>> welcome to "debate." who really kidnapped libya's prime minister? a major al qaeda suspect off the streets of tripoli. an increasingly volatile post- qadhafi libya.

the consequences for the country and for the region we will be asking. we are also seeing how this story is being reported in the media watch segment. >> john boehner offers a short- term debt ceiling deal. we will go live to washington in a moment. libya's prime minister calls for wisdom and not as collation. they also thank the military for their role in his release. a canadian short story writer awarded the nobel prize in literature for writing about the humans. . only the 13th woman to win the prize. developments in the u.s. where republican leaders will offer barack obama a short-term debt

limit increase if the president agrees to negotiate on budget issues. let's now cross to our correspondent in washington. how significant is this offer? >> a breakthrough of sorts considering how big a stalemate this has been for weeks. it doesn't necessarily open a big conversation between republicans and democrats, nowhere near negotiations yet over the and to this government shutdown, but it is a concrete offer from republicans that the white house could except. it increases the debt limit until the 22nd of november. the 17th of october is when the united states started risking a

default on its debts. a proposal from republicans with no strings attached except that it wants the president to negotiate over other things. over the government shutdown and a bigger budget for the future. first of all, a vote that house republicans would like to see by friday of this week. the house leadership later today for head-to-head meetings with the president is the republican leadership where the proposal will first be presented seriously to the president. cracks philip in washington. to libya where the prime minister has called for calm

after being freed by militia men. taken in a predawn raid by dozens of armed men. it is not yet clear who is behind this and what their motive was. >> taken and released in the span of a few hours. already back to work surrounded by his government and lawmakers. >> i hope that we can deal with this situation with wisdom without tension and escalation. >> the libyan prime minister was taken by armed men before dawn amid confusion as to whether he had been arrested or abducted. the government quickly confirmed he had been taken to an unknown destination for unknown reasons. a statement was that he was being held in the building and treated well. in retaliation to a u.s. raid they captured al qaeda leaders

on saturday. the men were identified as the revolutionaries under the authority of the interior and defense ministries. the group later dismissed the accusations. >> they deny any connection to the disappearance. >> the brief capture by former rebels highlights the weakness of libya's power struggle. the government is faced with armed groups which, in their he, take their orders from the authorities but largely act independently. >> several officials have reacted angrily. after months of turmoil where hundreds of people have died. the u.s. abandons egypt as it fights a war against terrorists.

>> this decision is incorrect when it comes to the content and the timing. this decision to continue delivering assistance has raised questions about future commitments to support security programs. >> the special tribunal investigating the prime minister -- the lebanese authorities have failed to find him. we can now cross to our correspondent in beirut. what can you tell us about this latest indictment?

>> we are piecing together information. what is not clear is if he was a hezbollah member or not. apparently, he is and fought in the 2006 war against israel. he lives in the suburbs. he is accused of helping to prepare for responsibility that was issued after the killing in 2005 that really pushed lebanon to the brink of civil war. also accused of conspiracy aimed at carrying out a terrorist attack. and he was originally indicted in july. but that was kept secret as the tribunal tried to track him down. they published the indictment

today and made it clear it will put pressure on the lebanese authority. david said that the authorities needed to reinvigorate and intensify to track down those charges. not just the latest indictment but members believed to be hezbollah members were never tracked down. the tribunal was trying to put pressure on them and say it was running out of patience. many people here believe there has been little effort to track these people down. >> pakistan has rearrested the former president over 2007's killings in islamabad. accused of being personally

responsible for the deaths of more than 100 people after ordering commandos to storm the mosque. this was after a weeklong standoff between mosque supporters and ella terry supporters. >> she survived an assassination attempt and marked her 16th birthday at the u.n.. lawmakers are awarded her the top human rights prize. she has done nothing to deserve it, says the taliban. she is seen as a strong contender for the peace prize that would be announced tomorrow. the literature prize went to a canadian short story writer who began writing in her teenage years and went on to win numerous awards. >> the nobel prize for literature in 20 is awarded to canadian author, master of the

contemporary short story. >> the first time a canadian author has won the prize. she told canadian television she is still thrilled whenever her work is published and she never thought she would get the nobel. >> it is one of those pipedreams. i am very surprised. >> she writes about working- class life, mostly women and a small town in canada. she won a prize for her entire body of work and has won canada's top honor. >> it is brilliant she won the nobel prize for literature, an author that does incredibly well for us.

we feel it is on par with short story writers. >> a student at university in 1950. >> a sovereign leader of the state is abducted. libya is prime minister calling for cooler heads to prevail. taken to the hotel where he resides before dawn.

capturing the senior al qaeda suspect off the streets of tripoli and whisking him away to a warship. he denies he was in the know as washington weekend libya's government and strengthened the hand of an islamist opposition. the town's secular led government. what authority when faced with local militias are yet to disarm and have shut down the country's main oil toddles? the abduction of libya's prime minister to talk about it. welcome back to the debate. of the french school of social

sciences, thank you for being with us. from dublin, his book is called summer for an irishman. thank you for being with us. has the book hit the stands yet? >> it was released last month. >> join the conversation on facebook or twitter. making a brief statement with more on what we know. >> taken and released in the space of a few hours, he went back to work surrounded by his government and lawmakers. >> i hope that we can deal with this situation with wisdom. without tension and escalation.

>> the prime minister was taken by armed men before dawn amid confusion as to whether he had been arrested or conducted -- abducted. they confirmed he had been taken for unknown reasons. a later statement said he was being held in the building and treated well. the move was in retaliation to a u.s. raid that captured the member on saturday. they were identified as the operations room of libya and revolutionaries and under the authority of interior and defense ministries. >> the operations room denies any connection to the disappearance. >> his brief capture highlights the weakness of libya's power structure.

the government is faced with armed groups that in theory take their orders from the communities but largely act independently. >> conflicting claims over who took the prime minister. what is the latest on that? >> we have statements from the prime minister on his release, very tired looking. when he spoke after his release, he described it as political games erie it it shines a light and gives some insight to who he thinks is responsible and may be implying that senior political figures could be tied to this kind of situation. >> we have heard all sorts of rumors this thursday about who was abducted as well. is he the only one?

>> as far as we can tell, he is the only one. the rumor mill is overactive at the best of times and today it was really hyperactive because people were saying all kinds of things. people taking to libya tv to point the finger that other leaders are coming to reply. >> a final question for you. a direct link between this abduction and that u.s. raid from last weekend? >> it is hard to say, but it is definite that a lot of people are very angry about this. especially the militant extremists. a very active group which has gained support as the security

situation has deteriorated. they took to the streets for two days in the wake of the abduction. they are angry and capable of executing military operations. >> i want to thank you for that update. we can stay in tripoli right now and speak with the operations room of revolutionaries, the group originally accused. your group in no way responsible for abducting the prime minister? >> 100%. we are not responsible. there is a former speaker that has pronounced responsible for

what has happened. since day one, the libyan revolution and everybody accusing us and attacking us for no reason. we got the funds from the government and the recognition. what we are trying to do here is make everything simple for anybody. it will make our mission impossible and will make us out of the picture. >> are you saying this is a set up? >> this is what we are considering.

straight away, we are ready to answer any questions and defend ourselves. we are ready to answer any questions. >> the operations room of libya's revolutionaries. do you link this abduction with last saturday's raid by u.s. special forces on tripoli? >> i don't think that it goes to that side. i think the government is working so hard to divide the country.

we have a high budget this year, over $68 billion that the government asked for. the ministry does nothing. i am accusing this government and they are responsible, 100%. >> i want to thank you from the operations room of libya's revolutionaries. we have heard three possible areas to look for who did it. this group denies it all as you just heard. and you heard our correspondents say to watch out for some of the more radical.

some link it to the u.s. raid, some don't. >> it is very unusual, very confusing. it is hard to say. the group that just spoke, even though they denied being involved, it is a powerful group in the sense that they were behind the pressure of political isolation. the government actually agreed. we know that some groups have a lot of influence. what it means is that many different groups of armed men

are able to exert a lot of pressure on the government. >> his last answer was complaining not about the u.s. raid, but he feels his forces are not being paid enough. >> it is a common complaint from a lot of different armed groups. i would not comment about that as i am not sure about whether his men have been paid or not. you may find different reasons. >> can you help us shed some light on this? >> clearly, what he has shown us is how these armed groups see

themselves and their authority. the gentleman speaks as power to be. in the sense that they have the mandate to dictate things to the prime minister. he has gone through a day and an experience that i think all the people fill --but i think your t depicted the situation correctly. any group can look strong. i think we have many of them. we have federalists, ideologues,

so you have all of these subgroups in the midst of weak government and any of them can do a lot. how can a group of people come to the prime minister where he is staying and get all this armament? if he can't defend himself, what kind of situation would happen in libya? the idea that it is not how strong this group is, but because of the weak state that we have that any of them can look tough erie it in my view, they are not that date.

i think more forces can impact them. what happened today, in a sense, was a message. a small group trying to show that they are not happy about what is going on. >> the prime minister earlier this week went to morocco. he made an unscheduled stop in tunis and decided rather than take the plane back to tripoli, to drive overland. did you have a sense that something like this could happen? >> i think that is an example that shows that he himself has no confidence in his apparatus protecting him. i know that his protection is

not the best. our prime minister is in a confused state and he can't even protect his own surroundings. probably not confident about the people passing information. the fact that most people knew where he was staying and picked up the right time, a small group of people would be able to do this. it tells me that the security apparatus is definitely not good. >> those that brought instability to libya just to remove qaddafi are to blame for sure. you heard just there what he had to say about the brutal state of

the central authority. were you expecting different? >> it is not surprising at all. the real point is the weakness of the state erie it lets not forget what happened in 2011. a new and young nation going through a process of building. they need a new political imagination and political goals to build modern stability. when the state is not strong enough to protect itself and its citizens, the legitimacy of this state is questioned. you can have different interpretations. every group will give a reading that is not completely correct or incorrect.

>> another reaction on facebook. it might be the beginning of season two of the libyan revolution. you know better than most how the different militias work having yourself been part of the tripoli brigade. what are your thoughts? >> i would like to point out that i think a lot of people are sitting on the panel saying that the government is very weak. about that, the government has put itself in this position. we handed not just ourselves, but the revolutionaries in general to have difficulty on a silver platter. there was absolutely no progress by the government.

i see very little serious progress on the ground whether it be politically, financially, or i will give you an example. setting up to train veteran fighters and give them a new hope. we have seen nothing from it. >> there were elections. this is an elected government. all the different militia groups still have their weapons. >> i will give you a very small example. i do this government was not on the right track from day one.

you have to chief of staff resigned claiming in their statements that we were never promised the budget that we were promised. not only to maintain but build an army. they say, there is nothing we can do without pay. where is the money going? small little brigades and militias. >> i will have to cut you off briefly because we have to take a quick break but we will pick it back up. stay with us.

>> before i resume the debate, some stories we will be following for you at the top of the hour. stocks soar on wall street after john boehner offers a short-term u.s. debt ceiling deal. egypt will not surrender to american pressure, a reaction to cairo. the u.s. suspends millions in military aid. pakistan's former president over the red mosque siege.

the canadian short story writer alice monroe awarded the nobel prize for literature known for writing about the human spirit. only the 13th woman to win the prize since its inception. those stories and more for you at the top of the hour. the story we are following is that of the libyan prime minister who, before dawn, was picked up by gunmen at his hotel. he told his guards not to try to stop them. he was sequestered for several hours and released by lunch time. he has been tightlipped, speaking to the press. we have been talking about whodunit with former member of the libyan transitional council.

luckily for us, happens to be in paris. and from dublin, his book hit the stands one month ago. one irishman's part into dorothy's downfall. -- in qaddafi's downfall. i want to add one more name into this mix. one rebel leader made front-page news. arrested in afghanistan as part of an al qaeda affiliated group. he was in afghanistan as the suspect was picked up this weekend. he suddenly pops up as the military governor for tripoli.

>> these celebrations come after sacrifices from all libyans. we hope this will end in a way that guarantees the rights and aspirations of all americans. >> by the way, he is now the leader of a political party. the announcement last weekend's u.s. raid. what do you think of him? is he just another politician? >> i think he has stepped down from the military council, the disappointment took place at a time of serious commotion when

you are talking about tripoli following. later, he realized maybe he wasn't the right percent for the position. he has taken the choice route of politics. i think we have the main political parties there at the moment. >> tunisia doesn't think he has changed his stripes. they accuse him of harboring those for the killing of prominent secular opposition leaders. >> what i will say with the

kidnapping and arrests, it is not just the hard-liners that are feeling this. i think a lot of libyans feel that even if this person was involved in such crimes, the way he was taken was detrimental to libya's sovereignty. for a certain cause, i think they receive the repercussions now with the government. >> you don't have to be a libya next or

best to be against the u.s. raid. a lot of libyans felt that even though the man was dangerous, there was no reason for the u.s. raid. >> still in shock over last week's attack of a military checkpoint. picking up pace in the last weeks. why are there more and more of these attacks? there are clearly different groups.

none of them on their own are able to take over or influence the debate apparatus. the way they see it is counter to their view or their aspirations. for example, they would like to answer to a certain group. their interest is to keep the status quo of the weak state until they gain power, strength, or organize themselves in order to shape the political view of libya. most will be named that they believe are behind harboring

those that killed opposition leaders in tunisia i? >> i disagree totally. from analyzing the situation, old radio stations arguing the point. i think there is something new to be understood about the pause i relationships. it does not mean they are in the same group. >> it is reportedly inside of libya right now. >> the fact that he is in libya. is he plotting something?

it means there is a conspiracy around them. it could be. there is no proof that he is. it is hearsay. i think it is being politicized for the local benefits and local politics. that they are plotting against the state, i just don't see it. they are working on libya and i understand he is active in syria. >> another sign of tripoli's authority issues.

running what was called the petroleum defense guards. closures have since followed all swear and the production has gone way down the last couple of months. >> the situation is cut in half after the revolution in libya. meaning 1.5 million barrels a day. just a few weeks ago, it went down to 100 million.

you have the western power of libya. the east is completely blocked. the groups in the east are very different groups for other militias, a totally different issue really. they wanted a taut amis for the eastern region. it is an interesting weapon for political negotiation. >> the issue of who controls that oil seems to be coming up more and more. we have been seeing some of your reactions as well. libya's prime minister free reactions from the west as well.

the french president and the british prime minister at the time in benghazi celebrating the fall of qaddafi. in the company of david cameron at the time, france's new president reacting this thursday with reinforced productions. it is willing to bring aid in support for security and more than never -- more than ever, they shouldn't wait. when you look at that reaction by the french president, what do you have to say regarding the french and british following up?

>> with every extreme action comes in extreme reaction. what i will feel about the american arrest, it is not at all -- the headlines from libya this morning, i could never have foreseen this. some of the panelists were mentioning the government and the militias. what has brought us to this step.

what has brought us to that point? >> should paris and london be staying out of it? or should they be trying to sort it out? >> stepped up a to help disarm.

>> the first time in the government each revolutionary as a payment. it was not part of any government, why did they not take that chance. why are these to cope with the dire situations spiraling every month. >> is it possible to make up lost time?

>> steps could have been taken there is nothing i can do without a budget. therein lies the problem. >> we have a comment on twitter.

>> it is the sense that it is not necessarily the bust, but i suggest that we keep it going as is. if i may add to that, we have parameters and things on the ground. we have resources and we need to think of a strategy with the national community. not weakening the legitimacy of the state, but support. however, the international community,

they are asking for support. can you do it? whatever the strategy can do will be able to bully -- to be implemented. we have a major issue coming down for the timeline. they have to make a decision. these are key vacuums. >> i want to thank you very much for joining us from tunis. here in the studio, thank you for being with us.

but say hello to james and some of the immediate reaction to this incredible story. >> the main media elements to this story is this fake front page circulating on libya in, and you will notice straight away the lowercase m. they straightaway pickup that is not the real deal. essentially linking the kidnapped and released prime minister to the u.s. raid. he was in the know and handed over -- >> do we know who is

responsible? >> it is a mystery. take a look at how it is spelled. the french footballer. it could fool a lot of people believing there is a connection between this raid and the prime minister. doing the rounds on social media today, essentially in terms of things not being altogether authentic, the results of that will be released. the official explanation is that they were testing the mobile application. and the results leaked out but the candidates were from the 2013 election so it does not altogether hold together.

all of them about the 50th anniversary and as you pointed out, the social media. that is being forgotten about. >> they left us 50 years ago. i want to thank our panel for being with us.

 >> house republicans float an idea to raise the debt limit as that deadline nears. >> the world bank and the imf both warning say the u.s. must raise its debt ceiling or it could be a major crisis.