that's it. >> saif gadhafi tonight. in an abc news exclusive. >>> so, has the offensive changed the picture on the ground in eastern libya for the rebels? tonight, in some places, celebration. though, in others, gadhafi's army still on the attack. alex marquardt is in eastern libya tonight. >> reporter: good evening, david. these rebels that were on the cusp of defeat say this long awaited international military intervention provides a huge more morale boost, that the coalition air strikes changed the momentum of this revolution. but these rebels are still an underequipped, undertrained force fighting a ruthless enemy. gadhafi's ammunition supplies, used against the rebels, today, destroyed near benghazi. the burned out carcasses of a gadhafi forces convoy, apparently taken out by u.s. and european bombs on the edge of the rebel capital. the rebels celebrated. >> it's over. >> reporter: in fact, it's far from over. in the west, the rebel-held city of misrata continues to be attacked by gadhafi forces. >> they are destro

his son, saif, speaks to "this week" in a worldwide exclusive. what next for moammar gadhafi, the libyan people, the united states military? how does it end? >>> then, disaster in the pacific. nuclear nightmare scenario in japan. how prepared is the united states? could it happen here? libya and japan, two crises with major consequences for the united states. >> announcer: live from the newseum in washington, d.c., "this week with christiane am amanpour, target libya" begins now. >> as we begin or broadcast, the united states is at war in a third muslim country, libya. we'll take you there live in a moment. abc's team of correspondents is covering every angle of the story. i'll have an exclusive interview with moammar gadhafi's son, and close adviser, saif. i'll be joined here in the studios by chairman mike mullen. to discuss what's being called operation odyssey dawn. >>> but first, the latest headlines in the fast-moving story. a defiant moammar gadhafi is promising a long war, one day after the united states and a broad international coalitio

come on, of course. >> couric: saif qaddafi said the regime will win even if western powers intervene. meanwhile, back in this country, a major rainstorm is soaking the northeast tonight. as much as three inches is expected in some places by tomorrow. and the big worry is flooding. this same system already hit the deep south where elaine quijano shows us the real danger came from tornadoes. >> reporter: at alexander hardware store outside mobile, alabama, today, workers began the cleanup after a tornado ripped through the town of theodore wednesday. multiple security cameras were taping as owners margaret and tony alexander looked on in disbelief. as the lights flickered they saw the twister right outside their front door. they and their three employees scrambled for cover. then moments later, chaos as the tornado barreled through with 120 miles an hour winds, the roof collapsed and merchandise flew through the air. in another part of the store, an employee dove underneath the lawn mower he was fixing. it incredibly it was all over in 20 second and no one was seriously hurt. >> i don'

we understand you just got off the phone with his son, saif. what is gadhafi's strategy right now? >> well, i just asked him precisely those questions, will he leave? will he step aside? he said -- saif, his son, said, no, he won't, and he keeps saying that they are just fighting to protect the people of benghazi. that's their -- that's their -- that's their statement. i also asked him, would they carry out threats of retaliation, and saif said, no, that is not our target. bianna? >> christiane, spreading outside of libya, is there a growing sense that america's reputation in the region could take another hit given that they're intervening in libya now, but if you look at bahrain, and yemen, two strategically important countries to the u.s. are experiencing increased bloodshed among their own civilian population and could this perpetuate accusations of hypocrisy on the u.s.' side for not intervening? >> well there certainly are questions as to the logic of all this. if one intervenes for a people in libya, why not for other people in bahrain or yemen? that certainly is a question t

. >> and christiane spoke exclusively with gadhafi's son and his close adviser saif just after the u.n hiding? are you worried? >> hiding from who? >> reporter: well, as you know, the united nations has taken a resolution that would potentially involve air strikes against your father's air defenses in various military emplacements. >> we are in our country, with our people, and we are not afraid. >> that's abc's christiane amanpour. we've also learned that the pentagon has a growing fleet of u.s. military ships and personnel not far from libya. in the mediterranean sea is where there are a number of destroyers, submarines, surface ships and a command ship. from the air the military's plan call for using drones and ground attack planes. stay with abc news throughout the morning and day as we monitor the tension in libya. we'll have live updates on "good morning america" and also "america this morning" and also much more of saif gadhafi's exclusive interview coming up. >>> and now to our other breaking story this friday morning. the newest developments from japan. u.s. troops began clear

but the libyan leader's son saif al-islam said it would do no good. >> ( translated ): military operations over. within 48 hours, everything will be finished. our forces are almost in benghazi. whatever the decision, it will be too late. >> brown: meanwhile, secretary of state clinton in egypt today said she hopes for a u.n. vote on an international response no later than tomorrow. also today, the "new york times" reported four of its journalists are missing in libya. they disappeared tuesday while covering the rebels' retreat in the east. to update the overall situation we're joined again by dirk vandewalle. he's an associate professor of government at dartmouth college and author of "a history of modern libya." so how has qaddafi been able to seemingly turn things around and retake these towns? >> well, i think originally we had all anticipated that as the uprising proceeded that this would turn into a longer conflict which eventually this international community would have a chance to weigh in. but it now seems that the qaddafi has managed very skillfully to keep around him not only the

thousand dollars in the region or to teach a finance course in libya we also know of course about saif gadhafi he went to that under school of economics l.s.e. he received a doctorate from there and then his foundation donated two and a half million dollars to the university the director of course of the university has stepped down over the revelation of that donation and we've also heard another university that has declared its links with libya itself ahead of the media finding out that's liverpool john morse which has money donated from libya to run a business school also a health faculty and a neonatal care facility so this seems to be quite a lot of libyan money floating around in british universities there's a wide range it turns out all for and sports giving money to u.k. universities and according to a report by the center for social cohesion many courses at british universities wouldn't be able to run without this money. include iran saudi arabia and china and i'll just take you through a few of them iran has donated a total of around a quarter of a million dollars across major

hasan saif said today airpower was used simply to frighten the defenders of brega, but that does not tally with the accounts of many of the men who fought here, and drove back the troops loyal to the qaddafi clan. >> brown: an international airlift kicked into gear today in tunisia, across from libya's western border. egyptian workers who fled libya were being bused from a u.n. transit camp at a key border crossing to the airport at jerba. 40 flights to egypt were scheduled today. meanwhile, the u.s., u.n. and european union donated more than $30 million to assist the exodus. alex thomson has more on the situation, from just inside tunisia. >> reporter: at the frontier itself, it's quiet and orderly today, so much so tunisian new qaddafi flags fly over the libyan checkpoint, the red crescent clearing up the rubbish now, and considering this bizarre scene. >> well, it's a very, kind of, difficult situation, because we don't have much information. we don't have much information about what's... what's next. because we don't have information on what's going on the libyan side. >> reporte

benghazi, or would allow those troops to encircle it by going straight for dubuque, which is what saifqaddafi is threatening. muammar qaddafi has written an instruction manual and had a stay in power. number one, stamp out dissent immediately. number two, shut downtown the internet so the opposition can't communicate, and most importantly, make sure any army units that are prepared to shoot are on your side. some of those libyan lessons are being applied in bahrain, where security forces used overwhelming numbers to break up the protesters' camp there. volleys of choking gas were fired. and more. the arab spring of egypt in tunisia has hit barren ground in bahrain and in libya. mark phillips, cbs news, tripoli. >> couric: next door to libya, secretary of state hillary clinton urged egypt's military leaders to keep their promise to establish democracy there. she also made an unannounced visit to tahrir square, the epicenter of the antigovernment protest that forces president hosni mubarak to step down last month. meanwhile, a diplomatic standoff between the u.s. and pakistan ended today

but gadhafi's son, saif, the regime's de facto spokesperson, took the setback in stride. >> if you have one or two or three thousand demonstrators, it doesn't mean everything is done, and it's over. >> reporter: as the stand-off continues, both sides are fighting to win a war of words and images. in benghazi, international news cameras were brought to see rebel fighters training civilian volunteers. and keeping their heavy weapons ready for battle. >> all people here are one heart. and they believe in one libya. >> reporter: and a government press tour visits wounded pro-gadhafi fighters in a tripoli hospital. and takes in a pro-government demonstration. meanwhile, the fighting has triggered a humanitarian crisis. more than 100,000, mostly migrant workers have fled libya, into tunisian, overwhelming aide workers there. some simply pass out from hunger and thirst. disease is spreading. the unlucky ones never even leave this makeshift camp outside tripoli airport. the thousands of weak, wounded and frightened are losing hope. these are just some of the thousands of people who say they're

meanwhile gadhafi's son, saif, had his own message. >> the libyan people, they woke up from the shock, did realize everything and now they are reacting and fighting back. >> reporter: and fighting was fierce in rebel-held zawiya just miles from tripoli. this claims to show the town under massive counter attack. unconfirmed reports say the town is back in pro-gadhafi hands. it's hard to see how the opposition can regain the upper hand. it doesn't have the military might to push into tripoli, while gadhafi has the money to buy lots of time. brian. >> jim, thanks. be safe there over this coming weekend. jim maceda in tripoli. we heard them use the phrase beyond libya some were billing this as a day of rage across the arab world, in places like bahrain, jordan and in egypt, where protesters returned to tahrir square where we just were, demanding the new government take power from the army now and quickly make good on all those pledges of reform. and in yemen where tens of thousands turned out, both for and against the president, who today rejected a plan to give up power there by the end

the season or star starting in guns blazing and getting the penalty in the first act minutes past saif science results in kona going on a dime off the head. and it is found another corner of the best second after the fight against him he said almost reasonable post sponsored comeback chances but i expect to be soon the real reason it's the decent guy from distance. but great guys again for spots like the family that lost the passing a box odd to make it only out spots that i actually knew rightly during the week instead of the palatine i ended up signing first i. am not result wasn't the only shock premier league new boys not old were they to know went from to time and some to her time off i think she'd be deflected into the next day and first off the five minutes whether it's got a lot of this sort of right in the last until it rises so i gave ben's added the second heading and then for a quick final score to nelson if need and will start the season. as which the time is now available for those dinara safina in all russian balls round at indian wells lazy sixty two sixty victory force

a shot isn't usually this strange and he put allegations out there that i don't want to deal with saif that's his ball for the moment because i left coming up next .

in the international community are taking of something else the scene of this town to duck east son saif gadhafi says the troops will now be marching we wait to see and once because he feels the government is very confident it will this country consuming effect in the last moment it just he says the international community based it wants to do it in brussels it's a very different reality here on the ground. some european leaders have expressed clear support for the opposition but many libyans fear western countries are more worried about money than their safety or the balance of power constantly shifting from the opposition to the government well there's a lot of confusion and chaos are these acts of worker is in the rebel stronghold of benghazi where people are losing hope and feel that by the time help arrives it might be too late already the annan abashed the uprising in eastern libya is like most of its parts disciplines young impulsive and the reverend to the regime like these twenty two year old who had never held a gun before but a long used it that is the movement my father showe

in tripoli, saif qaddafi acknowledged it had been burned but said the attack was intended to scare off the rebels not kill them and he gave a chilling assessment of just how vital this place is. >> reporter: we went to the >> 17 were killed... >> reporter: we went to the scene of the bombing with militia commander abdull rahman. three huge craters a short distance from the entrance of the oil terminal. >> reporter: he agreed with qaddafi's assessment. this terminal can pump 55,000 barrels of oil to supertankers each day. that's why he believes the dictator will strike here again. the terminal itself was calm today. yesterday this position was overrun by pro-qaddafi forces. today it's back in rebel hands and they say they're here to stay. abdul rahman just signed up for the fight yesterday and got all of 15 minutes training with his new gun but he's clear about what he wants. to get there, he and his men they may have to head down the road to tripoli. tomorrow is friday and there's a big protest expected in benghazi which is the biggest in the east held by the rebels. the next question

gadhafi's son saif vowed that the fighting will be finished in 48 hours."the new york times" says four of its journalists covering the conflict are missing and have not been heard from since yesterday. >>> a high profile visitor today in the heart of the region's revolution. secretary of state hillary clinton met with crowds in cairo's tahrir square, a month after egyptian president hosni mubarak was ousted. she said the pyramids are magnificent, but nowhere near as magnificent as what the egyptian people have done. >>> and secretary clinton is commenting on the release of an american cia contractor who had been held in pakistan, accused of shooting and killing two pakistanis. raymond davis was let go after the families of the victims were paid more than $2 million. clinton denies that the u.s. paid for his release. >>> and, despite all the troubles around the world, the president kept his annual appointment to fill out his bracket for college basketball's march madness. the basketball fan in chief got together with our sister network espn's andy katz. >>

thousand dollars in the region or to teach a finance course over in libya we also know of course about saif gaddafi he went to the london school of economics l.s.e. received to talk truth from there and then his foundation donated two and a half million dollars to the university the director of course of the university has stepped down over the revelation of that donation and we've also heard another university that has declared its links with libya itself ahead of the media finding out that's difficult john morse which has money donated from libya to run a business school and also a health faculty and the neonatal care facility so there seems to be quite a lot of libyan money floating around in british universities here some local schools have closely worked with the libyan government on several projects projects tell us more about some of those projects. that's right i'll tell you about one specifically which is kings college in london and their prison studies department forms of partnership with the libyan government to reform prisons in the country and they received money from both the

oh i must say the events in japan really remind of a plot or saif a movie except this is unfortunately the reality of the events are still unfolding so it's quite hard to even calculate the damage and the scale of the devastation especially after this explosion at the fukushima. nuclear power plant so for out it's possible your levels of radiation have risen and more consequence is me still to come from this particular incident at the moment six of russia's emergencies ministry's jets are on standby ready to deliver doctors rescuers medical equipment a mobile hospital to japan all is needed at the moment is a request from japanese authorities these jets have been on standby since friday on the order of the russian president. of course we're really to hold our neighbors and overcoming the steps of this severe earthquake. a state of emergency has also been declared on our soil on the cool islands in the seattle region were all necessary measures must also be taken to prevent damage and loss of life but tsunami has already reached our shores and we must all be consolidated it's time now o

not so hot way however his make over is earned him a top spot in tonight's all time segment in about saif he's gone back on his mark president obama signed an executive order on indefinite detentions and is planning on resuming military commissions for gitmo detainees so the seal the deal they give no is here to stop. the world the fear mongering used by politicians who makes decisions to break through get through between may who can you trust no one who is you know if you.

. >> reporter: the rebels say the attack on gadhafi's columns came just in time but saif gadhafi toldws's christiane amanpour that the americans are supporting the wrong side. >> the americans and other western countries, you are supporting the terrorists and armed militia. that's it. >> reporter: libyan state tv showed what it said were civilians wounded by the coalition air raids. it aired a statement from colonel gadhafi -- >> translator: you are not capable of a prolonged -- for a prolonged war in libya. we consider ourselves ready for a long war. be aware of that. >> reporter: the next phase will be the no-fly zone, which will stretch from tripoli to rebel-held benghazi. and the top third of the country. it's an operation that will involve hundreds of aircraft. >> we will continue to support the coalition. we'll be a member of the coalition. we will have a military role in the coalition but we will not have the preeminent role. >> reporter: the pentagon insisted on sunday that gadhafi himself is not the target. and u.s. officials emphasize the international coalition is growing.

and one of qaddafi's sons saif al-islam warned of much more to come. he said, "it's time for action. we are moving now." france today became the first country to recognize a rebel group in libya as the legitimate government. in paris, french president nicolas sarkozy met with two representatives of the libyan interim governing council. meanwhile, european union foreign ministers convened in brussels. the portuguese foreign minister said he met with qaddafi representatives yesterday and delivered this message. >> ( translated ): from the international community's point of view and portugal is on the sanctions committee against libya, the qaddafi regime is over. regarding its legitimacy, it is over. but tripoli must start a national dialogue with the opposition, work on a ceasefire as soon as possible to keep the >> holman: also in brussels, nato defense ministers began two days of meetings. they announced the start of round-the-clock surveillance of libyan air space. secretary-general anders fogh rasmussen said nato also will send more ships to the regi

in an interview with cbs news, qaddafi's son, saif... said, the plan... said the plan is "to squash the rebels with no mercy." if he follows through, if the qaddafi regime follows through on that, can the united states simply stand by and do nothing? and i say that in light of the fact that, in the past, you have said there are times when a brutal government is massacring its own citizens that the united states has a moral obligation to intervene militarily. >> i continue to believe that, not only the united states but the international community has an obligation to do what it can to prevent a repeat of something like what occurred in the balkans in the '90s, what occurred in rwanda. and so part of, for example, maintaining 24-hour surveillance of the situation there is for us to have some sort of alert system if you start seeing defenseless civilians who're being massacred by qaddafi's forces. i believe that qaddafi is on the wrong side of history. i believe that the libyan people are anxious for freedom and the removal of somebody who has suppressed th

his links with prominent libyans, some like saif gadhafi, which he met at government's request.e months ago he hosted a lunch at buckingham palace for el materi, son-in-law of tunisian president. british diplomats were said to be horrified. they regarded him as beyond the pale. it's his links to this man, american financier, jeffrey epstein, that have caused the latest problem, epstein is a convicted sex offender. last december andrew stayed with him for several days in new york. a photograph has emerged from ten years ago of andrew in another of epstein's homes with his arm around a 17-year-old girl described as epstein's personal masseuse. then, of course, there's andrew's former wife, the duchess of york, who was caught last year by "the news of the world" trying to sell access to andrew. >> open doors. >> reporter: it now appears epstein, the sex offender, was helping pay off some of the duchess's debts. buckingham palace insists there's been no impropriety by prince andrew. all of the insinuations are without foundation. downing street finally came through with full support

and saif gadhafi said, don't bomb us. it was very strange.isten to what he said. >> we want, even americans, to help us get rid of the remnants of those people and have a peaceful country. we want you to help us 20, you know, middle east democracy. more freedom. being peaceful. but not to threaten us with air strikes. we will not be afraid. >> and he said whatever happens is not going to cause his father to leave office. >> but i couldn't help but when we were listening with george. if you're waking up this morning and you hear that his father is considering shooting down passenger planes. american passenger planes. is he serious about that? >> well, the defense minister made that threat. and they did do lockerbie. they've taken admission for it. they do do that. clearly, one of the things that happens is you have to be prepared for some kind of retaliation. and they're threatening terrorism. >> what's your gut here? >> the gut is they don't have significant air defenses. if establishing a no-fly zone will probably not be that difficult. but