these are new pictures from al jazeera television. this is gadhafi after she was shot, but before he died. rebels reportedly found ka dafy in a hole after a gun fight that lasted about 30 minutes near his hometown of sirt. gadhafi's son and defense minster also killed in the gun battle. pictures of gadhafi's body almost immediately appeared on at least two arab outlets. there shots of what appear to be the former leader lying dead in the street. joining me now is kristen welker. we are waiting for president obama to speak. what are we hearing from the white house behind the scenes? >> that's right. we expect president obama to speak momentarily. he will speak for a matter of about 10 minutes. he will reference reports that the white house has heard from officials in libya about the fact that gadhafi has been killed. he will also reference the fact

that they have been in contact with source there is on the ground. they are diplomatic sources and they have confidence in the reporting they are geting for libya. the white house proceeded with an abundance of caution. they didn't want to make a comment until they knew 100% the reports that gadhafi had been killed were accurate. the reason is if you remember back to this summer when tripoli had fallen, we had gotten a number of reports that gadhafi's sons had been captured or killed and several hours later we learned that that wasn't the case. the white house really proceeding with an abundance of caution this morning. vice president joe biden just spoke about the possibility that gadhafi had been killed. he did not confirm the death. here's what he had to say a short while ago in new hampshire. take a listen. >> one way or another he's gone. whether he is is a live or dead, he's gone. the people of libya have gotten

rid of a dictator of 40 years who i personally knew. this is a tough, not so nice guy. guess what. they got a chance now. what happened? in this case america spent $2 billion total and didn't lose a single life. >> secretary of state hillary clinton who spoke with mike viquiera this morning said these reports are true and the people of libya would be breathing a sigh of relief. the transitional national council recognized as the legitimate governing body of libya having to actually transition into governing. this is when the hard work really begins, tamron. obviously this is the beginning to a very long road to establish a government there. again, president obama expected to speak in a matter of minutes. we will be listening to his words closely and listening to see how he found out about this

exactly. if he spoke to any other world leaders and exactly what information he can give. >> thank you very much for the latest from the white house. joining me now is time magazine's deputy international editor. thank you both for joining us. let's replay what we know at this point to be reported. a lot of this gun battle happened in sirt. we know the rebels focused long on that part of libya and now it is reported the body of gadhafi, his son and one official. >> i have been speaking to the rebel standers and the details will emerge in the coming hours. there is particularly two brigades involved in this attack and it took place as we understand it in an animal feed factory in the southwestern part of the city of sirt. they noticed suspicious activity

and reports of them trying to leave sirt. they engaged these armed men and they didn't know gadhafi could have been in the building or in the vicinity. >> they no idea gadhafi was with that group. >> right. it has been under somewhat of a siege with the rebels. they were prepared that somebody cab trying to escape. that's what they did. they engaged the people and at the end of the fight that lasted from 30 to 45 minutes. they had ka dafy in their hands. >> what are about the nato air strike that took place around the same time and targeting a convoy. is this a coordinated effort here? >> was it a mechanism that led the rebels to move into this particular area where and were they flushing out the area where it took place? all of this will happen and we hear the french may have been involved, but at the end of the day, what clearly emerged from the footage and people speaking, the rebels themselves were the

ones that engaged gadhafi and captured him as well as the minster of defense. >> we received a two-minute warning. this is incredible with a transition government. the secretary of state in libya two days ago. the highest ranking official and now you have the presumed death of gadhafi. six months after the air strikes started. >> it's a big moment for the president. he gets to say not in so many words, but i told you so. the critics who criticized him for committing the u.s. into yet another war. he gets to say we won this 1 and won it clean. >> that's not the goal here. the goal was democracy. this was a dictator turning on his own people with the transition government in place. i remember when we first started covering this, referring to it as rag tag rebel who is didn't know how to shoot straight. >> now we have an opportunity.

>> in the two months of control, they have shown themselves to be capable and no reason to doubt abilities or intention to deliver a democratic government and they have been engaged in a responsible way. >> we thought the same with egypt. >> there is a big difference. there was not the leadership. from the beginning there was a leadership. with egypt, you and i had conversations. what's going to come and who will be in charge. we never had any doubts. >> the questions about who the rebels are and if they could organize. here's the president. we will continue the conversation. let's listen in to president obama. >> libya announced the death of muammar gadhafi. for the people of libya who now have the opportunity to determine their own destiny in a new and democratic libya. for four decades, the gadhafi

regime ruled the libyan people with an iron fist. human rights were denied and innocent civilians were detained, beaten and killed and libya's wealth was squandered. enormous potential of the libyan people was held back and terror was used as a political weapon. today we can definitively say that the gadhafi regime has come to an end. the last major regime strongholds have fallen. the new government is consolidating the control over the country. one of the world's longest serving tickidadak tators is no. a year ago the notion of a free libya seemed impossible. the people rose up and demanded their rights. when gadhafi and his forces started going city to city, town by town to brutalize men, women, and children, the world refused

to stand idly by. faced with the potential of mass atrocities and a call for help from the libyan people, the united states and our friends and allies stopped gadhafi's forces in their tracks. a coalition that included the united states, nato and arab nations persevered through the summer to protect libyan civilians and meanwhile the courageous libyan people fought for their future and broke the back of the regime. this is a momentous day in the history of libya. the dark shadow of tyranny has been lift and if w this promise, the libyan people have a great responsibility. to build an inclusive and tolerant and democratic libya that stands as the ultimate rebuke to gadhafi's dictatorship. we look forward to the announcement of the country's liberation, the quick formation of an interim government and a

stable transition to libya's first free and fair elections. we call on our libyan friends to continue to work with the international community to secure the dangerous materials and to respect the human rights of all libyans including those who have been detained. we are under no illusions. libya will travel a long and winding road to full democracy. there will be difficult days ahead. but the united states with the international community is committed to the libyan people. you have won your revolution. now we will be a partner as you forge a future that provides dignity, freedom, and opportunity. for the region, today's effects prove that the rule of an iron fist inevitably come to an end. citizens stood up to claim their

rights. you are delivering a powerful rebuke to dictatorship and those leader who is try to deny dignity will not proceed. for us here in the united states, we are reminded of all those americans that we lost at the hands of gadhafi's terror. their families and friends necessary our thoughts and prayers. we recall their bright smiles and extraordinary lives and tragic deaths. we know that nothing can close the wound of their loss, but we stand together as one nation. for nearly months, many americans have provided extraordinary service in support of our efforts to protect the libyan people and provide them with a chance to determine their destiny. a skilled diplomat helped to lead the global response. our brave pilots have flown in libyan skies and sailors have

provided support off the shores and leadership helped guide coalition without putting a single service member on the ground, we achieved our objectives and our nato mission will soon come to an end. this comes at a time when we see the strength of american leadership across the world. we have taken al qaeda leaders and put them on the path of defeat. we are winding down the war in iraq and have begun transition in afghanistan. we are working with friends and allies, we demonstrated what collective action can achieve in the 21st century. of course above all, today belongs to the people of libya. this is a moment for them to remember all those who suffered and were lost under gadhafi and look forward to the promise of a new day. i know the american people wish the people of libya the very best in what will be a

challenging, but hopeful days, weeks, months and years ahead. thank you very much. >> president obama concluding his 10-minute statement regarding these now confirmed deaths of muammar gadhafi. let me bring back with us bobby, you say the president said the u.s. is commitmented to the people of libya and this is their day and their revolution and they are on the road to dignity and democracy. >> what the u.s. can do immediately for libya is to free up what remains of their frozen funds of muammar gadhafi. libya is not asking for the world for money and for aid and food. what they are asking for is what is already rightfully theirs and beyond that, libya needs advice on how to build a new economy and democratic institutions. it needs friend who is can hold their hand and walk this long

and winding road that the president mentioned. that's not hard for the west to give. it won't take extraordinary budget and amounts of money from the tax payer to make this happen. it will take both government help and private enterprise. a lot of private companies will want to get involved in libya. there lots of opportunity there in oil. >> it is a wealthy country. >> a rich country and a small population. >> three million? >> 6 1/2, but they could get rich quickly if they do things right. it will be difficult and challenging and the president acknowledges that, but it won't take a great deal from the u.s. or the world for this to go right. >> let's move on to the larger question. even as this story continues to unfold overall arab spring, thousands of lives are being taken in syria. the president refers to the iron

fist eventual giving way to the people. also yemen. there tensions there. what is the message to those looters? >> it's very important to president obama that the foreign policy has to be consistent and it hasn't been so far. it has been reluctant in some countries and fully engaged in others and delayed in response to some. the message is out of the administration and an important one. the end of the stronghold is more and more apparent. to what extent will the community sit idly by and see what happens in syria. >> especially with the brutal crack downs in syria. >> don't forget the close ally, closer to home. >> it's much more complicated. >> to what extent will they allow a more pluralistic society? in the case of libya it's

because of nato interest that it was able and this is a key point. for the first time in a long time, there is a convergence of interest between what they won and what countries did. that's rare. it's a historic opportunity that should not be lost. >> that are gives the obama administration a type of cover and that you had arab nations who supported this effort and nato air strikes. even though they were not actively involved as the french and the u.s. >> it was more than that. the people are the rebels. the rebel leadership in benghazi asked for international help and the arab leagues called for international help and the e night united nations called off on this. that almost never happens. that hasn't happened with libya and yemen and it hasn't happened with syria. it did happen with libya and that presented an opportunity which the president to his credit was willing to take immediately.

>> i have to get your thoughts on this remarkable nature of all of this. we see the dictators who have the opportunity to flee, if you will, and duck for cover and go to saudi arabia with their riches as we have seen and others who end up like gadhafi or saddam hussein in a hole with saddam caught by u.s. soldiers. in this case by his own people that he was willing to turn on and said he would. >> it's something i have been saying for a long time. the central point in the arab world that changed is that the fear factor has been broken. arab citizen are not as afraid of their country or regime as they once were. now that the fear factor has been broken, the winds of change will sweep across the mideast and every country will be different. you can't have a cookie cutter approach to how every country will be. some will be peaceful and they will produce different outcomes. the key to remain engaged to not distance themselves and not use a general brush to paint the

entire region as one way or the other and approach every country with their own unique situation and conditions. >> i think millions of libyans get to scratch something off the bucket list. they are seeing the tormenter dead and it gives them an opportunity and all over the arab world. we learned in recent months all over the world people are watching this and taking inspiration from this. >> it is incredible. thank you very much for joining us. as we mentioned, gadhafi's is in mizrata after traveling for sirt. live for us, adrian, what is the latest on the ground? >> it's very tough to get confirmation of what's happening with the body. we heard at various points it was taken to a morgue or a mosque. we are trying to pinpoint information about that. we can say that there is a lot of celebration happening. it's after 8:00 in the evening

and normally the streets in misrata are quiet, but you may hear the vehicles honking behind us and fireworks in addition to the typical gunfire in this part of the world. we can also hear children on the street shouting god is great. we saw lots of women as well when you were driving back in from the road to sirt cheering at the news that gadhafi had been killed. >> adrienne, was there a sense of disbelief that you felt from people here or in the united states. we just heard from the president at the top of the hour confirming the information. even though the images early this morning were being relossed from cell phone cameras. is there a sense of disbelief that it came to this at this moment in time? >> reporter: we didn't get a sense of disbelief. there was a lot of joy and relief. it has been fairly characteristic from what we have seen in libya that a lot of

information runs initially on rumor and word of mouth. then people sort of accept that. this happened earlier this week when we heard that another stronghold had suddenly fallen and that was to our surprise, but not to the libyan surprise even though it was unclear what was happening there. >> live for us in misrata. thank you very much. our coverage of gadhafi's death continues after a quick break. joe ruben will join me live. "news nation" is back after this. [ male announcer ] take the fixodent 12 hour hold challenge.

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>> today we can definitively say that the gadhafi regime has come to an end.

the last major regime strongholds have fallen. the new government is consolidating the control over the country and one of the world's longest serving dictators is no more. >> speaking for the white house, president obama said the death of muammar gadhafi marks the end of a long and painful chapter for libya. now what role will the u.s. play in helping the new transition government. joe reeben served as state department officer. thank you for your time. we heard joe biden have remarks a little bit earlier today and said listen, $2 billion spent and not one loss of and the goal of removing this dictator, this auto krat happened. >> yes. it valley a remarkable victory for the libyan people and the international community. coming together over the past eight months to stop serious bloodshed, a crisis in the making to stop it and maintain the pressure and the unity to go

after gadhafi. it's quite an impressive victory for the obama administration and policy. going forward clearly with the secretary of state being in tripoli yesterday and the past week, she is making a commitment for the next steps to talk from the white house from the president and implies that there is an expectation of the democratic transition and that is under way and reconstruction as well. >> we have with us from time magazine, the role the u.s. might play in the transition that you have an oil-rich country. it is not a poor country where you have to provide food and other aid, but in bobby's words the u.s. have to if you will hold the hand of the transition government to give them advice. what do you see as the u.s. in this transition? >> do i see that type of role for the u.s. the u.s. right now is very popular in libya. it's a remarkable success story. the libyan people see the u.s.

and the international community as having stood by them on their side. ambassadors there. we have representation there and directly engaging in the libyan government. the transitional authority do want western help to rebuild their economy and have significant oil reserves and have significant cash here in the united states deposited in our accounts that could be moved over to them. we will need the technical advice because after 40 years, their oil fields are not in great shape. >> what do you see as any possible push back or land mines that exist for the united states and there have been early conversation, for example, over whether it matter fist the nato air strike played a role in the capture and subsequent killing of gadhafi. if this will have impact on the u.s. and you mentioned in libya as a result of the assistance provided. are there land mines that might

exist between arab nations and leaders with the president of syria who might be frightened by the images that he is seeing i'm sure. >> exactly. right now we have three examples next to each other between tunisia, libya and egypt of leaders moving on in different ways. mubarak himself took himself out of power peacefully and now he is on trial. gadhafi is dead and from tunisia, he fled the country. the region is in turmoil and what the administration is doing is looking at it on a case by case basis approach. they see syria in a distinct lane and it will be difficult with multiple land mines and the charge will be there. it's impossible to have consistency between egypt, tunisia, libya, syria and bahrain. these are different countries. the president's view of promoting democratic change, human rights, this argument that he is making consistently is taking hold and demonstrating that the u.s. has an overall

view and how they implement it tactically in each country has differences. >> joe ruben, thank you so much for your time and insight. >> any minute now, jay carney will told a news conference where we will hear more on the white house, the reaction to the death of gadhafi and bring you that live. "news nation" is become after a quick break. chloe is 9 months old. one little smile, one little laugh.

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>> we continue to follow breaking news. the death of libyan leader muammar gadhafi. moments ago president obama made a statement from the rose garden. good afternoon, everybody. >> let's bring in chief pentagon correspondent, mick, surrounding this nato air strike that took place before the capture of

muammar gadhafi, what can you tell us? >> we have additional details to exactly how. it appears that muammar gadhafi was killed today and it started with a convoy. gadhafi was reported to be in a convoy that was speeding for his how many town of sirt after rebels in a 90-minute gun battle had driven the final group of loyalists out of sirt. a nato war plane actually launched an air strike against that convoy that brought it dead in its tracks. here's where it gets mirky. gadhafi was pulled from the convoy and wounded by the rebels that were in that region. or he had managed to crawl into a large drainage pipe nearby and was dragged out of that drainage pipe. there is video out there, cell phone video and shows gadhafi was alive and being held up and escorted, bloody, but still alive and being escorted by the

rebels loaded into an influence. according to official wees talked to, he was then driven and somewhere en route he expired. whether he died from the wounds suffered at the hands of the rebels or because of the air strike is unknown and it's unclear whether he may have been executed while in the ambulance on the way to misrata. we heard adrienne hmong from misrata describe how there is confusing and conflicting information about exactly where muammar gadhafi's body is and what will become of it. a nato air strike was involved in the eventual death of muammar gadhafi today. >> we're actually have that video we showed at the top of this hour. obviously very graphic and gruesome images you see here. gadhafi with the stunned look on his face. some images you see even a

closer advantage point. he is alive with the rebels and they put him on what appears to be a pick up of the rear of a pick up there. mick, back to the air strike for nato, our correspondent said when the rebels went in, they had no idea that gadhafi was part of this convoy. they were not sure that this was anything actually involving the dictator, the leader they should be searching for in sirt. >> according to the officials, it was unclear whether nato knew gadhafi was in the convoy. it was clearly a right target. fleeing sirt, gadhafi and all intelligence reported that he was holed up there in sirt and it looked like a gadhafi-style convoy. it was unmistakable that a nato war plane took out or at least brought it to a halt and somehow then he was in the hands of the

rebels and from the pickup truck he was loaded into an ambulance and on the way to misrata. somehow died on the way. >> mick, thank you very much for the details. reports of gadhafi's death comes two days after secretary of state hillary clinton made a visit. she hoped gadhafi would be captured or killed soon. mike viquiera is traveling with the secretary of state and mick, i have the statement that she was asked a question about the reports and had a response with a question about gadhafi's death. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, here in islamabad, earlier discussions and she was in kabul afghanistan meeting with president karzai. she is with top officials talking about a sensitive part of the world and it has been a sensitive part for secretary of

state clinton. she began this trip with a harrowing four hours on the ground and met with the leaders of the national council and talked a lot about the society now that exists or the control. >> mike, i apologize, we have to take the odd jens to jay carney. we will check back with you. let's listen in for the latest on what the white house has to say. >> it has been reported and reported accurately the president had a regularly daily briefing this morning. presidential daily briefing. he was aware prior to that of the reports of muammar gadhafi's death and as has been reported, we were working with our allies as well as others to confirm those reports. we have confidence in those reports and that's why the president made the statement he

did make. >> does the u.s. have a clear idea of what was in charge in libya right now? >> yes. the tnc is in charge. it is the only authority now claiming to be in charge in libya. i would refer you to what the president said about the process going forward once liberation has been establish and declared. the commitments that the tnc made in terms of moving forward with the transitional government and democratic future for libya. >> do you feel you have a sufficient understanding about who the individuals are and do you have concerns about what you may not know? >> well, it's been now seven months i believe since the nato mission was undertaken and a number of months since we recognized the tnc and even prior to that been engaged diplomatically as have our

allies. we have a feeling for and understanding of that body. we would simply point you to the statements that they have made about their commitment to a democratic transition. >> finally does the president see the development as a vindication of his approach to war? >> the president views this as a victory for the libyan people. the approach that he took was to assess the situation in libya which at the time was faced with potential massacre at the hands of the gadhafi regime. he understand that we working with allies could take action to prevent a massacre of libyans and ben gazay and he took that action and engaged as you recall the u.s. military in a leading role initially in that action in

that nato mission and as promised, a supporting role there after. i remember saying at the time that this was an action designed to give libya the best chance and the libyan people the best chance to determine their future. that it needed to be for the libyans to take control of their country. for the libyans to decide how and by whom they would be led. we believe and the president believe that is the actions taken by his administration and by nato have helped the libyan people reach this day. and that they now have an opportunity to secure a much brighter and more democratic future. that was the goal all along. when you make the calculations that this president made then

and makes when all matters of national security are at stake, he looks at american interests and he looks at our ideas. they do not have to be mutually exclusive. that is the approach he took here and it is the approach he applies as commander in chief. yes? >> the president mentioned the inevitable end of the rule of the iron fist. does the president believe that gadhafi sends a message to sirt? >> the president believes that syria's leader has lost his legit mas to rule. the violence he perpetrated against his own people is unacceptable. i think it's fair to say that the effects of this entire year

in that region of the world have spoken more dramatically than any individual could about where the future lies in that region. it's a future that lies with the youth of the region and those who are demanding greater democracy and greater accountability from the governments and greater freedom. that's as true in syria as it is in libya. >> will the president now deepen with the libyans with the transition? >> we remain committed as the president said to libya and the libyan people. we will work with our international partners to further assist libya as they make this transition. as the president said, libya's future is obviously undetermined. there is a long and wining road ahead for libya. what we have witnessed today and over the past several months is the libyan people taking control

of their country and putting himself in a position to create a better future for the young people in libya and future generations of libyans. there no guarantees as to what that future will look like and they are in a far better place because of what they achieved with our assistance and nato's assistance. and that makes us a very good day. yes? >> a follow-up. what will the u.s. be doing to help the libyans through the process. there a lot of personnel on the ground and very few military personnel. it's part of the u.s. embassy. what exactly can the u.s. do and will the u.s. do? >> well, the i think it's premature to get into specific forms of assistance. i would refer you to the state department for the assistance we have provided. >> no question, but i don't have

a lot of information about what assistance we will be providing libya in the future. beyond what we have already announced in terms of as you mentioned personnel on the ground and the embassy in the efforts related to security. going forward, we will as the approximate president said be committed to helping libya together with the international partners and helping the libyans make this important transition. >> nato is meeting to talk about what next and whether to end the mission with gadhafi. can you tell us any more about that? >> it's clear that the mission is coming to an end. i will leave it to nato to formally declare that. the mission that was outlined in the united nations council is to

protect the people from violence perpetrated by forces associated with the gadhafi regime. not just because of the announcement of gadhafi's death, but because of the successful taking of sirt and other areas, most of libya is now under control of rebel forces under control. >> we want to quickly bring another portion of the story as we get more information on the death of muammar gadhafi. we are listening with the daily briefing. i want to bring in the conversation. his brother is among those killed in the lockerbie bombing in 1988. muammar gadhafi is thought to have been mind that attack and we are waiting to hear about the administration. here you have the president coming out at the top of the hour, muammar gadhafi is dead and there answers many would like regarding those who are in

libya receiving protection under the old regime. >>-today i'm satisfied. nearly 23 years and i didn't think i would live to see the day where gadhafi was out of power and also eliminated. i can walk away and say to my brother and other people did not die in vain. we enhanced the government's approach towards state-sponsored terrorism and helping americans. those are all positive steps. it's not a day of celebration. i still can't get my hands being blown out of the air, but it is a day of great satisfaction. she irrelevant. he's a guppy. i have been saying for 20 years, if you want to eliminate the state sponsored government, if they know we will deal with that, this will stop. i applaud the obama administration. he developed a blueprint for the future. technology, intelligence,

allies. we should never ever again occupy any of these countries. it's a failure in afghanistan a failure in iraq. you can't give democracy to people in two years it. took 200 years to women the right to vote. we have this miracle in two years to develop a democracy. obama is doing it right with foreign policy and i applaud him. >> the headline in all of this is the death of muammar gadhafi. you obviously and everyone else believes he is responsible for that terrorism here. this is peace for you and your family. >> it's justice. no question for me it brings closure. it's hard to believe i have been doing this for 23 years and to finally get the man that ordered the bombing of pan am 103 eliminated is true justice for my brother and all citizens in free countries. >> thank you very much. i know you have a lot of things going on today and a lot of

feelings i'm sure going through you and we appreciate you joining us. thank you very much. let me go back to libya where adrienne mong is in misrata. there questions over where gadhafi's is at this moment? >> that's right. we are hearing reports that someone has seen the body here in miss rat a. we are trying to confirm this and chasing every lead we have. it is symptomatic at the day and chaos and confusion. sketchy information from everywhere. we basically heard nothing but word of mouth and rumor. in general, we can say that the mood here is celebratory. there is a constant stream of gunfire and lots of fireworks as well and actual fireworks. lots of people on the streets, much busier at night than we have seen before. >> again, right now on the

ground, we hear a little bit of what's happening behind you earlier in the live shot at the top of the hour as well. what's the scene like on the ground. it's dark behind you. >> reporter: it's a scene of jubilation. lots of people shouting and typically they are saying god is great. we hear a lot of gunfire. guns fired into the air which is an expression of celebration in this part of the world. we heard children. we are on a roof top here in misrata. we hear children on the street shouting and cheering. >> live in misrata, thank you very much for the live report on the ground. let's bring in republican congressman peter king of new york. the chairman of the house homeland security committee. he is one of just eight republicans who voted to authorize u.s. operations in libya. congressman, thank you for your time. >> you are welcome. thank you. >> let me get your reaction to the news. >> this is outstanding news.

gadhafi has met the end he deserves. he was a vicious murderer and psychopath. this to me is a day of victory for the people of libya and the entire world. now the challenge is to ensure that the new government coming in will have a moderate base to it. >> the president had critics on both sides saying he was overreaching and needed congressional approval for the air strikes. as as i pointed out one of eight republicans who voted to authorize the strikes. i will ask you this. is this vindication for the president and those who criticized the president? >> i believe the president did the right thing in going in and had the right to go in. the only criticism i would make and i hesitate to make it now because he was successful. i thought the u.s. could have been more forward-leaning in the beginning. i think we were too much in the rear. i know it worked by october, but it took over seven months for the operation to work.

having said that, the penitentiary thing was he made the decision to go in and it was the right thing to do. >> thank you very much. peter king reacting to the breaking new of muammar gadhafi's death in libya. thank you for your time. up next, official michael sing joins us now and we're back after this. ♪ [ doug ] i got to figure this out. i want to focus on innovation. but my data is doubling. my servers are maxed out. i need to think about something else when i run. [ male announcer ] with efficient i.t. solutions from dell, doug can shift up to 50% of his company's technology spend from operating costs to innovation. so his company runs better, and so does doug. dell. the power to do more.

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the history of libya. the dark shadow of tyranny has been lifted and with this enormous promise the libyan people now have a great responsibility. to build an inclusive and tolerant and democratic libya that stands as the ultimate rebuke to gadhafi's dictatorship. >> that's president obama only minutes ago at the rose garden white house. let's bring in michael singh, director for middle east affairs. he worked in the state

department in the george w. bush administration. it's a pleasure to have ow again. we got this note in, diplomats say nato decided to end the ariel campaign over libya. what is your reaction to the decisions that the president was criticized for six months to what we see happening now and what happened in libya? >> tamron, i guarantee that they are breathing a sigh of relief as they get this news it. makes a decision to intervene as the fall of tripoli did look like the right decision and look like the president's policy in the end was the right one. looking back, i think that there things i wish and i'm sure white house officials wish they had done differently, but the outcome here so far is the right one. this is not the conclusion of this libya story by any means as we have seen in iraq and afghanistan, but for this chapter we can say this is the right outcome. >> you say looks like the right decision. you have $2 billion spent and not a loss of life and the

leader killed his own people and willing to kill more to hold on to the power. you have the people of libya celebrating in the streets as the president and the administration said there is a long winding road ahead. how can it look like anything other than a successful attempt to give people in that country freedom now that gadhafi is gone? >> tamron, as i said, the outcome is right, but let's not make the error of saying every decision preceding it was correct. remember people in the united states and elsewhere were calling for the president to intervene many weeks before we did. what loss of would have been prevented had we gone in earlier. the white house wished they consulted congress earlier which they chose not to do and created partisanship in washington which was in my mind regrettable because of the way it turned people against them. >> we spoke with republican congressman peter king who was one of the eight republicans and

felt the president did the right thing even as a republican. while there may have been a divide with some, a divicive point where you can't get republicans to agree on anything, who is conservative is agreeing with him on the issue. >> that's right and this was controversial within both parties. there were people on both sides standing in favor of intervention and that was the right decision. it should have been come to earlier and come to in a by partisan way. let's face it. people in the white house will be breathing a sigh of relief because it's the right outcome and it's hard to get around that fact. >> always a pleasure to have your perspective. thank you, michael. that does it for this edition of news nation. a lost breaking news and we are back with you tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. my colleague martin bashir is up next. beauty products that will change your life... for the first time ever... a toothpaste. crest 3d white.

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it's thursday, october 20th and moammar gadhafi is no more. you have won your revolution. these were the words of president obama less than an hour ago following reports that colonel gadhafi's had come to an end. >> one year ago, the notion of a free libya seemed impossible. but then the libyan people rose up and demanded their rights. you have won your revolution. >> and the pictures tell the tale. i must warn you, they are graphic. this is the man who vowed to fight until the last bullet after he was seized by rebels in his hometown of sirte. you can see the dictator wounded and being led by armed fighters. separate video apparently shows gadhafi after he was killed. rebels say this is the body of the ex-strong