Transcripts For CNNW Piers Morgan Tonight 20110823 : vimarsa

CNNW Piers Morgan Tonight August 23, 2011



happy. >> tonight we take our freedom. >> the gadhafi regime ask coming to an end and the future of libya is in the hands of its people. >> is this gadhafi's last stand? what comes next. we'll talk to boots on the ground and the libyans. and the man thants to be the next president. >> i'll stick to the issues that really matter to the american people right now and will be totally responsible for getting us back in the game. >> is jon huntsman is real deal? can a republican who favors civil union with gay couples and president obama's ambassador to china, have the tea party tied? jon huntsman, the remarkably candid one-on-one. >> pierce, i'm in it to win and i promise i won't walk off. >> this is piers morgan tonight. >> moammar gadhafi saifal islam gadhafi claims the city is still under his control and his father is safe and well. i'll talk to matthew chance. i'll go live to sara sidner. sara, if you can hear me -- what's going on? >> we heard a lot of rapid gunfire. we saw tracer rounds coming over our heads, literally right over us. we had to take cover. we started to wonder what was going on. if there was some sort of fight that started up again in this town which is just about 30 miles from tripoli. as it turned out, as the night went on even though that went on for about an hour and a half, we got in touch with rebel sources who told us, no, they are celebrating. yes, they're blowing off things like mortars but they are celebrating in zawiya. there were gun battles in the city of tripoli. we drove into the main drag from the west, that's where a lot of businesses normally are. a lot of commerce takes place and some neighborhoods. we drove straight down toward green square and we were stopped in the evening because they were telling us we couldn't go any further. we could hear gunfire the rebels telling us snipers were in the area and the situation was very tense and there were, at one point, surrounded but they're fighting their way out of that. and that's the last we heard on that situation in the center of the city. a very close, also, to the gadhafi compound there. and to the hotel where a lot of the international journalists are housed. piers? >> sara, one of the big problems is watching yesterday the dramatic events and you were particularly heroic with the reporting you were doing. you got a sense of the rebels overthrowing tripoli and making the final charge on gadhafi. but today, the situation seems to be changing, again, pretty dramatically. and we saw earlier, moammar gadhafi 's son, saifal islam, he says tripoli is still under his family's control. his father is safe and well. matthew chance, our guy inside the he 2e8, talked to saif and took a photograph of him so it would appear the story being put out by the rebels yesterday, at least two of the sons were in custody, was mostly untrue, is that right? >> what we're hearing from the rebels is that, yes, they had hold of all three of the sons and now they're saying, hold on. mohammed, one of his sons, mohammed gadhafi has escaped. how did that happen? we have no idea. we don't have the details on that but we have reporting that he is escaped rebel clutches and now you're seeing saif, who is able to make it to the riox hotel and talk with the international correspondents there, including our matthew chance who is holed up in that hotel. it's very, very disconcerting -- >> sara, sorry to interrupt you. we have matthew now live. matthew chance if you can hear me, obviously another very tense day for you and the journalists in there. you had this extraordinary encounter we are saif gadhafi. tell me what happened. >> it was very strange, indeed, piers. -- >> local time and we're told he was going to give us a briefing which would have been surprising, obviously. but he didn't turn up. he was a no-show so we all kind of assumed it was spin on the part of the gadhafi regime and he really was in custody but they insisted he wasn't. a few hours later, 1:30 local time, a couple hours ago, all this fuss in the lobby of the hotel. i was woken up in my room and everyone was pointing at this white armored land cruiser and they're saying saif is in there. i walked up and knocked on the door, he was about to drive off. i knocked on the door. and it opened up and i said, saif, i want to see you with my own eyes. they turned on the lights in the back seat of the land cruiser. there he was. i took a photograph of him and asked him about where his father was and he said all of his family are in tripoli and went on to say it was all a trick, the rebels coming into tripoli, that we've now broken their backbone and we've given them a hard time and he then invited me to get into the car and drive around tripoli so he could prove how much it was under the government's control. but before i had a chance to do that, the door closed and he drove off. it was quite incredible. as we've been discussing, we all thought the rebels had reported the icc, the international criminal courts confirmed, we believed, that he was in the custody of the rebels. but he's not. he's free and he's driving around tripoli. >> it does raise into question the credibility of statements by the rebels, unquestionably. what do you think is really going on here? how much question believe? how much is spin from the rebels? do you believe that either of these sons were ever in proper custody? or were we just spun some yarn here? >> it's difficult to say. one correspondent has been here much longer than me, said that, you know, the thing about libya, the trouble with reporting it is that kind of lying is the national sport. obviously, that was a little tongue-in-cheek. but the fact is that both sides in this conflict have been spinning us a line. both sides have been exaggerating. both sides have been telling us untruths. and it's been very difficult all along, for the past six months, it's been very difficult, sort of picking through that and trying to get to the truth or as close to it as we can and this was another really vivid example of that, piers. >> matthew chance and sarah siden and we have the spokesman for the national transitional council on the phone from tunisia. let me start with you first, mr. ambassador. you know colonel gadhafi well. he's vowed to die as a martyr in the end. what do you think is happening in tripoli? do you think he's still there? >> i think the capital of tripoli is mostly under the control of the revolutionary forces. but certainly, gadhafi is there and somewhere hiding underground shelter that he built over the last decades. i think this is the safest place for him so i don't expect him to leave tripoli in any way. >> obviously, there are mixed reports now coming out of tripoli, yesterday, it appeared the rebels were surging to victory against gadhafi. but we were also told they capture dwod of moammar gadhafi 's sons and that now is clearly untrue. how much do you now believe from what the rebels are telling us? >> well, i think it is not completely untrue because i think amad gadhafi was in the hands of opposition forces and they gave him the -- they guaranteed his security and safety and left him at home. and then he escaped. anyway, i think maybe there is something wrong with the security system of the opposition. but it is understandable in a city like tripoli, a very large city with two or almost 2 million inhabitants and with the opposition forces coming, many of them from the outside of the city, so mistakes can take place. but anyway, i am not sure whether saif islam was in the hands of the opposition or not but mohammed, certainly he was there. >> thank you very much, mr. ambassador. i've got an expert here. put this into some kind of context for us, because, clearly misinformation is part of life in libya. it's very important for the credibility, i guess, of everyone involved here that we can believe what we're being told by the rebels. what do you make of what's going on? >> obviously a lot of confusion and misinformation going on. it's hard to know who has the upper hand. but there's one thing we can be absolutely certain about. six months ago moammar gadhafi controlled the entire country and today he controls a few scattered neighborhoods in tripoli, so the end is near. whether it's the next 24 or 48 hours or whathaveyou it's time to think of what will happen next? what will libya look like post-gadhafi? >> are we there yet? it's extraordinary that you could capture two of gadhafi's sons as the rebel force and simply lose them? >> i think matthew chance said it best. because this country has been under the regime of one man it's a paranoid country. it's a schizophrenic country in many ways and you're going to have a hard time getting the truth. the journalists in the hotel are in a perfect position to sort of get through the noise. >> but do you feel we're at the end game? do you feel that moammar gadhafi 's position is basically over and we're watching the beginning of the end? >> it's hard to imagine a scenario whereby the gadhafi loyalists manage to actually regain control over tripoli, let alone, over the entire country. i think it's fairly clear at this point this is the end for gadhafi. >> once he goes and we've seen this issue in places like egypt. it's all very well getting rid of the dictators, whatever you call them, after long periods of time. the problem then is what do you put in their place? what will happen in libya to reassure the world that we're into a better situation for libyan people? >> and the situation is much worse in libya than it was in egypt where you had, at least, a centralized military that could form the backbone of the most revolutionary society. nothing like that exists in libya. one remarkable thing is that the ntc has managed to maintain a sense of unity despite the fact that you're talking about former loyalists, a whole group of militias and young revolutionaries. the only thing they have in common is a common bond to get rid of gadhafi. but once gadhafi is gone you can expect that that fracturing will rice to the surface. >> america has played a fair live, i wouldn't say lukewarm role but not as full-on as they would normally be. can you see a situation getting completely out of control the american also have to go in harder with more people on the ground? >> under no circumstances will that happen. this idea of leading from behind, as it's been called. i think ben smith had a great article in "politico" that it works. it's fairly inexpensive and a good way of doing interventions. i think the entire six-month nato campaign cost taxpayers about $1 million, which is about a day in iraq. it seemed to work fine for obama doing it this way and i can't imagine he'll take a more active role and i think, boots on the ground, absolutely out of the question. >> what about this ongoing fear when he's finally cornered, gadhafi, that he has the kind of mentality that he may do something really horrific. do you have any credence to those reports? >> we talked about this before, you and i. we like to talk about dictators like gadhafi as being crazy but in gadhafi's case we mean it quite literally. this is an unstable man. he's not someone who thinks clearly. and whereas maybe 24, 48 hours ago there was some hope of some kind of negotiated settlement whereby gadhafi could, perhaps, go to zimbabwe or south africa or venezuela, i think that time is now over. for the life of me i can't figure out how this ends without gadhafi in a body bag. >> and what timing are we looking at, do you think, for this to be completed? when will gadhafi be gone looking at the situation the way it is now. >> with the rebels in control of some 80% of the capital city of tripoli, it's only a matter of time. i see things moving very rapidly at this point. let's be clear, it's not over. we're talking about this as being over. we're talking about the rebels as having captured tripoli and talking about what's next these are important questions but it's not over yet. >> no, 43 years and he's not going to to go without a hell of a fight as he's always made clear. one of the worst crimes of the regime. the lockerbie bombing. we'll talk about an a.m. flight 103. hi there! that's not going to satisfy you. it's time for a better snack. here, try this. it's yoplait greek. it has two times the protein of regular yogurt. you'll feel satisfied. [ female announcer ] yoplait greek. it is so good. it's pretty good! the terror attack killed 270 people in 1988 and now new york senator chuck schumer is calling for the mastermind of that attack to go back to prison. joining me now a woman who lost her husband in the bombing of pan am flight 103. vick 20r -- victoria, thank you for joining me. what was your reaction to what we're seeing in libya? >> well, i'm elated to see the progress that the freedom fighters have made. in the last six months these people have done more to pursue moammar gadhafi and take him out of power and out of business than our government or any of the world superpowers have done in over 22 years. you have to remember that only seven months ago, these were average, ordinary libyan citizens who had the majority of them, 95% of them had never held a weapon in their hand. they're students, they're plumbers, they're doctors, they're people from all walks of life who courageously took up this fight and not had any military training. and here we are at a very pivotal time in our history with libya. this is the closest that we will -- we have come in 22 years to bringing moammar gadhafi to justice and holding him accountable for the mass murder of our loved ones and hundreds of people across the world. >> elated though you were by the progress of the rebels, were you disheartened to hear that two of gadhafi's sons, having been in some form of custody, are now liberated again and are no longer in custody? >> well, this is a very fluid situation. you have, as i said, these were ordinary people that seven months ago had no military training and, you know, were not organized. i think they have done a phenomenal job. what the nuances are of who they have in custody and how they are being reported, whether they are in custody or not, i think the fact that 90% of the country is under the freedom fighters or the rebels' control and we're closer to bringing this man, who has been a brutal dictator and killed thousands of his own people as well as many of our family members to justice, you have to understand that the world superpowers have had 22 years of opportunity to hold him accountable. not one indictment has ever been issued against moammar gadhafi. not one indictment has ever been issued to anyone in the gadhafi regime. our government has never tried to prosecute him. all the energy of the u.s. government and the u.k. government frankly has been to do commerce. moammar gadhafi years ago was actually rewarded for everything that he had done with billions of dollars of oil contracts. you should go to my website, betrayalforoil.com and see what has happened in order to pursue justice and accountability with moammar gadhafi. what these people have done, the freedom fighters have done right now up until this point in only six months is phenomenal. >> excuse me, may i ask you just very quickly, because we're running out of time here. if you had a choice in the way that the american s.e.a.l.s had a choice with osama bin laden of killing moammar gadhafi or bringing him back to justice, which would you prefer? >> moammar gadhafi should be brought to justice and i think that it's important that the u.s. government does not try to broker a deal to find him asylum or grant him immunity, but he should be adjudicated either in the libyan -- in the libyan judicial system that needs to be revamped or with the international criminal court. you have to understand, though, that the u.s. government is not a member of the international criminal court, so we really need to rely on the libyan people or the international criminal court to bring these people to justice, the gadhafi regime. >> victoria, thank you very much for your time. thank you. >> thank you for your interest. well have more on the battle of tripoli coming up. next, my exclusive one on one with a man who wants to be your next president. jon huntsman. an at the top asked him if he had a secret and the old man stopped and thought and said: free 'cause that's how it ought to be my brother credit 'cause you'll need a loan for one thing or another score 'cause they break it down to one simple number that you can use dot to take a break because the name is kinda long com in honor of the internet that it's on put it all together at the end of the song it gives you freecreditscore-dot-com, and i'm gone... offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com in servicing clients that serve our country. my name is marjorie reyes. i'm a chief warrant officer. i am very grateful and appreciative that quicken loans can offer service members va loans. it was very important for me to be able to close and refinance my home quickly. i wanted to lower my mortgage payment. quicken loans guided me through every step of the process. the whole experience was amazing! [ tony ] serving those who serve us all... one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. governor huntsman, let me start, i suppose, with the obvious question. here you are at a great time in your life. you've got a lovely family. you're financially secure. you've had an amazing career. there are many things you could do. why on earth would you possibly want to go into the cauldron of being president of the united states? >> are you questioning by judgment or what? >> i'm already questioning your judgment. >> we've just gotten to know each other for heaven sake. because i love this country. because i think the people of the united states of america have had enough in the way of hope and hype. and i refuse to see the end of the american century. this is the greatest nation that ever was and we're about to the first time ever to hand it down to the next generation less good, less productive, less competitive, saddled with debt. and that totally is unacceptable. and if you come from the vantage point of having served in a position like governor, lived overseas four times, been ambassador three times, once to our most important relationship. if you've got something to bring to the table that speaks to where we are in history. we're a center right nation. i'm a center right candidate. i think i've got pragmatic and practical solutions. if you don't step up and do what teddy roosevelt would have advocated, get in the arena, it says something about you. >> what is the jon huntsman for america? >> preemminence with the united states. the world works better with a strong united states. we are the only beacon of hope, the only safe haven for people who are fighting oppression abroad. we speak to democracy, we speak to human rights, we speak to liberty, we speak to free markets. our core is weak in this country. >> is the american dream still the same? can it be the same as it used to be? >> of course. >> or should the american dream be slightly reinvented for the modern world? >> the american dream is the same. we aspire to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. the pursuit of happiness is jobs, it's entrepreneurship, it's the creative class in this country. the problem is we have an environment that doesn't speak to perpetuating the creative class and entrepreneurship. bogged down in regulation, bogged down in taxation. because of that what america has always been so good at and the ways in which we've always inspired the rest of the world isn't coming through. the american dream is there, although for i think a lot of people, they feel it's out of their reach. i hear that all the time. i can't get a loan because of the financial services regulations.

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