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Pentagon: 110 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles Fired from Both U.S. and British Ships; French Jets Enforcing Libyan No-Fly Zone; President Obama in Brazil Monitoring Situation in Libya; NATO Attack Begins on Libya; Announcement that Gadhafi Will Address Libya; Radiation Found in Japanese Food Supply; Japan's Disaster to Cause Psychological Changes in Japan

Aired March 19, 2011 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Right now on CNN, two unfolding international crises. Libya under fire and Japan battling back from natural and nuclear disasters. The Worldwide Resources have CNN on top of developments on both these stories.

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Senior International correspondent Nic Robertson in Tripoli with U.S. Secretary of State -- in Paris CNN's Jill Dougherty and Jim Bittermann.

LEMON: And senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is traveling with U.S. President Obama in South America. And in Japan, CNN's Martin Savidge is live in Tokyo.

MANN: Retired General Wesley Clark and psychologist Wendy Walsh join us here in the U.S. for analysis.

LEMON: I want to welcome now our viewers -- our international viewers from around the world. I'm Don Lemon.

MANN: And I'm Jonathan Mann from CNN International. Let's get you caught up now on the latest news.

LEMON: And we start in Libya where the U.S. fired the first missiles inside Libya just a short time ago. And before that, French fighter jets made the first strike against Moammar Gadhafi's forces, destroying military vehicles. The international community is enforcing the U.N.'s no-fly zone over Libya, pressuring Gadhafi to stop killing his own people. We'll have a live report from Tripoli in just a few minutes.

MANN: President Obama, meantime, weighing in on the Libya situation from Brazil, the first stop on his five-day tour in Latin American. The president emphasized that this is an international operation, the U.S. only playing its part along with a number of others. He also said that the use of force was not the first choice but the international community, he said, cannot stand by any longer.

LEMON: And John, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is calling on Gadhafi to stop defying international sanctions. Clinton was in Paris today meeting with other top diplomats to discuss the strategy in Libya. She says, America is committed to getting the job done and will stand with its allies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States will support our allies and partners as they move to enforce resolution 1973. We are standing with the people of Libya, and we will not waiver in our efforts to protect them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And John, there are also some developments in Japan. Emergency power was restored early this morning to one of the reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Workers hope to have power back on to the other five reactors by tomorrow. That should allow water to flow through the plant to cool the fuel rods and contain lethal radiation. A live report is just ahead in about 30 minutes on radioactivity getting into Japan's food supply. Plus, we'll have a special report on the critical situation in Japan tonight in about three hours time. For U.S. viewers, that's 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

And here in the U.S., former Secretary of State Warren Christopher has died. Christopher was America's chief diplomat during the Clinton administration and deputy Secretary of State for President Carter. He died overnight at his home in Los Angeles after a lengthy battle with cancer. Secretary of State Clinton today called Christopher a tireless advocate of freedom and peace. He was 85 years old.

MANN: Well, as we mentioned, the U.S. made its first show of force in Libyan conflict. The Pentagon says, U.S. and British ships and submarines fired 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles on Tripoli and Misrata. More than 20 of Libya's defense systems were reportedly hit.

LEMON: And France actually took the first action against Gadhafi's forces. French planes destroyed military vehicles after Libyan forces attacked the rebel strong hold of Benghazi. French planes are still over Libya enforcing the U.N.'s no-fly zone.

MANN: The U.N. imposed that no-fly zone with a resolution Thursday, the goal protecting civilians from attacks by the Libyan military. The U.N. says, it will not stand by any longer as Gadhafi kills his own people.

LEMON: And you know, this has been building since protests erupted in Libya in mid-February, encouraged by other uprisings in the region. Protesters hit the streets demanding an end to Gadhafi's four decade reign. But unlike the relatively peaceful events in Egypt, Libya moved quickly to suppress its own uprising by force. So, let's get back to the U.S. involvement in the show of force against Libya now, John.

Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence is standing by for us live. So, Chris, is this just the beginning of U.S. involvement in this situation? CHRIS LAWRENCE, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Very much so, Don. Very much just the beginning. As you mentioned, they fired about 110 Tomahawk missiles. We're now getting some new information about where those came from. We know some of them were fired from a U.K. British sub. Some were fired from three American subs and two U.S. navy destroyers as well. They took out or they went after about 20 of colonel Gadhafi's air defense sites. By our estimates, that's close to about 50 percent of what he is known to still have. His surface-to-air missile launching capability. And right now, they are in an assessment phase. They say it's going to take between six to 12 hours to look and see exactly which of his missile launchers were hit. And from there, they'll assess and move on.

MANN: Are they going after Gadhafi himself?

LAWRENCE: They haven't specifically talked about going after Colonel Gadhafi, but they have said that ground forces are not out of the equation. They say that some of his ground forces carry the ability to launch his surface-to-air missiles to attack planes in the air, and so, his ground forces could come under attack. Now, the second phase of this, once the airspace is secured, once his air defenses have been nullified, then you're going to see the no-fly zone actually instituted. And we believe that will be concentrated mostly around the area of Tripoli and around the area of Benghazi.

LEMON: So, Chris, listen, as we said, is this just the beginning? Moammar Gadhafi still has time to end all of this, but it doesn't look like he is going to. It doesn't appear that he is taking this seriously, even though there have been strikes already.

LAWRENCE: That's right. In fact a senior military official said, look, he announced this cease-fire but he didn't follow it. He said that the military official said he's continued to attack and continued to try to move forward. And so, they feel that is the justification for now going after his air defenses and like that. In looking at what he has, he still does have the capability to fly jets, although most of them are older, soviet era airplanes. They do not have the capability in a fight with modern jets to take them down. But again, let's take a look now at what Vice Admiral Bill Gortney said just a few minutes ago about what's going to be the next step going forward tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICE ADM. WILLIAM GORTNEY, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Because it is night over there, it will be some time before we have a complete picture of the success of these strikes. I want to stress, however, that this is just the first phase of what will likely be a multi-phased military operation designed to enforce the United Nations resolution and deny the Libyan regime the ability to use force against its own people. This is an international military effort urged by the Libyan people themselves and by other Arab nations. We are joined by several other allied partners and are committed to supporting their efforts.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LAWRENCE: Now, the military is calling this operation odyssey dawn. And right now, it's being commanded by an American admiral on board the USS Mount Whitney which is just sort of a command and controlled ship now steaming through the Mediterranean Sea, but the U.S. expects to hand over control to the coalition leader sometime in the next few days. The interesting thing about this mission is, we were told that odyssey dawn, the official mission, began with this launching of the Tomahawk missiles, which occurred after the French pilots, after French planes had already bombed some sites in Libya. So, it remains to be seen if the French flights or the French attacks were not part of the official mission, how do those two relate and did the French act, you know, in accordance with what had already been decided.

MANN: Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon, thanks very much. And if you're just joining us, that makes it official, Libya is now under attack by the militaries of France and the United States.

LEMON: And the United States. And this just in to CNN, a Libyan government spokesperson speaking to the people of Libya, let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRANSLATOR: Facing a barbaric and armed attack.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TRANSLATOR: Some western countries are leading a rockets attack.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TRANSLATOR: On several locations in Tripoli and Misrata.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TRANSLATOR: An attack that caused some real harm against civilians and buildings.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TRANSLATOR: This barbaric aggression against the Libyan people comes while we have announced the cease-fire against the armed militias, which are part of the al-Qaeda and Islamic Maghreb.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TRANSLATOR: And the attack comes as Libya has announced general and major developments and reforms in the economic and organizational contexts.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TRANSLATOR: The claim that this aggression is for the protection of civilians.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TRANSLATOR: Is contradicted by what has really happened on the ground tonight.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: And the Libyan government announcing to its own people what we have been telling you, that the United States and France have carried out attacks on Libyan soil. The U.S. in particular launching more than 100 Tomahawk cruise missile attacks, really punishing series of blows at communications and anti-aircraft centers in Libya. The Libyan government has told its people all kinds of things about the unrest in the country, the opposition it was getting from the west. Now it seems it's acknowledging the attacks have happened, it says, with civilian casualties as well.

LEMON: A little bit more than acknowledgement as well because they're calling it aggression. They said an aggression when we promised that we would stop firing on people. It was a cease-fire. This comes as the Libya has announced major reforms he said in government. And as Libya has agreed to the cease-fire, so we will see. But according to people who are there, they're still firing on people who are in the squares, and the Libyan people and the protesters as well. So, we're going to continue to follow this breaking news here on CNN. In the meantime, U.S. President Barack Obama in Brazil has been getting up- to-the-moment briefings on developments in Libya, John.

MANN: When we come back, we'll going to hear from Brazil, Ed Henry is there. And we're live in Tripoli, Nic Robertson will have the latest from the Libyan capital. Our extensive coverage continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back to our continuing coverage of the situation in Libya. And that cruise missile strike puts the U.S. right in the middle of the action in Libya. French warplanes are already enforcing the no-fly zone in Libya and they've already fired on a Libyan military vehicle.

MANN: The U.S. went a little bit further, though. More than 100 cruise missiles went into action at about 1:00 Eastern Time today, but Moammar Gadhafi's government remains defiant. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson, is in Tripoli. Nic, what are you seeing, what are you hearing?

NIC ROBERTSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Earlier this evening, you would have been fooled into thinking it was some kind of sort of Fourth of July celebration here. There were people out in their cars hitting their horns, fireworks going off in the sky quite literally, the fourth of July type fireworks and more nothing less. And at the palace compound of Moammar Gadhafi, people were collecting and gathering there, a thousand or more so people. There was sort of an expectation that he might come and give a speech, but people began leaving that. But the area, there was a lot of soldiers there and they seemed to be on pretty high alert. And as we were leaving, we were leaving there after the first reports of this large number of Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired into the country, some of them landing near Tripoli.

Not that we could hear over the noise of the music that was going on and what was for all intents and purposes a sort of a street party going on inside this palace compound for Gadhafi loyalists. There were soldiers manning anti-aircraft guns on the grounds of the palace where a few hours earlier. We had seen demonstrators waving green flags. Now, it was all beginning to look very serious. And as we drove away from the palace grounds, the streets had emptied a lot and that the traffic in the sites now, you see armed police outside government buildings. We see people in civilian clothing but with weapons. People with weapons outside of other government buildings that were driven policy. The streets are much quieter tonight, the stores all appear closed and a very sort of heavy blanket of security on the streets of the capital here -- John, Don.

MANN: Nic, I have to ask. Much has changed in the what, 48 hours or a little less since the U.N. Security Council passed that resolution. But on the ground, has anything changed at all. Does this look like the Gadhafi government is preparing to weaken its campaign against the rebels? Does it look like the Gadhafi government is weakening its hold on power or does it looks like the Gadhafi government is mobilizing for a bigger conflict against the outside world?

ROBERTSON: I think the Gadhafi government is trying to strengthen its grip on power in the city here. It's had a pretty strong grip over the last few weeks. And by putting out additional security tonight, it appears that that's what it's doing here. We know that the government has handed out a large number of weapons to civilians, to people from different tribes around the country, so there are many, many people here who are armed, who wouldn't have been armed a few weeks ago, AK-47s, that type of thing. Is the government here and regime going to back off from its advances in Misrata and Benghazi and places like that? It's not clear that that's what they intend to do yet. If their communications networks across the country have been decimated or impacted in some significant way, it will be hard for them, therefore, to communicate all the way through to the front lines.

They will have satellite telephones, of course, that will give them some lines of communication, but it will degrade their effort to guide the army in the field, whatever standing orders or instructions from the rear command be lost, we're not clear what those are. But so far, the government has shown that it is willing, despite the U.N. resolution, to continue to try to push the military advantage in the battlefield. And it's done that oftentimes overnight. So really, it is too soon to say if these first strikes are going to have the desired impact here -- John, Don.

MANN: Wow, not clear what the first strikes have accomplished. Nic Robertson in Tripoli.

LEMON: All right. Nic, thank you very much. We're going to move on now and talk about the U.S. President Barack Obama, in Brasilia, Brazil, today, speaking out twice about the situation in Libya. An update from our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry, who is traveling with the U.S. president after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MANN: Welcome back. I'm Jonathan Mann from CNN International.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon from CNN U.S. President Obama is in Brazil, the first stop on his Latin American tour but he is closely monitoring the situation in Libya, John.

MANN: Mr. Obama is calling for a cease-fire that he says is not negotiable. CNN White House correspondent Ed Henry is traveling with the president in Brasilia.

LEMON: And Ed, first question, the president has made two statements today regarding Libya. First this morning in Brazil and then the second even stronger than the first one.

ED HENRY, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Don. I mean, because earlier in the day, the president was standing next to the Brazilian president talking about trade, talking about the economy, not exactly talking about war and peace and it was hours before the actual missiles were launched by the U.S. military. So he waited for that second statement until after that military operation had gotten fully under way to address the American people, address the world.

It was very clear the president was billing himself as a reluctant warrior, saying that he understands the heavy risks involved in any military operation, committing any U.S. forces to action, number one, and secondly was making very clear that he's not going to send in U.S. ground forces to Libya. Nonetheless, he also said that this had to be done, that it was the time to act and act urgently, because Colonel Gadhafi had repeatedly ignored and thumbed his nose at the international community and the president said, he was acting quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES: In this effort, the United States is acting with a broad coalition that is committed to enforcing United Nations Security Council resolution 1973, which calls for the protection of Libyan people. That coalition met in Paris today to send a unified message, and it brings together many of our European and Arab partners. This is not an outcome that the United States or any of our partners sought.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Key part of the president's message right there, that this was not something that they sought, number one, but number two, that he's got a broad coalition within the international community stemming from that Thursday night action before the U.N. Security Council. This is not the U.S. acting unilaterally. And to underline that, a senior U.S. official just told me a short time ago, that the president is planning for this heavy U.S. involvement to just last for days, not weeks. That the U.S. on the front end here will have this heavy role in launching these missiles et cetera, but then pull back and just play a support role -- John, Don. MANN: You know, I'm really struck by this because from the start it seemed like the French government was in the lead. We heard French diplomats speaking very, very vocally at the United Nations. Turns out according to publish accounts, it was the United States that wrote the text of the resolution that the Security Council passed. We saw the French attack first?

LEMON: Yes. And to answer that question, I'm glad you asked that because there's been reporting and this is from "The New York Times," Ed, now I want you to weigh in on this. Even though the leaders at Paris Summit meeting presented the united fronts, that's what the president said in his sound bite, everybody is in this together, there were signs of disagreement over how to proceed. And then it goes on to say, the initial French air sorties which were not coordinated with other countries began before the Paris meeting ended which angered some of the countries gathered there. That's according to a senior NATO country diplomat. What's going on here?

HENRY: Well, what's going on is that you're right, while the president is billing this as a broad coalition, not everyone in that coalition is completely on board with every aspect of this. I mean, look no further than where I am right now with the president is in Brazil. They are a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council but they had a vote on this, and then they chose to abstain, one of five countries, including Germany, and other a long time U.S. ally. Why did Brazil abstain? Well, they say it's because while they see it in theory, it might be a good idea to institute a no-fly zone and protect the civilians in Libya. They have deep concerns here in the Brazilian government, that the way the resolution before the U.N. was written that it actually is too wide, has too broad of a mandate.

And that despite what the U.S. and its allies are saying up front here, that this could drag on much longer and could back fire and hurt some of the very civilians they're trying to help. And so, you have to deal with that aspect of this, number one. And I think as well, you know, moving forward, this Obama administration is very cognizant of the fact that there are still deep scars stemming from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan where other people around the world are wondering whether the U.S. is going to rush into military action. And so to John's point, I think it was a very clear, deliberate effort by this administration to not be up front with the initial military action. Let the French do it, so this was not seen as a unilateral U.S. military action -- Jonathan, Don.

MANN: Ed Henry traveling with the president in Brasilia. Thanks very much.

While the U.S. launches its first missile strikes against Libya's air defenses.

LEMON: It's our breaking news here on CNN. Up next, we'll talk to General Wesley Clark about what this means for both Libya, the U.S. and the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DON LEMON, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: We want to update you on the situation in Libya, where the U.S. fired the first missiles today against Libyan targets. The Pentagon says U.S. and British ships and submarines fired 110 tomahawk cruise missiles on Tripoli and Misrata.

JONATHAN MANN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Before that French fighter jets made the very first strike against Moammar Gadhafi's forces, destroying military vehicles. We don't quite know how many. The international community is enforcing the U.N.'s no-fly zone over Libya, pressuring Gadhafi to stop killing his own people.

LEMON: Jon, why don't we bring in Retired General Wesley Clark? He is a former NATO supreme allied commander.

MANN: Joining us now from Little Rock, Arkansas.

General, good to see you again. Fair to say the French went in first, the U.S. went in big, what exactly has been going on?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Well, it's hard to say until you get into the details. I think U.S. doctrine basically calls for taking out the air defense system before you put aircraft overhead.

On the other hand, it was always clear to those of us on the outside that -- we've done this before without doing that. You could probably safely get away with flying some jets overhead in Benghazi and maybe attacking some troop targets without taking out the entire air integrated defense system. Maybe this was a compromise move, just speculating. It's the way these things work.

I know President Sarkozy wanted to be in the lead. He probably pushed to have the French forces take the lead and do the first mission. And also it could have been that there was a lot of urgency in this, because, from the time of the U.N. Security Council resolution was passed, it would have been nice if we could have resolved this thing and figured out how to do the strikes last night, but that wasn't possible, apparently. And so in order to put maximum pressure on Gadhafi and preserve civilian lives, I think President Sarkozy risked French pilots to go over Benghazi and make a statement late this afternoon in Libya.

LEMON: General Clark, you are no stranger to this sort of situation. In an advisory role, how would you advise the United States, United Nations, Britain and everyone involved, and how do you assess the handling of the situation so far?

CLARK: I think the United States has done a very adroit job of putting forth a compelling U.N. Security Council resolution, at the same time, encouraging those with greater immediate interests, and those who are in the region, especially our Arab friends, to come out front in the coalition. So I think what the United States has done, Secretary Clinton's statement, the statement -- two statements made by the president of the United States, both put us in the position where the United States is seen in a supporting role, but not seen as the leading role. Yet, we're still alive with the progressive elements in the region, which is one of the aims of U.S. foreign policy right now.

So the tough part will come if we're in a supporting role and events unfold on the ground too quickly and it doesn't seem like we have the right kind of escalation dominance or impact on the ground to break Gadhafi's efforts to reconquer the country, and then what? That will raise the stake on us.

But for now, I think it's been very, very well done. and I would say stay with the program. I was very comfortable with what our Admiral Gortney briefed a few minutes ago at the Pentagon, the progressive phases of strikes, the plans of the operation, it all makes a lot of sense militarily. I think it will have a very powerful impact on Libya.

(CROSSTALK)

MANN: Yes, you know how this works. You did this. You organized this in Kosovo. You clearly think it's going to work this time. Let me ask you, what is it actually going to do? When this is over, are we going to see peace in Libya, with Moammar Gadhafi still in charge, or is this essentially -- and no one really wants to use that phrase -- is this the start of what inevitably will be regime change?

CLARK: Well, the military peace is actually -- it's pretty mechanical. But it's the linking of the military peace to the outcome that requires the art and the leadership to pull it altogether. A lot of this remains to be played out.

The U.N. Security Council resolution does not call for regime change. It calls for protecting civilian populous. Although the president of the United States and secretary of state have said that Gadhafi should leave, he's lost his legitimacy and so forth. So there's somewhat of a gap in there between some of their statements and what the actual language of the Security Council resolution said. President Sarkozy said the door to discussions is not closed. He's not calling for unconditional surrender by Gadhafi at this point.

As this plays out in coming days, there will be a lot of jockeying diplomatically and militarily to ratchet up the pressure on Gadhafi militarily as well as diplomatically to convince him he's got to hand over power and get out of the country. How to do that, how it's done behind the scenes, how to bring allies to bear, how to manage the public relations of it, all of that is part of the art of doing this. The idea, of course, is to restore civil government and peace in Libya and provide an opening for democracy there.

LEMON: A very big job.

General Wesley Clark, we're still at the very early stages of it.

Thanks very much.

LEMON: Very well spoken.

CLARK: Thank you. LEMON: I didn't mean to step on you, but I was going to say, how would you handle the situation, the first part of my question, and then he did go ahead and answer it. But again, it's a very interesting situation what's going on.

You know what, this isn't the only breaking news and the only unrest in the world. Lots of it to tell you about in addition to the events in Libya. We've still got our eyes on the crisis in Japan coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: This just in, breaking news out of Libya right now. You're looking at Libyan television.

MANN: This is basically an announcement at the bottom of the screen. You can't see it entirely on your screen, but it is in English, telling us that the Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi, will be addressing his people soon. In their words, "brother leader of the revolution will address a speech about the crusader aggression facing great Gamahariya," that is the Libyan community, the Libyan nation tonight.

LEMON: As you heard, the Libyan spokesperson earlier calling this aggression against the Libyan people. So we are standing by for a possible address, again, according to Libyan television, of Moammar Gadhafi to the people of Libya, and no doubt the world.

So much, much more on the unfolding military action in Libya still ahead here on CNN.

But first, we want to bring you up to date on the important developments that are happening right now in Japan.

The death toll from the quake and tsunami now stands at 7,653. Nearly 12,000 more people are still missing. Many may have been washed out to sea by the tsunami and might never be accounted for.

MANN: Meanwhile, workers at the crippled nuclear power plant at Fukushima made critical progress today in bringing the facility back from the brink of what might have been a catastrophic meltdown. Reactor number three, one of the most seriously damaged, is being showered almost non-stop with sea water to keep it from overheating. You've seen that in recent days.

More importantly, emergency power was restored early this morning to reactor number six. The goal is to get power running to all of the six reactors at the site by tomorrow. Electricity, essential to pump water that cools the radioactive fuel rods and shields workers and the world, for that matter, from lethal radiation.

LEMON: Jon, when we come right back, our Martin Savidge is live from Tokyo with the latest on the crisis in Japan.

MANN: Officials say more than 10,000 people still missing since the monster earthquake and tsunami. Japan and Libya, two enormous stories. Our extensive coverage continues right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're going to talk about the crisis in Japan now. There is now disturbing evidence that trace amounts of radiation have gotten into Japan's food supply.

MANN: CNN's Martin Savidge is in Tokyo.

Marty, what did they find and how much trouble are they in?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Jon.

Hello, Don.

Yes, they found trace amounts of radiation, slighter higher than normal, in two specific foods. They're talking about milk and spinach. It's of concern not so much for the immediate health problems but because of the fact that you would always be worried about contamination of your food chain as a result of any nuclear accident. And this is what we're seeing the first signs of.

I should point out that these particular foods -- the milk was found 18 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant and the spinach was collected about 65 miles south. Two different prefectures.

Why spinach? Broad, leafy vegetables, grown out in the open, so that would perhaps get the radiation falling out of the -- the milk is probably the cows that have been eating the grass. The grass, radiation has been tainted on that and it gets into the milk.

Here's the real concern. That's what we would call a bread basket of Japan out there. They grow a lot of food. and it's a densely populated area. So if that food is contaminated, what else could be contaminated? They grow a lot of rice out there. Rice is a major staple of the Japanese diet. No reports yet of any contamination there yet, but of course you've got to understand that is a significant concern.

But again, here's how low it is. If you were to consume the milk, according to government officials, for one year, the radiation you would ingest would not be equal to, say, one single cat scan, so very low levels. If you consumed it for a lifetime, though, that could be problematic.

They're trying to figure out how far it spread, what foods have it and what they ought to do about it.

LEMON: Martin, I want to remind our viewers here in the U.S., at 8:00 p.m. eastern, we're going to do a special that's called "Japan when Disaster Struck," Marty. And we're going to talk about a lot of these things.

Because this situation is not over yet, especially when it comes to the nuclear plant. The question is, there's always this concern, there's this concern here in the United States, especially among people on the west coast. But how is it playing among people in Japan. Concern about the nuclear problem or are they concerned really about finding something to eat and how to stay warm?

SAVIDGE: Well, they have two huge disasters. That's the thing that we sort of sometimes forget here. You're dealing with this massive historic tsunami and earthquake, and there are tremendous shortages of food and fuel in the impacted areas. Those supplies they had are quickly running out. Then you have to worry about shelter. There are over 300,000 people that have been evacuated that are in some sort of form of shelter. Then you have the problem of the nuclear potential fallout here.

So two massive disasters being handled at the same time by one single government, and all being coped with by one population. It's an amazing challenge and it would be for any nation -- Don?

LEMON: Martin Savidge in Tokyo.

Again, to our viewers in the United States, 8:00 p.m. eastern, and it's called "Japan, when Disaster Struck."

As you can imagine, Jon, though, the trauma and the heavy toll that this disaster must be having on the Japanese people and anyone who's involved in this situation.

MANN: When we come back, we're going to talk with Wendy Walsh, our psychologist and human behavior expert, on the emotional aftermath of the Japanese people. Stay with us for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MANN: Welcome back. Have a look at these images. These are the first pictures we have, provided by the U.S. Navy, of the tomahawk cruise missiles that were slamming into Libya about five hours ago. An attack launched at 1:00 p.m. eastern time in the United States from aboard the "USS Barry", a guided missile destroyer, one of 110 tomahawk missiles that struck roughly 20 anti-aircraft and communication sites along the Libyan coast.

LEMON: And this is breaking news. Again, these are the first pictures to come in of the actual air strikes on Libya, and our guidance here, these are U.S. Navy photos. I'm going to read the guidance from the U.S. Navy just so you can get an idea of exactly what is going on here as we show these pictures. Some of it is what Jon already said, "The Arleigh Burke Class 'USS Barry' launches a missile in support of Odyssey Dawn" -- that's what it's called -- "March 19th, 2011. This was one of approximately 110 cruise missiles fired from U.S. ships, and submarines that targeted about 20 anti- aircraft sites along Libya's Mediterranean coast." And it goes on and gives more guidance but all of this in accordance with U.N. Resolution 1973, authorizing all necessary measures to protect civilians in Libya under threat of attack by Gadhafi's regime. The first pictures from the U.S. Navy.

MANN: Two important points. Those pictures are of the missiles going out. We have not seen any indication of what their impact was when they arrived on Libyan soil. Libyan officials have said, and said on television, that there were civilian casualties. We don't know about that. We have no independent confirmation. In fact, even the spokesman that we heard from the United States, Vice Admiral William Gortney, said the U.S.'s own reconnaissance was not complete because it was dark. It was nighttime in Libya when those missiles fell. So, officially, the Pentagon is telling us they're not in a position at that talk about the impact of the missiles. Libya is saying that the missiles did come in and that there were civilian casualties. We can't confirm it but we're working the story.

LEMON: Yes, two pieces of breaking news. Again, the first photos from the U.S. Navy. Also, we're being told -- actually monitoring Libyan television. Those are the pictures there right there. And, again, the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer "USS Barry" launches a missile in support of Odyssey Dawn. That's what it's called. That's the first bit of breaking news. The second bit of breaking news, according to Libyan television, Moammar Gadhafi expected to address his people and the world shortly. That's what they are reporting. We are monitoring Libyan television for that.

In the meantime, before the break, we were talking about Japan. So let's continue to talk about that.

The trauma from Japan's disaster runs deep for the country's people. And for many of them, life as they knew it is just a thing of the past -- Jon?

MANN: It's hard to imagine what they're going through. But Dr. Wendy Walsh is a psychologist and human behavior expert, joining us now.

After a tragedy like this, and also given the resonance that nuclear mishaps have for Japan, in particular, how do people find the strength to go on?

DR. WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST & HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: It's pretty amazing. In the short term, people tend to be heroic. They ban together in their communities and help each other out. So you'll see this sort of superhero mentality as people bond together and create a common bond over this disaster.

Unfortunately, as time wears on, that's when depression sets in. We know certainly on a small scale what we've been through in America with this recession, how it's now dragging on for so many people who don't see a light at the end of the tunnel, and the anguish they're feeling as a result of it.

Remember, there's also two diagnoses that come out of this. There's post traumatic stress disorder that could last years in fact, and survivor syndrome that could last decades and even be passed on for many generations.

LEMON: The Japanese people, of course, stiff upper lip. Keep your chin up. Don't show that much emotion. Don't really show aggression that much. Dr. Wendy, I think you'll agree, sometimes in therapy we know it may be good to do that in the beginning, but after a while --

MANN: In therapy. In real life, Americans would be furious.

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MANN: They'd be angry at somebody.

WALSH: Yes.

LEMON: But you have to vent your anger and frustration and sorrow in some way, correct?

WALSH: Well, I think it's very important in our intimate relationships and in our communities that we are open, honest, vulnerable with our feelings. But we have to be careful about looking at the Japanese through a lens of capitalism. They do have capitalism but they have their own brand of nationalistic, if you will, manner of being. And for them, to crumble and lose their stiff upper lip, why it would even bring more anxiety? So we have to be careful about judging other cultures.

I do think the most important thing here, as we saw after victims of the holocaust went on to pass their fears and anger on to other generations, that survivor syndrome is real and can be passed down for generations and, in fact, impact the Japanese culture. So it will be interesting to watch this, to see how it plays out.

LEMON: Dr. Wendy Walsh, we appreciate your wisdom. Thank you very much. WALSH: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: And when we come back, more on Libya. We're going to move on from Japan, including Chris Lawrence, our Pentagon correspondent.

Again, several pieces of breaking news, Jon. We talked about the photos that just came out from the Navy -- Navy, two photos, and also Libyan television.

MANN: Bottom line, Libya is under attack from French warplanes and American cruise missiles. We'll have the latest right after this.

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LEMON: Back now to the breaking news in Libya. Let's get back to the U.S. involvement in this show of force against Libya.

MANN: Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence, is standing by live for us.

Chris, just the beginning of what we're going to see?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Jonathan. Just the beginning. In fact, it is the all-important first step to take out Colonel Gadhafi's air defenses.

If we can, let's show you some of the new images that we're just getting in now that will give you an idea of exactly what it looks like when these tomahawk missiles were being fired from U.S. Navy ships in the Mediterranean Sea. There you can take a look there. This is from the "USS Barry," one of two Navy destroyers in the area that fired the missiles. Also, three American subs and one British sub also fired missiles at Libya just a few hours ago today. We're told that in all they fired about 110 tomahawk missiles, hitting about 20 sites, 20 air defense sites.

Now, there's no exact accurate assessment of how many missiles launchers Colonel Gadhafi still has in his possession that are still active but it's believed to be somewhere in the area of 30 to 40. So the Pentagon now will wait six to 12 hours, get an assessment of what they hit, and then move on from there -- Jonathan?

LEMON: All right. Chris Lawrence, thank you very much.

Again, we're following the breaks news here on CNN of the situation in Libya. New photos that you were looking at from the U.S. Navy, and much, much more.

I'm Don Lemon, at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

JONATHAN MANN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: I'm Jonathan Mann. A special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer is next.