inspired by the arab spring the revolutions in egypt and tunisia that also inspired uprisings in yemen bahrain syria and libya strange how that works isn't it but the one of the things that we've seen most of the arab spring has unfolded are clearing examples of hypocrisy where to intervene where to stand idly by and of course i guess none of that chalk us because we know that politicians do hypocrisy best take for example president obama's attempts to invoke occupy wall street on his jobs tour have a senior advisers going cable television tell the people of the president is on their side all of that without getting too close or endorsing the movement too much and all of that while taking in huge swaths of cash from wall street they just face go the new york times reported that mitt romney had taken in more wall street not even president obama had so far in campaign donations today the washington post for a few did that report said that in fact president obama had more wall street cash because he also has the d.n.c. funds but at the end of the day does it really matter who has more as long as everyb

you have bahrain, syria and yemen. and what happens there and knows leaders have to be saying, oh oh. at this point. but as secretary clinton also pointed out on this trip, every place is different. and how everyone responds in those places will be very different. gwen: the manner in which muammar gaddafi was killed has caused a lot of unease. we've seen this footage over and over. bloody footage. and pretty shocking and grotesque. does that cloud the victory? >> well, i have to say when i look at that video, and i think wait a minute, are these the people that you want to turn this over to zph i'm sure americans are -- to? i'm sure americans are saying the same thing. there will be an investigation launched into how exactly that occurred. because the video we've all seen and some people saying, hey, i'm the guy who shot him, i did this, i did that and very joyful about this, a horrible man. he was a horrible, horrible man who did terrible things. but is that who you want to leave your government in the hands of? that

you have bahrain, syria and yemen. and what happens there and knows leaders have to be saying, oh oh. at this point. but as secretary clinton also pointed out on this trip, every place is different. and how everyone responds in those places will be very different. gwen: the manner in which muammar gaddafi was killed has caused a lot of unease. we've seen this footage over and over. bloody footage. and pretty shocking and grotesque. does that cloud the victory? >> well, i have to say when i look at that video, and i think wait a minute, are these the people that you want to turn this over to zph i'm sure americans are -- to? i'm sure americans are saying the same thing. there will be an investigation launched into how exactly that occurred. because the video we've all seen and some people saying, hey, i'm the guy who shot him, i did this, i did that and very joyful about this, a horrible man. he was a horrible, horrible man who did terrible things. but is that who you want to leave your government in the hands of? that

because there's just a little bit of help obviously think about what's been going on in bahrain in yemen in syria why is he still using that term. but i think at this point it's just far and he wants to testify what is in his ration is done and he wants to talk about it in the best possible terms and it's you know you talk about how all the political actors in the united states right now are essentially congratulating the president and i think. president obama wants to knowledge all of that i want all in the best light and so we don't necessarily think we're going to leave it we don't sort of the constitutionality when we really think but what's going to come next and that's sort of the biggest question which is what is the rest of the libyan war going to look like couldn't but we're not over yet. but we want to return to the reasons that we engaged in the war focused on those and been effectively saying mission accomplished which is so of course something very similar to what president bush said in terms of iraq. eight years ago. well how long do you think the president obama said today that i m

tunisians caught the fire of protest against the ruling regime then along came egypt and libya syria bahrain yemen and soon practically the entire arab world was in gold in a political confrontation we have witnessed an extraordinary change taking place in the middle east and north africa swear by square. country by country but by that time the wind of discontent have long since reached europe where for their own reasons people are challenging the status quo general strikes and demonstrations sparked by austerity measures in response to this debt crisis began to sweep through greece in two thousand and ten the same will soon happening in portugal but you thousand and eleven it was speaking and pretty soon pockets of similar resistance were percolating all throughout europe so given the no doubt for people to wake up otherwise we'll just become slaves to the system finally in september as new york city mayor michael bloomberg was warning of riots almost more jobs were created in america the occupy wall street movement was already in the making it only two days before it was a college as a powerful

foreign policy team decided to go easy on the critique think bahrain syria and yemen now take into account another element that shows just how mixed this u.s. response to the yesterday was a part of the u.s. diplomatic confirm that a fifty three million dollars weapons deal between the u.s. and have been finalized then today it was announced by the state department that after a number of u.s. senators had expressed their concern this weapons deal be put on hold until a special investigation of alleged human rights abuses in bahrain will be completed on october thirtieth and not something to make a final decision now at this point time it's estimated at least thirty five people have died since bahrain's protests began in february so how do we look at this postpone it is a good sign that our policies are starting to shift or is it just a symbolic move to quiet critique to everybody moves on and then the weapons deal can still go through joining me from our studio in new york to scott horton contributing editor on legal and national security matters for harper's magazine so i want to thank yo

all of the leaders that are in trouble, tunisia, libya, egypt, syria, yemen and bahrain. except for syria, all the others, even gaddafi, there were -- american threats. the story i would have liked to see and i frankly think the media if i could have time to write something -- they are not telling the american people. the most important part of that story is the debate the u.s. should be having is how is it all these dictators, for the last ten years, bahrain, yemen, all these ohrid dictators are our friends and allies? that is the question to be asked. united states in africa and other areas, but in africa the u.s. has some very undemocratic regimes and most americans have no clue but it is being done in their name. >> is this on? i think generally not covering issues of race globally, certainly not the issues on the far end of the protection of u.s. foreign policy as melinda so well laid out in haiti, not identifying the racial issues and racial questions in american foreign policy strategies. the media to some extent has been influenced by the academy. one of the most d

revolutions swept up across nigeria, egypt, yemen, bahrain, jordan, syria, virtually the entire arabhe votes are counted in tunisia's first free election, people have rushed to the polls. we are talking about 80% of registered voters in the country participating in yesterday's election. now, with libya and egypt following in their footsteps, the world is now looking to tunisia as an example of what democracy in the arab world could look like. so, we're asking how are things shaping up? ivan watson is in tunis, tunisia. ivan, what's next? >> reporter: well, they've got to count these votes, suzanne. you had more than 60 political parties competing. these were pretty complicated ballots that people had to fill out. people were are accustomed to basically only being able to vote for the ruling party in the past. the next step would be the appointment of the 217 winners of the election into a constitutional assembly charged with writing an entirely new constitution for tunisia and forming a new system of government, a new state that i think many people hope will be a democratic alternati

was announced gadhafi was killed yesterday, a constant stream of messages from places like yemen, bahrain and syriahave been uprisings of their own. this means these other leaders will have to go. the fact gadhafi went, leaders like assad, they must go. it's given a morale boost to the movements. we've seen twitter messages in syria saying despite tragedy ongoing there, they're happy for the libyan people. they're in solidarity. today in yemen thousands gathered in the square calling not just for the ouster of the president, standing with the libyan people. because thhappened to gadhafi, means he can't hold on to power much longer. today is a key moment to the see how the arab world and countries where they've been deeming with uprisings are their own will deal with this post-gadhafi morality. it seems to be giving people energy to get back out in the streets and yet to be seen late are today how exactly it happened, how it plays out. the fear, more crackdowns by these governments but the activists and protesters really want to keep coming out into the streets, demonstrating against their leaders a

said that we went for libya because we could do libya and we couldn't do yemen we couldn't do bahrain you know we couldn't do syria has this now opened up the door because there was a un resolution that was passed and nato decided to go in and actually take out the leader even though it was only supposed to be a no fly zone that was in force and humanitarian intervention does that open the door to say now we could do it we could do sol a next i don't think so because syria is a very different problem saudi arabia is an enormously different problem bahrain is that what about yemen yemen we seem to be sort of watching to see what's going to happen we don't want to get involved in that i don't blame the administration for not want to get involved and it is an absolute mess and the saudis have more strategic interest in a stable yemen than we do actually in terms of regional stability so the saudis need to take care of the yemeni problem and as far as i understand they are doing what they can to try and take care of it however they take care of it i'm sure that we won't really say anything about it just like we didn't

algeria, egypt, yemen, bahrain, jordan and syria, virtually the entire arab world, exploded in similarerty, unemployment, tyranny. change is still sweeping the region. >>> yemeni women defiantly burning their traditional veils yesterday. in protests of president ali abdullah saleh's brutal crackdown on protesters. here to discuss changes that are under way in the arab world, mona -- first i want to point out these images of yemeni women defiantly burning, torching these traditional veils, give us the significance of this act here and a pretty conservative islamic country. >> right. i think there are many levels to the story, suzanne. it is important first of all to remember just how many yemeni women have taken part in the revolution that's being going on now for an amazing eight months against ali abdullah saleh. secondly, these women were demonstrating not so much the veil itself, they were demonstrating the violence that this regime has unleashed on them and they're calling it -- it is a tribal practice to say that we reject this violence and we demand protection against this violen

they could take even longer in places like yemen, syria, bahrain. was a harrowing experience being kidnapped in libya. clearly it must have been a frightening ordeal. what was that like? did you think you would make it out alive? >> it was a frightening ordeal, no question. i think we probably feared for our lives only on that first day. i think from then on it was kind after window on what utter and arbitrary power represent. oftentimes how bizarre colonel gadhafi's world was. i remember going into a safehouse in tripoli and there was nothing to read in the house except for five volumes of shakespeare that had been translated into english. i remember back then colonel gadhafi had at times claimed shakespeare was of arab origin. >> anthony, you've done a lot of reporting from the region -- i'm losing you. can you hear me? >> i can hear you, yes. >> okay. i just wanted to follow here, you've done a lot of reporting in the region here. what do you think is next for libya and this new government? what do you think is going to be the greatest challenge

all the leaders that are in trouble, tunisia committees have, syria, yemen, bahrain -- except for syria, all the others, even gaddafi, they work u.s. friends. they were american friends. i think the story that i would have liked to see, and i frankly think the media, i would call a dereliction of duty. as they are not telling the american people the most important part of that story. how is it that all of these dictators -- mubarak, 30 years, bahrain, yemen, how is it that all of these hearted dictators are our friends and allies? -- horrid dictators are our friends and allies? the united states in africa, and i know and other areas, but africa is my country, and in average said the u.s. is close with very undemocratic regimes and the most americans know -- have no clue what it is being done in their name. -- but it is being done in their names. >> not covering issues of race globally, not the issues on the far end of the projection certainly of u.s. foreign policy, as melinda has so well laid out in haiti. not identifying the racial issues and the racial questions in american foreign p

you can imagine to learn dealing with syria, how about bahrain, how about yemen? the use of military power from the air in some of these other struggles is questionable. i don't think it's going to happen. we have to rethink what are we going to do about the arab spring? how do we nurture this with other than military means? >> general, great way to dovetail to ayman, last word before we go to a break. what's been the perception of the way the united states has approached the arab spring, specifically now libya in the way it has conducted itself over the recent months? >> in one word it's very simple, inconsistent. it has not been a consistent policy across the arab world. it has not been a value-based foreign policy towards this part of the world. and i think the arab people get that in. the case of libya, there has been a very rare moment of convergence of interest that the majority of the arab street if you will wanted to see gadhafi removed. that is why with the help of nato and an arab league resolution that asked for that help, there's a huge convergence bet

i think this is going to build moral in places like syria and yemen and protests and i got tweets from people in bahraing, us, too. >> yeah. it's been an extraordinary time for that whole region. i mean, in gadhafi's case, there he was calling these rebels rats and he was killed like a rat. >> three-quarters of libyans have known no other ruling and it's inconceivable what has happened and to me it's a reminder that history doesn't just inch along. it's in huge continuities and i think that's what we're prepared to see around the world as well. >> there's a debate today about what this means. president obama and vice president biden making a big play of, hey, $2 billion spent, no american troops on the ground, although people are questioning the voracity of that statement, wondering if there were special forces and so on. there was a special day of dealing with gadhafi to the way do you see we'll see a sea change here in terms of foreign policy? >> i don't think this is going to have us moving into syria or other places but there was something remarkable in the western powers, not only the u.s., but bri

none of those conditions will be present in syria, none are present in bahrain, none are present in yemen. so i don't think that we can look at libya as a template for what's going to happen down the road as the next arab regime is under threat, and certainly gadhafi and certainly saleh in yemen are on the ropes right now. either one of them can fall within months. not gadhafi, but assad in syria. >> and, nick, to you firsting i want to go quickly through the group, mccain says he's confident the new government will make the right choices in a region they could strike an alliance with iran, with assad. nick burns you first. are you confident they will say nato the united states stood by us, we will plant our feet with them? >> i'm not confident. i think this group will try to be friendly with the united states and europe but it's a very loose alliance of rival militia groups. and the first order of business is going to be can they disband many of the armed groups, can he get them under control, and can they begin to heal the tribal divisions. there's euphoria today in libya, but the task

>> make no mistake about it, in syria, in yemen g, in bahrain, other parts of the world people are watchingellite news channels today and are seeing the death of a long-time dictator, and some might be thinking the same can happen in my country. so that's going to be interesting also to see, the regional reaction. wolf, once again, in washington. wolf? >> i think even beyond the region, hala. and suzanne. i suspect people are watching all over the world, including leadership let's say in a remote isolated country like north korea itself. they might be watching what's happening in the middle east, in north africa right now wondering could this potentially even happen in a country like north korea. we'll watch that story as well, especially as u.s. talks with north korean officials resume in geneva next week. >>> let's go to the pentagon right now. barbara starr, pentagon correspondent, is watching what's going on. what are they saying over there, barbara, about any u.s. or nato role that may have played a role this morning in killing gadhafi? >> wolf, we don't have the exact details yet. we

syria, yemen. got a barrage of tweets back from bahrain, us, too.ng to have that effect in every place where there is a dictatorship. >> not only the middle east and north africa, but elsewhere, maybe even in a place like north korea. that may be a little farfetched. >> and china. >> and nick says maybe in china. guys, thanks very much. they know this region well. meanwhile, america's top diplomat gets the news of gadhafi's fate. we're going to show you how hillary clinton reacted. she spoke with our own jill daugherty moments after she found out more of the breaking news right here in "the situation room." i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors