americas, and i'm grateful that we're joined by leaders and members of the diplomatic corpses from across the region.

within my first 100 days in office, one of my first foreign trips as president, i traveled to trinidaded and at thtobago tt with leaders at the summit of the americas. and there i pledged to seek partnerships of equality and shared responsibility. based on mutual interest and mutual respect, based on shared values. now, i know i'm not the first president from the united states to pledge a new spirit of partnership with our latin american neighbors. words are easy, and i know that there have been times where perhaps the united states took this region for granted. even now i know our headlines are often dominated by events in other parts of the world. but let's never forget every day the future is being forged by the countries and peoples of

latin america. for latin america is not a region of perpetual conflict or trapped in endless cycles of poverty. the world must now recognize latin america for the dynamic and growing region that it truly is. latin america is at peace. civil wars have ended. insurgencies have been pushed back. old border disputes have been resolved. in colombia, great sacrifices by citizens and security forces have rescotored a level of security not seen in decades. and, just as old conflicts have receded, so, too, have the ideological battles that often fueled them. the old stale debates between state-run economies and unbridled capitalism. between the abuses of right wing and left wing.

between those who believe the united states causes all the region's problems and those who believe the united states ignores all the region's problems. those are false choices, and they don't reflect today's realities. today latin america is democratic. virtually all the people of latin america have gone from living under dictatorships to living in democracies. across the region, we see vibrant democracies from mexico to chile to costa rica. we've seen historic, peaceful transfers of power from el salvador to iraguay to pair aguay. today latin america is growing. having made tough but necessary reforms, nations like peru and

brazil are seeing impressive growth. as a result, latin america weathered the global economic downturn better than other regions. across the region tens of millions of people have been lifted from extreme poverty. from guadalajara to santiago to sao paulo, a new middle class is demanding more of themselves and more of their governments. latin america is coming together to address shared challenges. chile, colombia and mexico are sharing their expertise in security with nations in central america. when a coup in honduras threatened democratic progress, the nations of the hem i sphere union nas mussily invoked the charter laying down the foundation to the return of the rule of law. the contributions of latin american countries have been

critical in haiti, as has latin american diplomacy in the leadup to yesterday's election in haiti. increasingly, latin america is contributing to global prosperity and security. as longtime contributors to united nations peacekeeping missions, latin america has helped from africa to asia. at the g-20, mexico, brazil, argentina now have a greater voice in economic decision making. under mexican leadership, the world made progress at cancun in our efforts to combat chiemt cla climate change. nations like chile have played a role in strengthening civil society groups around the world. so this is the latin america that i see today, a region on the move, proud of its progress and ready to assume a greater

role in world affairs. and for all of these reasons i believe that latin america is more important to the prosperity and security of the united states than ever before. with no other region does the united states have so many connections. and nowhere do we see that more than in the tens of millions of hispanic-americans across the united states who enrich our society, grow our economy, and strengthen our nation every single day. and i believe latin america is only going to become more important to the united states, especially to our economy. trade between the united states and latin america has surged. we buy more of your products, more of your goods, than any other country, and we invest more in this region than any other country. for instance, we export more than three times as much to latin america as we do to china. our exports to this region,

which are growing faster than our exports to the rest of the world, will soon support more than 2 million u.s. jobs. in other words, when latin america is more prosperous, the united states is more prosperous. but even more than interest, we're bound by shared values. in each other's journey, we see reflections of our own. colonists who broke free from empires, pioneers who opened new frontiers. citizens who have struggled to expand our nation's promise to all people, men and women, white, black, and brown. whe we're people of faith who must remember that all of us, especially the most fortunate among us, must do our part, especially for the least among us. we're citizens who know that ensuring that democracies deliver for our people must be

the work of all. this is our common history. this is our common heritage. we are all americans. across the americas, parents want their children to be able to run and play and know that they'll come home safely. young people, all desperately want an education. fathers want the dignity that comes from work. and women want the same opportunities as their husbands. entrepreneurs want the chance to start that new business. and people everywhere want to be treated with the respect to which every human being is entitled. these are the hopes, simple yet profound, that beat in the hearts of millions across the americas. but, if we're honest, we'll also admit that these dreams are still beyond the reach of too many.

the progress in the americas has not come fast enough. not for the millions who endure the injustice of extreme poverty, not for the children in shantytowns who just want the same chance as everybody else. not for the communities caught in the brutal grips of cartels and gangs where the police are outgunned and too many people live in fear. and despite this region's democratic progress, stark inequalities endure. and political and economic power that is too often concentrated in the hands of the few instead of serving the many. and the corruption that too often still stifles economic growth and development, innovation and entrepreneurship. and in some leaders who cling to bankrupt ideologies to justify their own power and who seek to silence their opponents because those opponents have the audacity to demand their

universal rights. these two aoo are real itities face. of course, we are not the first generation to face these challenges. 50 years ago this month president john f. kennedy proposed an ambitious alliance for progress. it was, even by today's standards, a massive investment, billions of u.s. dollars, to meet the basic needs of people across the region. such a program was right, it was appropriate for that era. but the realities of our time and the new capabilities of latin america demand something different. president kennedy's challenge endures, to build a hemisphere where all people can hope for a sustainable, suitable standard of living and all can live out their lives in dignity and

freedom. but half a century later, we must give meaning to this work in our own way. in a new way. i believe that in the americas today there are no senior partners and there are no junior partners. there are only equal partners. of course, equal partnership in turn demands a sense of shared responsibility. we have obligations to each other. and today the united states is working with the nations of this hemisphere to meet our responsibilities in several key areas. first, we're partnering to ait dre -- address the concerns that people across the americas say they worry about the most, and that's the security of their families and communities. criminal gangs and narco traffickers are not only a tl threat to the security of our citizens. they're a threat to development because they scare away investment that economies need

to prosper. and they are a direct threat to democracy because they fuel the corruption that rots institutions from within. so, with our partners from colombia to mexico and new regional initiatives in central america and the caribbean, we're convifronting this challenge fr every direction together. we've increased the support, equipment, training and technologies that security forces, border security and police need to keep communities safe. we're improving coordination and sharing more information so that those who traffic in drugs and in human beings have fewer places to hide. and we're putting unprecedented pressure on cartel finances, including in the united states. but we'll never break the grip of the cartels and the gangs unless we also address the social and economic forces that fuel criminality. we need to reach at-risk youth

before they turn to drugs and crime. so we're joining with partners across the americas to expand community-based policing, strengthen juvenile justice systems, and invest in crime and drug prevention programs. as the nations of central america develop, a new regional security strategy, the united states stands ready to do our part through a new partnership that puts the focus where it should be, on the security of citizens. and with regional and international partners, we'll make sure our support is not just well-intentioned but is well-coordinated and well-spent. i've said before and i will repeat, as president i've made it clear that the united states shares and accepts our share of responsibility for drug violence. after all, the demand for drug, including in the united states, drives this crisis. that's why we've developed a new drug control strategy that

focused on reducing the demand for drugs through education and prevention and treatment. and i would point out that even during difficult fiscal times in the united states we've proposed increasing our commitment to these effort by some $10 billion this year alone. we're also doing more to stem the southbound flow of guns into the region. we're screening all southbound rail cargo. we're seizing many more guns bound for mexico and we're putting more gun runners behind bars. and every gun or gun runner that we take off the streets is one less threat to the families and communities of the americas. as we work to ensure the security of our citizens, we're partnering in a second area, and that's promoting prosperity and opportunity. i've been so impressed with president pine ra's pledge to lift everyone out of extreme poverty by 2020. that's an ambitious goal and an

appropriate goal. and with this trip i'm working to expand some of the trade and investment that might help achieve this goal. across the region, we're moving ahead with open skies agreements to bring our people and businesses closer together. we're moving forward with our trnz pacific partnership which includes chile and peru, to create new trade opportunities in the fast-growing markets of the asia-pacific. and as i've directed my administration has intensified our efforts to move forward on trade agreements with panama and colombia, consistent with our values and with our interests. we're also encouraging the next generation of businesses and entrepreneurs so we'll work with the interamerican development bank to increase lending. we've expanded credit under a new microfinance growth fund for the americas. we're supporting reforms to tax systems, which are critical for economic growth and public

investment. we're creating new pathways to prosperity, microcredit, entrepreneurship training, for those who must share in economic growth, including women and members of indigenous communities. and we're coming together as a hemisphere to create clean energy jobs and pursue more secure and sustainable energy futures. >> you have been listening to the president speaking from santiago, chile. he mentioned -- he called it the end of the earth there in chile. this is just part of his south american tour. he left friday for brazil. we saw him in rio. now here he is speaking in santiago. he's been speaking about economic growth and interconnectedness, issues with narco trafficking, human rights, clean energy. he will continue to speak for some time here. of course, we'll be monitoring the speech through that point in time. but i do want to bring in

both gloria borger and wolf blitzer, both of whom i know have been watching this speech and are quite familiar with the fact that, in addition to the fact the president is in south america, he's caught a bit of heat for leaving the oval office at a time where the u.s. and other coalition forces are exercising their military might in libya. we'll get to that in just a moment. ms. borger, i want to begin with you. you've been listening to the first bit of the speech. what has stood out for you? >> you know, i think this is something we've heard the president talk about before. i think he clearly is making an overture to this part of the world saying that, you know, in the past some presidents may not have paid as much attention to you as i am paying to you, because i think if you do well, america does well. so he was emphasizing all the things that you spoke about, brooke, shared goals in the world. so, you know, in a sense it was kind of a predictable sort of

speech that we all knew he was going to give. i think what's interesting, as you point out, is that he is there right now when we have american military action in libya. and in talking to people in the administration, when they made this decision about whether to go or whether to stay here, they decided in fact that they needed to go because they weren't leading the military intervention. in the arab world. chile to some of the other countries he's visiting at this

sensitive moment and stayed in washington, hunkered down in the white house situation room dealing with a war in effect in libya, it would have certainly given the impression that the united states was in charge, that this was a u.s. operation and that the united states was at war. that's not the impression white house officials want to give. they want to give the impression that, italy and spain and qatar. maybe some other countries from the area itself. denmark. there's a whole coalition that the british prime minister calls the willing from the phrase from the war in iraq eight years ago. they would think as awkward as the symbolism now, even while u.s. troops are involved in trying to establish the groundwork for a no fly zone over libya. they feel it would have been worse if the president had cancelled the support and visit to south america. >> wolf, gloria, please stand by

for me. we know the president took a couple questions in one of them, did have to do with libya, just a short time ago. in case you missed it, we're going to replay. this is the president explaining his decision to go. >> we had done all the work, and it was just a matter of seeing how gadhafi would react to the warning that i issued on friday. he, despite words to the contrary, was continuing to act aggressively toward his civilians. after a consultation with our allies, we decided to move forward. it was a matter of me directing the secretary of defense gates and admiral mullen, the plan that had been developed in great detail was put into place. >> so wolf, we know as per the security council resolution, it was voted upon 10 to zero last thursday, to protect libyan

civilians, all necessary measures must be taken. he was specific to delineate the u.s. policy, is the fact that they want gadhafi to go. wolf? >> right, two different policies. there's a specific united nation's security council resolution that was passed as you say last thursday, resolution 1973 that had limited goals to protect civilians and create a no fly zone over libya. the president was very blunt. he said, that's the u.n. policy, the u.s. has a different policy, it supports the u.n. security council resolution, but the u.s. policy is also that gadhafi must go. in effect there must be regime change in libya. and that the u.s. has a whole network of options before it including sanctions, unilateral u.s. sanctions. freezing of some $30 billion. there are other options before the u.s. right now, so that the american policy is clear, no gadhafi ruling libya any more and u.s. policy will turn to

pursue that objective, even though at least for now, the u.s. has not done what the president of france has done, formally recognize the opposition as the legitimate government of libya. the u.s. has stopped short of that, even though the u.s. has officials who are in direct contact with the opposition. >> okay, wolf, gloria, stand by, i have a few more questions for you. well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. your advertising mail campaign is paying off! business is good! it must be if you're doing all that overnight shipping. that must cost a fortune. it sure does.

well, if it doesn't have to get there overnight, you can save a lot with priority mail flat rate envelopes. one flat rate to any state, just $4.95. that's cool and all... but it ain't my money. i seriously do not care... so, you don't care what anyone says, you want to save this company money! that's exactly what i was saying. hmmm... priority mail flat rate envelopes, just $4.95 only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. about his future. he can't say social security... much less tell you what it means. he doesn't know that his parents are counting on the money they pay in. or that the hard earned benefits his grandparents receive... are secure. right now he's not thinking about his future. but we are. aarp has been working to preserve social security for more than 50 years. join us in a conversation to strengthen it for years to come.

back here live, talking about the president speaking now in chile, santiago. he took a couple questions earlier, specifically on libya. i have wolf blitzer standing by, gloria borger, ed henry. i want to ask you about the uae, they're saying we're going to give them humanitarian aide. how risky is it for some of these arab nations to go forward in libya? >> it's very risky, and almost unprecedented they would join the united states, britain and france in this kind of

coalition. we remember the first gulf war in '91, when the first president bush put together a coalition. he had support from egypt, certainly saudi arabia. that was a mission to separate kuwait from saddam hussein's control. the saudis provided a base from which the u.s. could deploy half a million troops to go ahead with the liberation of kuwait. but arab forces were not all that much involved in the '91 war, and it was almost symbolic. in this particular case, it would be symbolic if qatar sends a plane or two. i don't know if the saudis are going to do much. egypt has said it won't get involved. they'll support it, the arab league was in support of a no-fly zone, but it's very awkward for an arab country to join the u.s. and other

countries in fighting the arabs. that's always been a difficult situation. >> wolf blitzer, i know you have a busy day. gloria borger, i got a sneak peak at your column for today. some of what you talk about is this specific goal in libya on behalf of the u.s. should president obama have said specifically, we have to get gadhafi out? >> there are many that think no he should not have said that. you saw in his press conference today, he had to separate u.s. policy from u.n. policy. and the point is, if gadhafi is the one murdering his own people. how can the u.n. policy be deemed a success unless gadhafi goes, if he's the one doing the murdering. there's a problem here, which is, how do you judge a humanitarian mission a success?

in the end who are these rebels and what can we do to help them? and are we sure they're all good guys? these are all problems. and one more point to what wolf was talking about, the arab league. it's my bet, i would be interested to hear what ed henry has to say. it's my bet that president obama, the arab league was the key factor in making him go along with this mission. i talked too richard haase the head of foreign relations. simply getting a coalition doesn't mean it's a good idea. obama thought more about process than policy, and the end game. how do we get out if gadhafi's still there? >> it's a good question and good column too, gloria. you mentioned ed henry, who is traveling with the president here, he's been in brazil, now he's in chile, and ed, i know that right now the president's involved in a bit of a juggling act, talking about the importance of south america and interconnectedness and clean

energy. at the same time, he has to be close in contact with what's happening in libya? >> absolutely. and once you commit u.s. forces to a military mission in libya, that is what is foremost on the minds of the american people. as much as he wants to talk about the economy in trade, it's certainly growing to take a back seat to what's happening in libya. gloria's right. you had people like vice president biden and other top officials i'm told by sienior aides to the president earlier on in the internal debate. those concerns were alleviated if you will, for vice presidt biden and others, once they heard the arab league, other allies were on board, that's where there was so much heartburn in latin america yesterday, when administration officials started getting these reports that the arab league had gone into session. they were concerned the air strikes violated the more than date, had gone much further fan what they wanted and that their

endorsement was in peril. behind the scenes, senior administration people were phoning people in the arab league, trying to clarify all this, saying, this was within the u.n. mandate which said institute a no fly zone, but use all means necessary to protect the u.s. and civilians. the president called the king of jordan himself yesterday to try to alleviate concerns. vice president biden was on the fon yesterday, calling leaders if kuwait and al gear ya, this is a full court press by this administration, that support of the arab league is critical. >> it's a game changer. >> absolutely. >> we're not going to go far from libya. also, we'll tell you what's going on with the nuclear plant right now in japan. top of the hour, here, take a look at this. libyan leader moammar gadhafi promises a long war. really, what's the end game for

the united states? i'm brooke baldwin, the news is now? 2:25 p.m. friday afternoon. >> we are not going to use force to go beyond a well defined goal. >> 24 hours later the u.s. and its allies begin to strike libya. more fan 100 missiles target government tanks. air defense sites, even part of moammar gadhafi's compound. >> certainly has a look of a weapon of missile. >> what happens next? >> and where exactly is moammar gadhafi? >> also, in addition to libya, blood spills in yemen, syria and bahrain. a closer look at this historic moment sweeping a region in turmoil. new trouble in japan's escalating nuclear crisis. workers evacuated after smoke rise from two reactors. without the workers, what's next for the plant. here we go, hour two here on cnn newsroom.

i'm brooke baldwin. about an hour ago we heard several loud explosions followed by rounds of anti-aircraft fire over tripoli. watch. >> there were two, maybe three explosions in the same area as moammar gadhafi's palace compound. that is the same compound that was hit last night. this is the aftermath. one building was heavily damaged in last night's strike, but decide the attack on gras daffy's compound the man heading u.s. operations in libya insists the goal is not to get gadhafi. here he was. >> i don't know much about the location of the libyan leader, nor have we expended any military effort in that regard. we have expended considerable effort to degrade the libyan

regime's military command and control capability. and i think we've had some fairly significant effect in that regard. >> general carter hamm also says he sees gadhafi's military forces moving away from benghazi in eastern libya. that's where we find arwa damon. i can imagine many of these opposition leaders you've been speaking with are elated there's some international military intervention here. have you seen any evident of a retreat by gadhafi's forces where you are? >> we moved certainly have, if we go back to what happened over the weekend on saturday. gadhafi's forces were not at the gates, they were in benghazi, having marched on the southern portion of this city. at least 5 people were killed according to hospital administration officials. eyewitnesss telling us how tanks were firing indiscriminately

into apartment blocks, how gadhafi's troops were firing automatic machine guns, laughing the entire time. on saturday, the opposition managed to push gadhafi's military out of benghazi. they were out of no illusion they would be able to push back that sort of a sustained attack. on sunday morning, finally, the opposition says they saw the actions, the damage that foreign fighter jitds could cause, when at least eight according to an eyewitness missiles came down some 30 miles outside of ben z bengha benghazi. the debris strewn around for miles. everyone saying thank you to the international community. the air strikes have come a bit too late. they would have wanted to see it soother, they're happy they're taking place right now. because they do firmly believe if the air strikes had not hand,

they would have all been killed. brooke? >> that's the situation, the elation perhaps more where you are, arwa in benghazi. talk to me about western libya, you have tripoli, not too terribly far, about 100, 120 miles away from misrata. there's still unbelievable violence on the ground there. >> that's right, and the violence that is going on in other parts of the country have been brought up by the opposition here in benghazi. it's not enough for them to have benghazi be relatively calm right now, it's not about the city of benghazi, this is about all of libya. there's heavy fighting between thwarted in misurata and towns further to the west. they are telling a horrific story saying gadhafi's troops are massacring them.

in trying to stop that kind of violence, gadhafi's troops are inside the cities, that makes launching an air strike against them very difficult if not impossible. and so people hear the opposition does realize that this war for libya is far from being over. they are asking for some sort of intervention to try to bring about an end to the attacks nor happening in other parts of the country. >> arwa damon, thanks. there seems to be some worry here as to what we're getting into with regard to libya. as it turns out, they're actually asking the same questions we are in britain. i want to play you some sound. this is from prime minister david cameron. >> what would be a successful outcome so this military action? and is it possible it could take a number of years for us to get out of libya now? >> a successful outcome is the enforcement of the will of the

u.n. is the cease of attacks on civilians. that's what our aim is. let me be absolutely frank about this, it is a more difficult question in many ways than in iraq. in iraq, we had been prepared to go into a country, knock over its government and put something else in place. that is not the approach we're taking here. we're saying, there's a urn security council resolution to stop violence against civilians, put in a u.n. fly zone and the libyan people must chose their future. they have far more chance of choosing their future than they did 24 or 48 hours ago. >> 55 million pounds of licenses including the personnel carriers who rolled into bahrain just last week. would you agree our position would be more consistent if we started selling arms to owe pressive regimes anywhere in that region. >> that's an important point.

we discussed in statements a number of times. we are having a proper review, not just of arms exports, but also training licenses and other relations as well. >> so, some of the same questions being asked today in our nation's capital in washington, d.c.. the president is out of the country, in chile, we've seen him, the questions are being asked none the less. d dana bash is there on capitol hill. i understand the questions, they're coming from both sides, from the president's party as well? >> it's true. we finally found some semblance of bipartisan sentiment and that is unease with what's going on in libya. you heard from democrats who didn't want a no-fly zone in the first place, no military action. i think regardless the president should go to congress before doing anything. and even some republicans who did or didn't want a no-fly zone. they're saying the president is simply not defining a mission in a way that the american people

and congress can understand. listen to an example of that from a democrat and a republican. >> there's a civil war, no doubt. we don't know that much about the rebels, but for the united states to commit its sons and daughters in military action, especially while we have two wars growiwar s going on already, normally would require some direct and imminent threat against the united states. that's not in evidence right now. >> who are the libyan protesters, aside from sevilcivs that the ruled dictator is trying to kill? and who do we deal with then, and for how long? is this once again a counter insurgency situation. is it a nation building affair? none of that's been defined. >> reporter: and so there you heard from both sides of the aisle about concern about the fact that this mission is not defined, brooke. >> isn't part of the issue here

that congress didn't get properly consulted on this ahead of time? is that at all what you're hearing here on the hill? >> that is part of what i'm hearing, i talked to two republican congressmen. congress is not in session now, they spoke to me from their districts by phone. both said they believe the president should come up here. you played that interesting clip from the parliament in england. i want to read to you what the chair woman of the foreign house of affairs said to me. i wish both sides would ask president obama to convene a joint session as soon as possible so he could better define the mission. i spoke to another congresswoman who said, you know, the president shouldn't wait, he should come home from south america, he should be here and come to congress right away. i want to be fair, just before we came on, the white house did send this letter, 24 two-page letter to congress which the president in here says that he

hopes, explains from his perspective what the u.s. is doing right now in the mission. he says this is part of his efforts to keep the congress fully informed. and also to be fair, there was a meeting on friday, in the situation room at the white house. many members of congress because they were already gone had to participate by phone. there was some concern that i've heard from some members of congress, that it really wasn't enough of a consultation, it was more of an information session. and you're hearing from both sides of the aisle, they want more information from the president, and the white house says they're doing their best. >> i want to bring in eleanor holmes norton. congresswoman norton, i understand -- and one of the reasons we're talking to you here, i know you were on that conference call saturday, among concerned members of the president's even faeparty.

can you give me a little color with regard to that phone call? what were people saying? >> most of the concern was that the president hadn't consulted with congress, and had not indicated anything about the world powers act or any indication that he was going to consult. i had those questions, even as i had been waiting, listening to you on the air, a whole host of questions arise. you have raised the spector of different aims here between the united states and the u.n. resolution. we have to ask ourselves, is it gadhafi must go? or we're there to protect civilians? are we involved in a no-fly zone? or is it an all out attack on libya? >> so, if i may -- >> for me the question is, this -- is this a civil war?

these are a bunch of tribes and you could end up unsettling another middle east country if you leave warring tribes in place. >> perhaps what i'm hearing from you is that there are frustrations over how members of congress were approached or not approached. it's also questions about the mission. let me ask you this, have you -- have other members of congress received any assurances, perhaps, from the white house that the u.s. involvement in libya will be limited? do we know, the president was saying days, will it be weeks? do you have an answer to that? >> in the beginning we were told that -- first of all, we were told there were arabs, where is qatar. the last i heard, even qatar hadn't shown up. that nullified some people. then we were told we would be in there for days. now it looks like condition knn

we may differ from the u.n., we want gadhafi to go. that's not what the u.n. said, it said we want to protect civilians. what about the rebels, we're not coordinating with the rebels, are we going to leave them surrounded and at the mercy of gadhafi? i've never seen anything so confused in my whole life. >> i hear your questions, and i'm glad to hear you think we're asking the right questions. do you have any kind of way to communicate your questions and concerns with the administration? >> actually, no, we are out this week because the majority decided we should go home por a week. therefore congress is really in limbo. this heated up, interestingly when we were out. yet the add anyone station awaited two weeks and assured us that nothing was going to happen. that we would not go in. and all of a sudden congress goes home, and we're in. and instantly in.

i think in that phone call, there's real anger and concern that something has happened. we didn't know anything, didn't have anyway to find out about. i'm pleased that our own leaders in the democratic caucus at least had a conference call so that we could know what they knew. we found out, for example -- i asked specifically, what do we know about intelligence so we can find out whose side are we on? i was told, we don't have much intelligence from libya. the questions simply abound. >> well, i appreciate you sharing your questions here for us live on cnn. representative eleanor holmes norton out of d.c. thank you. in a matter of 24 hours here, the u.s. and its allies go from a no fly zone to a coordinated assault. some arab leaders say it went too far. do they have a case? how do you avoid hitting

civilians? we'll break down this specific type of warfare being used and what's next for the military strategy. i'll stick with the man who's made some of these decisions in the past, knows exactly what goes on behind the scenes, wesley clark joins me next. everyone has someone to go heart healthy for. who's your someone? campbell's healthy request can help. low cholesterol, zero grams trans fat,

and a healthy level of sodium. it's amazing what soup can do. [ male announcer ] here they come. all the new tech products you need. and they're all looking for the same thing. ♪ the one place that makes technology easy. staples. with highly-trained tech experts and expanded tech centers, staples makes finding the right technology just the way you want it. easy. easy to buy. easy to fix. easy to save. staples. that was easy. [ male announcer ] america's beverage companies are working together to put more information right up front. adding new calorie labels to every single can, bottle and pack they produce. so you can make the choice that's right for you.

♪

the general in charge of u.s. forces in africa, says those loyal to moammar gadhafi, have little will and little ability to take back areas. i want to bring in retired general wesley clark live with me now from little rock, arkansas. general clark. were you at all listening to my conversation with congresswoman norton in d.c.? she brought up a whole host of concerns? did she have merit in her questions? >> yes. these are important questions. there are three circles that have to be tied together right here as this policy is unfolding. and this is not -- this is not unusual. these things happen in fast moving operations. first of all, the u.s. itself has to figure out the difference between what the president says is the objective, and what the

u.n. security council resolution says. and if we have a further reaching objective, how do we get there, and who authorizes it. secondly, we have to bring the american people and the institutions of government together on that, and third, with our allies we have to be together. so press reports say turkey and a nato ally is not approving the use of nato as a control agency. perhaps because turkey has a lot of guest workers in libya, and they're very concerned about the safety of their people in libya if nato authorizes this on the part of their decision. >> let me back up for a moment and talk about what's happening in libya. you have the president, and you reiterated this saying it's u.s. policy specifically that gadhafi must go. he must give up power, then you have general hamm, american four-star general saying he -- not necessarily an ideal situation, but he could see

gadhafi staying in office. what's the most likely scenario here? >> this has to be defined and worked out. the practical way forward is to use the leverage of international legal authority to do an investigation of gadhafi's crimes in libya, fridbring him n charges and declare him an indicted war criminal. at that point he can't legitimately even by international law in anyway be in charge in libya. he can be arrested, brought to the hague for trial. that's the easiest way forward. but if we don't use that, then we could also call for democratic elections. but something has to be done in the near term about what's going on in misurata, where intelligence agencies are running wild, arresting people and so forth. >> right. >> that's the tricky part of this, and then the united states doesn't want to be in a position where it's policy is more far

reaching at that point legal authority underpinning that policy that have been received from the u.n. security council, because we wouldn't have any effective way of implementing our policy in accordance with international law. the administration i'm sure is scrambling to pull all of in together. it can be put together, it just has to be and we're watching it in realtime unfold. >> we are watching it. these are live pictures from tripoli. if we can show nic robertson, i know he's in tripoli, we've been seeing some tracer fire, anti-aircraft fire there over the capital city. nic robertson, if you're there, can you tell me what you're seeing, what you're hearing? >> reporter: brooke, about three or four minutes ago, we heard a couple distant heavy explosions, and then reacting to those explosions we heard a lot of anti-aircraft gunfire, a lot of crater fire. there's more going up in the sky

right now. i'll be quiet for a moment. >> reporter: what you're looking at is the anti-aircraft firing. there were several strikes a few hours ago. now they're putting up tracer rounds. it took them a while. >> nic robertson, we were having a tough time hearing you over some of the anti-aircraft fire there. guys, let's keep this live

picture up. general clark i want to bring you in. if you can give me a little bit -- i know you don't know specifically what's going on, you can't give me a play by play per say, what is the priority here in terms of tease air strikes. are they taking out command control forces, communication, radar, tanks? >> sometimes it turns out that when you strike a target you hit what you shot at, but it didn't turn off the radar or shut down the communications or they alternate. they activate an alternate antenna. maybe we're coming back tonight to clean some of these targets up that are still on the air in some way. the aircraft that released these bombs are far above the range of this artillery to reach into the air, if they're trying to shoot at missiles or bombs, it's very unlikely you could hit a falling bomb and do anything to it, or a cruise missile coming in very low and very fast. so a lot of this is just uncoordinated moral boosting

fire. >> i know this is highly, highly technical in trying to determine how they do hit their target. i have more questions for you, general clark, and more questions for nic robertson in libya. gotta get a break in. we're going to continue this conversation in two minutes. free-nights... ...and free breakfast at hotels in virtually every city. so, thanks to this large man in a little jetpack... you can search thousands of hotel freebies... right now only at priceline. it's personal. i have diabetes. so i'm proud to manufacture the accu-chek aviva meters and test strips here in the usa. and now we put a prescription discount card in every box so you'll pay no more than $15 on test strips, which is a true american value for people with diabetes like me. [ male announcer ] accu-chek aviva. born in the usa.

we've been watching some of the tracer fire over the night skies over tripoli in libya.

after we've been talking with nic robertson and wesley clark, they're walking us through what could be happening. i think it's important to point out they can't specifically target gadhafi, this is all about making sure -- protecting the civilians within libya. they can target of the radar, the communications kbimt, military tanks, et cetera, but they cannot go after gadhafi specifically. >> that's correct under the reading of the u.n. security council resolution. but as it's been said, he's in a command center, then he could be hit. and there's nothing to keep the targeting from going all the way to the top on the command centers, to break up the integrated air defense system. typically there are regional air defense headquarters that coordinate radar locations, and

air missiles and they're tied together in the national headquarters somewhere, and it's tied into the national command authority. all those are legal targets. i should say that the u.s. warrior warriors who are experts in this, will be looking at every target to make sure it's in line with the wording of the security council resolution. >> i know it has to be in line with the resolution 1973, you saw yesterday one of gadhafi's command centers was hit. i'm curious if that could be a way of rattling him a little bit? >> he should be rattled. he's up against the most powerful military -- >> we lost him, let me bring in nic robertson who is there hearing and seeing the tracer air fire. talk to me about the last 24 hours there in the libyan capital. how much have you seen and heard

in terms of air strike? >> as i walk back to the beginning of those 24 hours, there were strikes, almost exactly 24 hours ago on the compound, the big palace kpournd of moammar gadhafi. we arrived is there, fought our way through busy traffic around the palace compound, because a lot of people are showing their support from moammar gadhafi. we went in, we went through security, went to the building, were there for about 15 minutes filming the building that had been damaged. two holes punched in the roof, a heavy concrete building. another five minutes and we were out of there, in fact by sort of bundling on the bus, pushed on there by government officials to drive us out of that area. we were quickly taken, quickly gone from there. then it's been quiet through the day, almost normal traffic in the suburbs of the city. stores open, people going about

their daily business. 8:00 p.m. this evening, several loud explosions. government officials say the port area in tripoli was hit, also about 75 miles east down the coast from here, there is in the port facility here in tripoli naval vessels, those naval vessels appear to carry some radar capability, it's not clear if they were the targets or if they hit, government officials say civilians were hit, but until now, they haven't shown us any proof of civilian casualties at all. all we're seeing on state television are wounded soldiers. again, about 10 minutes ago, a couple heavy explosions, the trace irfire eliminating the sky again. the last 24 hours here in tripoli, there's been three rounds of missile attacks in this city here, and down the coast at another facility, where they say an oil storage tank is burning as well. >> you haven't seen any evidence

of civilian deaths, i'm curious, i know it's concern, these reports of human chains, they're called protecters. children brought in on behalf of gadhafi's side as human chains. have you seen any evidence of that? certain certainly, it's on state television here. when we were in gadhafi's compound last night and the night before, there were 150 people gathered around what is now a museum, it's one of his old palace buildings hit by u.s. bombs in 1986, he gave a speech from there with his clenched fists we've seen, the golden fist 12 foot high crushing what appears to be a replica of a u.s. fighter aircraft. there were people gathered around there.

the gates of the compounds are open, we're seeing people and families coming and going at will. we're told these are volunteers, clearly they're loyalists to the government, you have to talk to them and listen to the way they sink and chant about gadhafi. the way they're able to walk about at will iks gives the impression that they're not being kept in there, and not being told when they have to come and when they have to go. just before the strikes this evening, with those pictures again on state television, the government's not hiding what it's doing here. it's sort of playing this, if you will game out in the open, of uses people to protect the buildings, as it seems, strikes in the compound, it's 150 yards from where those people were yesterday. but no casualties, no injuries, the strikes were targeted specifically at that one building, the debris field was perhaps 100 yards, quite some

distance from where these people were. >> nic robertson, please stay safe and stand by. if there are any breaking developments there out of tripoli, please we'll get you back in front of a camera and get that live here on cnn. thanks, nick and retired general wesley clark. by the way, he wrote an op ed for "usa today" you can read his key three questions at cnn.com/opinion. we are in the middle of this major moment in history, and people are also rising up against their governments in syria, yemen and bahrain. do these countries risk becoming hotspots for terror? ♪ [ fingers snapping ]

[ woman announcing ] every subaru is responsibly built in a zero landfill plant. so it's no wonder they fit so naturally with spring. come to the subaru love spring event. get a subaru, and go love spring. [ man ] spring is finally here. lease a 2011 legacy 2.5i for $199 a month, now through march 31. if anything, i thought i'd get hit by a bus, but not a heart. my doctor put me on an aspirin regimen to help protect my life. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. check with your doctor because it can happen to anybody.

pancakes! ♪ from dawn 'til sunset, i'll never walk away ♪ ♪ blueberry pancakes are so good ♪ [ male announcer ] bisquick. pancake lovers unite. but afraid you can't afford it? well, look how much insurance many people can get through selectquote for less than a dollar a day. selectquote found, rich, 37, a $500,000 policy for under $18 a month. even though dave, 43, takes meds to control his blood pressure, selectquote got him a $500,000 policy for under $28 a month. ellen, 47, got a $250,000 policy for under $20 a month. all it takes is a phone call. your personal selectquote agent will answer all your questions ... and impartially shop the highly rated term life companies selectquote represents for your best rates. give your family the security it needs at a

price you can afford. call this number or go to selectquote dot com. selectquote. we shop. you save. we're here at cnn can't help but look beyond civil war uprising where tension is brewing across the middle east. michael holmes is here from cnn international. i know we're going to talk syria, yemen and bahrain. let's begin with yemen. we know several generals broke rank today? >> yeah, there's a lot going on outside of libya. we're going to talk about. it's interesting, they did break ranks, they went to the opposition movement. three of those generals interestingly in the tribe. that's significant. >> that's the president? >> yeah, being there for 32 years. what we've been seeing is a steady drip of supporters

desserting him. pillars, if you like, falling one by one. it's the poorest country in the region. the government was weak before all of this. a secession is moving in the south and al qaeda kind of all over. they've been an ally with the u.s. in the battle against al qaeda. also, 22 officials including several ambassadors also desserting the president today. very significant. >> and then there's bahrain? >> yeah. >> what's happening. >> that's been weeks and weeks. >> there's a couple ironies when you're talking about bahrain here. you have members of the gulf coalition acting against gadhafi in libya. this is the same organization that just sent troops to bahrain to help the government crush pro-democracy protests by the sheer majority. it's surprising, helping to crush folks in bahrain. a lot of people talking about the irony of that, the other one is the west's big fear in bahrain is taking power because

they're inned majority democratically and then bahrain being susceptible to iranian influence. the crackdown we've been seeing by the ruling monarchy is likely to further radicalize the country's sheers which makes the prospect of iranian meddling even more likely. so it's such a fluid situation. so much can happen. >> so that's yemen and bahrain, which we have been talking about for some time. now there's a new country added to the mix, syria. >> this is extraordinary to see protests in syria. we're seeing other cities having protests, and we're seeing people being fired on. you're talking about a very hard, very tough regime. government forces using live ammunition, tear gas against the people. first challenge in his 11-year rule. a position he inherited from his dad.

syria, unlike other countries in the region, perhaps more similar to the saudis in terms of their willingness to crush the dissent. let's call them iran ace neighborhood bff as well, that's going to come into the mix when others on the outside look at what's happening in syria. and there's also voices out there saying, look, bahrain, yemen, syria, they're shooting their own people, protesters, where's the no fly zone there. that's some of the voices in the region coming up and talking about that too. >> is it realistic, though, that question? >> of course not, it's not going to happen. >> no. >> you talk about yemen and al qaeda, an ally with the u.s. in the fight against al qaeda. in bahrain, you're talking about a place where the fifth fleet is based. it's another one of these arguments where you have people talking about foreign policy, we don't want to see bahrain get overthrown, because we have the navy there. this is the sort of talk that comes out of the region. >> you and i were talking during the break.

we keep talking and talking and talks about what's happening in the middle east, and you and i were talking about my conversation with general clark about targeting, back to libya, talking about how per this resolution, 1973, they cannot specifically target gadhafi, it's all about protecting the civilians, you had a good question, and i want to bring in general clark. ask your question. >> it's good to see you, general. i i was talking to you yesterday. in my reading of the resolution, if it's deemed that colonel gadhafi was ordering attacks on civilians, there is some way he can be taken out? >> not specifically targeted, that's not the intent of the resolution. i don't think a lawyer from the pentagon could look at this and say, it's okay to specifically by name, find gadhafi and target him. i don't think it's the intent of the resolution, i don't think it

could be read that way. the fact is,it's about excessive violence against civilians, that's been the complaint. and it's about the scale of the violence, which is different in libya, than it is in yemen or bahrain or so far in syria. and that scale is the distinguishing factor. >> and it's interesting too, there's something else we've been talking about, and i think it's worth raising again too, when it cops to libya and the no fly zone, what happens if the rebels decide they're going to make a move now, it's strategically a good time to march on some of the cities they've lost back to colonel gadhafi. does a cease-fire in your view apply to them? >> absolutely. >> and what if they made the move? could they remain open to an attack? >> yes. i don't think we would attack them, there would be a lot of conversations behind the scene to stop them. i don't know that they have the means of making that kind of a move. if we do a peaceful month test

and they come up to gadhafi's forces, and it's not peaceful and there's an attack, then they're not affected by the no fly zone. once, they made an armed attack and gadhafi had said he was o y obeying the cease-fire and he was obeying the cease-fire everyone it was only the rebel side that broke it, we would be in a difficult position given where the sympathies are in the coalition. >> general clark, i'm so glad we were able to bring you back, we have more questions, weil keep them to our sfs and hopefully we can get you back on tomorrow and continue this conversation. mr. holmes, good to have you back. >> good to see you too. developing right now, smoke shooting out of the crippled nuclear power plant in japan, forcing workers to evacuate. who is monitoring the plant right now? and what does this new grayish black smoke signify in terms of a possible meltdown? that's next. wrench? wrench.

basic. preferred. at meineke i have options on oil changes. and now i get free roadside assistance with preferred or supreme. my money. my choice. my meineke.

let's talk about the nuclear crisis still playing out in japan. obviously, this is serious business. joining me now live from washington, jeffrey mirafield, former member of the nrc. we've been talking about the situation, specifically there it is. this is reactor number three at the fukushima daiichi plant.

there's the smoke billowing from that plant today, and it seemed to come from the same exact corner where the spent fuel rods are stored in the storage pool. my question to you, sir, does that in itself cause you to worry? >> i think one of the things that happened yesterday, there was a large amount of water put into that spent fuel pool. there is more waterborne material that could be the potential source of steam. we really don't know. what we do know is right now it's about quarter of 6:00 or 10 minutes to 6:00 in japan. light will be coming up. we'll get a clearer view of what's happened. the pictures you have are dated from a number of hours ago. the workers were pulled back because of the uncertainty of what that smoke was. one thing, which is note worthy, the radiation levels in that area have not been elevated as a result of that release, so that's good news. >> and here's the water, you

mentioned the water from the fire trucks on the ground. they've been trying from helicopters from above. they keep shooting water specifically into number three. greg yazko has been talking a lot about number three. can you surmise where that water is going? might there be a chance that the storage pool could have cracked? maybe from the earthquake we don't know? and there could be water leaking out? if so, what's the danger there? >> it's really -- there's a lot of speculation built into that series of events. really what they're trying to do is to get as much water into that pool to make sure that the spent fuel rods are covered. that's going to provide appropriate shielding so that the work hes can continue their activities to re-establish emergency power. they have laid the line as you probably heard to unit two. they are in the process of trying to re-establish some of the cooling capabilities as a result of that. and the plan,to continue working their way through units one,

three and four to try to re-establish power at those units as well. hope fli it's simply the smoke is really steam, it's not a significant issue. really hard to say at this point. >> nothing more ominous than that, we're all hoping. thank you so much, we'll be right back. like instant discounts, free-nights... ...and free breakfast at hotels in virtually every city. so, thanks to this large man in a little jetpack... you can search thousands of hotel freebies... right now only at priceline.

should i bundle all my policies with nationwide insurance ? watch this. on one hand, you have your home insurance with one company. and on another hand, you have your auto with another. and on another hand, you have your life with another. huh... but when you bundle them all together with nationwide insurance... ... they all work together perfectly-- and you could save 25%. wow... it's all in the wrists.

♪ nationwide is on your side what's the big news in priority mail flat rate boxes and envelopes from the postal service? over a billion used.

developing right now, cnn is just getting new information on the case involving several american soldiers accused of killing afghan civilians and keeping their body parts as souvenirs. now we have pictures. you'll see them next. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it's either this magic number i'm supposed to reach, or... tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it's beach homes or it's starting a vineyard. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 come on ! tdd# 1-800-345-2550 just help me figure it out tdd# 1-800-345-2550 in a practical, let's-make- this-happen kind of way. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 a vineyard ? schwab real life retirement services is personalized, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 practical help that's focused on making your retirement real.

open an account today and talk to chuck tdd# 1-800-345-2550 about setting up your one-on-one consultation. tdd# 1-800-345-2550

the u.s. army is reacting to some damaging photos being released from a german magazine showing u.s. soldiers in afghanistan posing with bodies. cnn has done extensive reporting on what the army has characterized is a rogue platoon of soldiers accuses of murdering innocent afghan civilians, smoking hash, taking war trophies from victims and posing with these enemy bodies. this is the first time photos have been published. cnn investigative reporter drew griffin is here with the latest. >> troubling. a lot of it being compared to what happened at abu ghraib. the photos are part of the case

against the band of rogue soldiers all facing court-martial. jeremy morlock and andrew holmes, both posing with a dead afghan. holmes and morlock facing charges related to the wrongful death of afghan civilians. two dead afghans are tied back-to-back. the u.s. army does require pictures of bodies to be used for identification in battle investigations, but doesn't condone anything like posing or trophy photos. the army released a statement saying we apologized for the distress these photos caused. the actions portrayed in the photographs, remain under investigation. part of an ongoing u.s. court-martial. and the photos appear during ten years of sustaininged operations.

that's from the army. last summer we began extensive reporting on this rogue platoon. speaking specifically with jeremy morlock's former defense attorney, who was trying to explain why his ex-client was accused of killing innocent afghan civilians. >> your defense is that your client was mentally incapacitated? that the army either knew it or should have known it? >> the army knew he had been blown up in two ied attacks, the army chose instead of treat him, give his weapon back and load him up on drugs. >> reporter: both drugs carry fda warnings about producing suicidal thoughts. the trouble began in november of 2009 when the striker brigade got a new squad leader, staff sergeant calvin gibbs. >> when he showed up at this unit he bragged to the young

soldiers underneath him about killing innocent people in iraq. >> reporter: staff sergeant gibbs is charged in all three killings, and witnesses stated it was this new commander who eerk straighted, quo ersed and threatened the striker brigade to both kill afghan civilians and cover up their murders. and there is something else, the u.s. army accuses staff sergeant gibbs of collecting teeth, leg bones and fingers as souvenirs. jeremy faces court-martial this wednesday. the others involved also face court martial. the attorney told us this afternoon, his client was a 19-year-old kid ordered to be in the photos so he got in the photo. it does not make him a murderer. we have yet to be able to reach jeremy morlock's current attorney. we also talked about sergeant gibbs in that piece. he's pleaded not guilty. his court-martial set for