'Indescribable' and Deadly Assault; 'There is A River of Blood'; Clashes Erupt Across Eastern Libya
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Brooke, thanks very much. Happening now, "a river of blood" -- that's how one doctor describes the deadly scene in a Libyan town that sees another day of violence after pro-Gadhafi forces allegedly opened fire with machine guns on peaceful protesters. Also, the escalating Libya crisis hitting hard at the gas pumps right here in the United States. Is it time for the federal government to tap into its emergency oil reserve for relief? And a rare look inside the largest weapons expo in the Middle East, where some of the technology for sale could help prevent future turmoil in the region -- or not. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.</s>BLITZER: This is new video of fighting in the town of Zawiya. We want emphasize that CNN could not yet confirm when it was shot. But today, reports of what one witness calls "an indescribable and deadly assault" are emerging. Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, has more.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We do know from talking to a doctor in the nearby hospital, that he said 15 people have been killed, 200 wounded, in an attack by government forces using heavy machine guns and mortars -- small -- small artillery fired into that area. However, what we're hearing from the government is that they now say that they have now taken control of Zawiya, that they have killed what they describe as a terrorist leader there, captured a number of tanks, anti-aircraft guns and other such devices. So -- so the picture from -- from what is actually happening in Zawiya is not entirely clear at this time. On the one hand, our sources there say that the rebels still control it. On the other hand, the government says they now control it. But what we do know is when we were there last weekend, many of the protesters there were armed with heavy machine guns. They had rocket-propelled grenades. They had at least a couple of tanks and some -- some anti-aircraft guns as part of their anti-government protest. Of course, a week ago, they were very afraid of an incident like this, where the government would attack them.</s>BLITZER: Nic Robertson on the scene for us. Meanwhile, in the nearby capital city of Tripoli, more brutal fighting. The clashes reportedly occurred after weekly prayers. Witnesses say flatbed trucks full of gunmen drove through the streets firing tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds. The United States is stepping up its humanitarian relief efforts in Libya -- outside of Libya, I should say -- as hundreds of thousands of refugees flee the bloodshed. A C-130 cargo plane has touched down in neighboring Tunisia, carrying supplies, including 2,000 blankets and more than 9,000 water cannons. It's one of two -- it's one of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's ideas -- one of two planes headed to the region that she has already announced. All of these dramatic developments are raising new fears about the capabilities of the Libyan dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. Joining us now, "The New York Times" columnist, Nicholas Kristof. Nick, thanks very much. Let me get the exact quote from this doctor in Zawiya: "There is a river of blood here in hospital. The situation is very bad. I know you're in close touch with people in Libya right now. What are you hearing?</s>NICHOLAS KRISTOF, "NEW YORK TIMES" COLUMNIST: Well, there seems to have been a major counterattack on Zawiya. There are accounts -- different versions of who is controlling it right now. But there is no doubt that there was a very strong, very forceful counterattack. And I think -- I mean I guess what I fear is that it's emblematic of a pretty strong effort by Colonel Gadhafi to reassert control in a pretty broad area, from Zawiya and on also into the -- the mountains and southwest of Tripoli.</s>BLITZER: He's certainly making a show of it. You Tweeted this. Let me read it to you, from Twitter. You said: "I'm afraid that Gadhafi may have more staying power than many people expect. I hope I'm wrong." That's your Tweet, Nick Kristof. Give us a little bit more detail why you think this is happening now.</s>KRISTOF: Sure. Well, just talking to people in Tripoli, especially people who have some connection with the military, their view seems to be that within Tripoli and surrounding areas, like Djerba, that the opposition has been, to some extent, terrorized into submission, that Gadhafi has essentially reasserted a measure of control there, that he's systematically going through to the west and southwest, as far away as the Algerian border, and establishing control there; then likewise, you know, attempting -- and we're not sure how successful that will be -- but to move -- to move east, as well. And, you know, whether or not he succeeds there -- by one account I heard, he still controls 89 percent of Libya's oil refining capacity. And from the point of view of the rebels, you know, who are way out in the east, it's an awful long haul to mount an attack all the way on Tripoli. And to do that, they would have to bypass Sirt, the hometown of Gadhafi. And that's a pretty tall order for, you know, a bunch of people who are not a regular army. So I guess I -- I fear that Gadhafi may have, you know, he unfortunately be able to hold on a little bit longer in Tripoli than we might have thought a few days ago that -- and maybe some of our forecasts were a little bit too tinctured with, you know, with hope than with reality.</s>BLITZER: Yes, people don't realize, it's 500 miles from Benghazi, along the Mediterranean coast, if you're heading west toward Tripoli.</s>KRISTOF: Yes.</s>BLITZER: That's a long way to go.</s>KRISTOF: That's right. And, you know, for armor, for example, if you want to transport tanks -- if you want to get tanks from Benghazi all the way to Tripoli, then you've got to have tank carriers. And it's not clear that the rebels have them, at least in sufficient numbers. It's not clear to what extent they can operate the -- you know, some of these -- these things, whether it's the tanks or anti-aircraft weapons. And, you know, the one thing that Colonel Gadhafi does have is control of a bunch air strips and control, still, of the air force. And that can be -- if there's no good way of counterattacking that, he can use that to pretty good effect.</s>BLITZER: Why does he have this ability to stay in power yet the leaders of Tunisia, and later, Egypt, they collapsed within a matter of days?</s>KRISTOF: It all comes -- essentially, in this kind of a situation, it all comes down to the willingness of the army to shoot people. And in Egypt, in Tunisia, the army was not willing to mow people down. In Libya, it was. And that's partly because you had key commands in the Libyan military controlled by Gadhafi's sons.</s>BLITZER: The president of the United States says now on television -- he said it in a written statement earlier, Gadhafi must go. But he's not really explaining what the United States is going to do to make him go. Does he need to get into specific details? Instead of just saying, Gadhafi must go, does he need to do something to back up those tough words?</s>KRISTOF: Well, I think it is helpful simply to say that Gadhafi must go. And that, I think, will help peel away some of the Libyan military from Gadhafi. But I do think that, at the end of the day, he probably will have to do more. And, you know, there are no good options for us. But too often, because we don't have any good options, we just sit on our hands and do nothing. And there are things we can do. A no fly option -- you know, a no-fly zone is not great, but we could protect places like Benghazi relatively easily. I think that Secretary Gates kind of exaggerated the difficulty of it, if it were done, you know, more toward Eastern Libya. We can jam the Libyan broadcasting facilities and we can support the rebels in broadcasting to Tripoli. All those things would help at the margin. And I don't see any major reason why we shouldn't do them.</s>BLITZER: Do you sense there's a split in the Obama administration on how tough to get toward Gadhafi?</s>KRISTOF: I think there's been a split in the Obama administration kind of from day one. And you have, I think, a -- you know, a sort of a -- a foreign policy establishment, and especially from the Pentagon, that is really reluctant to get involved. They feel they've got their hands full and that it's very easy for these idealists to commit themselves into things and that it's hard to get out. On the other hand, you've got these -- you know, some people who I think are quite close to the president. I think it's the president's own instinct that here we have a movement that reflects our values, where everything is at a turning point, and the we want to make sure we're on the right side of history. And you've had Obama kind of go back and forth between these two camps and, from my point of view, maybe not doing as much as we could have at some -- at some moments. And I would say that right now is one of them in the case of Libya.</s>BLITZER: Nick Kristof, thanks very much. I just want to remind our viewers, you can follow Nick on Twitter, @nickkristof -- all one word -- and, of course, read his columns in "The New York Times." Thanks very much.</s>KRISTOF: Sure. Thank you.</s>BLITZER: New clashes as rebel forces move closer to the Libyan capital. We'll have a live report from our own Ben Wedeman. He's in Eastern Libya. And the escalating crisis triggering new pain at gas pumps here in the United States. Is it time to tap into the emergency oil reserve? Stick around. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.