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Cruise Missiles Hit Libya; Heavy Blasts in Tripoli; Defiant Gadhafi Promises Fight; Japan Struggles to Recover

Aired March 19, 2011 - 22:00   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: U.S. fire power. Allied military muscle. Speeding towards Libya to stop a brutal civil war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people that there will be no mercy.

PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY, FRANCE (through translator): Coronel Gadhafi has totally ignored this warning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: But a defiant Moammar Gadhafi isn't backing down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now all the depots are going to be open and armed people to defend people and its unity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A showdown of force on many sides with global impact.

LEMON: And we'd like to welcome our viewers around the globe watching CNN's special coverage of TARGET LIBYA. I'm Don Lemon.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm John Vause from CNN International.

The time for warnings is over. The time for action is now. As the U.S. joins a coalition of countries targeting Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

Heavy gun fire and explosion in Libya's capital of Tripoli just hours after the coalition attacked Libya's defenses. In the latest move British jets flew 3,000 miles to carry out a missile strike on key targets.

LEMON: John, earlier the Pentagon said U.S. and British ships and submarines fired more than 110 tomahawk missiles on Tripoli and Misrata. They hit about 20 Libyan air and missile defense targets. Coalition is calling this "Operation Odyssey Dawn." VAUSE: France actually struck first against Gadhafi's forces. French jets destroyed military vehicles after Libyan forces attacked the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. French planes are preparing to enforce the U.N.'s No-Fly Zone.

LEMON: And U.S. President Barack Obama had strong words for Gadhafi during his trip to Brazil making it clear that this is a last resort.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The use of force is not our first choice and it is not a choice that I make lightly. But we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people that there will be no mercy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And Gadhafi remains defiant. He is vowing to open Libya's armed depots to his people. His voice could be heard on Libyan state TV soon after the attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOAMMAR GADHAFI, LIBYAN LEADER: Libya will exercise its right to defend itself according to section 1 of the United Nations charter. That all targets, maritime targets will be exposed to real danger and Mediterranean and North Africa because of this aggression, naked aggression and this irresponsible -- it's a war zone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Libyan State TV also ran this official statement from the Libyan military. An enemy attacked the state on March 19th with rockets in Tripoli, Misrata, Benghazi and Zwara and Sirte. Those enemies killed 48 martyrs -- mostly women and children and religious clerics. They left more than 150 injured. The majority of these attacks were on public areas, hospitals and schools. They frightened the children and women near those areas that were subject to this aggression.

CNN has not confirmed this report, by Libya's state television.

LEMON: And here's what we know about the operation against Libya at this hour. The coalition includes American, European and Arab league nations. It is the largest international military action in an Arab state since the Iraq invasion.

VAUSE: And, Don, they're operating under a U.N. resolution which is authorized force. The fighter jets and missiles are the first part of this operation. It will include enforcement of a no-fly zone.

LEMON: And John, right now Libya is under fire, and the worldwide resources of CNN are on top of these developments.

Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Tripoli. Arwa Damon is in eastern Libya. Our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry traveling with President Obama in South America right now, and Atika Shubert is in London. And here in the U.S., Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr will join us from Los Angeles and retired General Wesley Clark will offer his analysis, as well.

VAUSE: OK, let's get straight to Nic Robertson. We saw him just in, standing by in Tripoli, in the thick of it, with the Gadhafi loyalists.

Nic, earlier you were talking about loud blasts of anti-aircraft fire. What's the situation right now in Tripoli?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's pretty quiet. Eerily quiet. We are hearing a few cars driving by on the road, the occasional sound of heavy machine gun fire burst, but just short and very sporadic.

An hour and a half ago, we heard several loud explosions followed by intense bursts of heavy anti-aircraft gun fire, and then a couple more explosions. And then those heavy bursts of gun fire again. We can't tell -- we're not able to tell what exactly caused this very large blasts, but they did sound very similar to cruise missiles in their sort of size, sound and feel that the explosions had, but again impossible for us to know what was hit.

The heavy anti-aircraft gun fire appeared to be, sounded as if, and the trace effect going up in the sky coming from an area close to the palace complex used by Moammar Gadhafi, where earlier this evening we're seeing anti-aircraft batteries in place there. And now we have also seen pictures on state television here of some of the casualties. John? Don?

LEMON: So, Nic, describe to us the situation before this happens. Were you able in some way to hear or feel the force of the Tomahawk missiles that came in from the U.S. before this anti-aircraft or anti- gun fire that you were hearing, that you heard a short time ago, what was happening in Tripoli?

ROBERTSON: Well, there'd been sporadic gun fire. There was increased security on the streets. Armed men in civilian clothing outside government buildings, armed police, traffic intersections. We've seen an anti-aircraft gun being used by soldiers or soldiers working on it, in the palace complex, a few hours before -- a few hours before we heard these explosions.

But it was sort of a -- the situation was beginning to get -- feel a little more serious after the first Tomahawk cruise missiles were reported. Before that, perhaps 11:00 at night here, we're talking about five, six hours ago now, there was more of a sort of party atmosphere. Gadhafi loyalists celebrating on the street, fireworks and then it all became very serious after those first reports of Tomahawk cruise missiles hitting targets in the west of Libya just to the east of Tripoli.

But what we have seen on state television, those casualties we have seen at variance with the reports coming from the military spokesman here in Libya. The casualties we've seen on state television are men, all of fighting age, a couple wearing what appear to be uniforms. They are being visited by what appeared to be a couple of military officers. They were in uniform. At least one of the people in the bed in the hospital had heavy head injuries. The other had lighter injuries. They were -- there were television crews there with them obviously, filming this, interviewing some of the soldiers and some of the comments, some of them were saying "mia mia," which means 100 percent, 100 percent, slang here for support for Moammar Gadhafi.

Don?

John?

VAUSE: And Nic, very quickly, there are some reports that civilians are being ushered into the strongholds there in Tripoli, some of the palaces, some of the military establishments, possibly to be used as human shields. What more can you tell us about that?

ROBERTSON: When we were there earlier, the palace gates had been opened, volunteers were coming in and they told us they were volunteers, families, men, women, children. Filing in, going through tight security to get on to the palace grounds covered on state television. Also similar images of people protecting what house state television described it the large airport at Sirte about 300 miles to the east of here and also the main international airport here in Tripoli.

Not the airport, Mitiga, which appears to have been hit by missiles late tonight and within the last couple of hours so images on state television of people protecting it says these sites.

The people we talked to, though, did say they'd come there voluntarily. The gates did seemed open for people to come and go at will, and certainly when we were leaving people were leaving quite freely -- John? Don?

LEMON: And you are looking at live pictures that we want to tell our Nic Robertson and our viewers from Libyan state television. Now those are the images that they're showing.

VAUSE: Yes. They've been showing this kind of images all night. Very nationalistic images. In fact, at one point, though, replaying pictures from Iraq, from the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, portraying this as some kind of a colonial quest, ala crusade by the West against the Libyan people, and of course, these images of supporters of Moammar Gadhafi currently playing on state-run television there across Libya.

LEMON: And, of course, our thanks to Nic Robertson who is in Tripoli. Let's move on now because a rebel stronghold of Benghazi has been under fierce attack by Gadhafi's forces.

VAUSE: CNN's Arwa Damon is live in the city tonight.

Arwa, is there any reaction there now for these developments, this very concentrated military effort which is under way?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): You know, John, the city has been oddly quiet ever since around 5:00 p.m. when opposition forces managed to drive Gadhafi's military out of the city. They had come in some 24 hours ago with tanks, firing tank rounds into residential areas.

We saw artillery rounds dropping. We heard from a number of eyewitnesses who said that Gadhafi's forces were indiscriminately firing their weapons, laughing into these residential areas. Many of them were saying that they feared the worst but then opposition forces did, in fact, manage to drive them out.

The opposition for quite some time now been called for this exact type of international intervention. They felt as if they had taken this fight just about as far as they possibly could. And as we had been saying up until now, Gadhafi's forces have slowly been driving them back and people were fearing a blood bath if this international help did not materialize.

Most certainly, everyone here welcoming the fact that now there are French fighter jets overhead that cruise missiles are beginning to beat down at Gadhafi's military machine. But there's still a lot of concern, a lot of tension because there are small pockets, sleeper cells people call them, of pro-Gadhafi elements that roam around various neighborhoods. Some of them carrying out targeted assassinations basically. Others, intimidation campaigns.

We spoke to one woman who used to run something of a kitchen, cooking food for those on the front line and she said that a few days ago she received a phone call from someone who was warning her to stop. He listed the names and ages of all of her children and then he detailed, he laid out the inside of her home to her -- John.

VAUSE: OK. CNN's Arwa Damon there on the line for us from Benghazi.

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

LEMON: And up next, John, we'll talk to retired General Wesley Clark about what this means for Libya, the U.S. and the rest of the world.

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LEMON: Just after 4:00 a.m. in Libya and these are the images that are being broadcast live on Libyan state television. And, john, you heard earlier that official military statement from Libyan state TV, they were broadcasting this, as well, saying the enemy had attacked the state with rockets and Tripoli and other places in Libya saying that they fired on innocent civilians, women, children, hospitals. That's a statement from them. But those are the images that are being broadcast on Libyan state television.

VAUSE: The propaganda war is also under way, as well. In London, the British government has had especially harsh words for Gadhafi. British Prime Minister David Cameron said his forces are involved to stop the dictator from quote murdering his own people.

LEMON: But we go to London now. CNN's Atika Shubert joins us now live outside 10 Downing Street, the prime minister's residence in London. What's the word from there, Atika?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Ministry of Defense has come out with some more details on how Britain is involved. In addition to the Tomahawk missiles that were launched from the Trafalgar Class Submarines, they're now saying that Tornado G-4 jets were in the air and sending storm shadow missiles to targets in Libya. So again, these are the kinds of details we expect to see throughout the night.

But remember, Britain has been front and center throughout this thing. In fact, David Cameron, the prime minister, was one of the earliest proponents of a no-fly zone. He was initially very frustrated that it didn't seem to find much traction, but clearly through diplomatic maneuvering and pushing, that has come about and now he made a brief statement, very strong statement earlier in the day after an emergency meeting. He said it was a military operation that was necessary, legal and right. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Tonight, British Forces are in action over Libya. They are part of an international coalition that has come together to enforce the will of the United Nations and to protect the Libyan people. We have all seen the appalling brutality that Colonel Gadhafi has meted out against his own people. And far from introducing the cease fire he spoke about, he's actually stepped up the attacks and the brutality that we can all see. So what we are doing is necessary, it is legal, and it is right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUBERT: Now, Britain is taking one of the leading roles in this military campaign, in addition to those jets that I mentioned earlier, Britain also has Naval Forces there. The HMS Westminster and the HMS Cumberland are also in the Mediterranean ready for any time they are needed.

VAUSE: And Atika, very quickly, we know as you say that the British have taken a leading role in this, but how much political will is there in Britain and how much support is there for what could be a very long military campaign?

SHUBERT: There is quite a bit of support. It is interesting to note that opposition labour party has actually basically agreed with the government's position. This is very different, let's say, from when Tony Blair went into Iraq. There's been some comparison between Blair and Cameron. This time it does seem that David Cameron has the political support there. There does seem to be that political will from across the political spectrum. But again, there are still risks involved and this goes on beyond just a few days stretches into weeks and months that could be a very different story.

VAUSE: OK, Atika Shubert live for us outside Number 10 in London.

Thank you, Atika.

LEMON: And NATO's military says today's strikes in Libya are just the first of what's likely to be a multi-phase operation.

VAUSE: The U.S. launched a barrage of Tomahawk cruise missile striking strategic air defense targets in the western part of the country. The Pentagon has stressed the strikes are part of an international coalition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICE ADM. WILLIAM E. GORTNEY, DIRECTOR OF THE JOINT STAFF: These strikes were carefully coordinated with our coalition partners. The targets themselves very selected based on a collective assessment that these sites either pose a direct threat to the coalition pilots or through use by the regime posed a direct threat to the people of Libya. Because it is night over there, it would be sometime 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-fazed 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. Indeed, we continue to receive commitments of support and participation in leadership from both Arab and European partners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So let's bring in now CNN contributor and retired General Wesley Clark, a former NATO Supreme Allied commander. He joins us from Little Rock, Arkansas. Thank you so much for joining us.

So France moved first, then the United States. Now we are hearing about Britain. Who are we likely to see next get involved in this, general?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Well, I think tomorrow you'll probably get the full rundown of what happened. It sounds like there was a second wave of aircraft that went in. We know the Brits went in, maybe some others went in with them. Maybe some French go in again. Maybe some Arab aircraft went in to strike in the early morning hours there. We don't know yet. We'll hear that tomorrow. But as the air defenses are taken down, the air patrols over Libya will become more routine, will have broader allied and coalition member participation, I'm sure.

And the real issue is going to be what happens on the ground? What's going to keep this from being a stalemate if Gadhafi freezes in place, do we go after him and attack him? Or do the rebels try to regain ground or exactly what happens? And if Gadhafi moves forward, do we then have the assets to stop that move decisively?

VAUSE: Exactly, general. I think the term for this is mission creep, and the concern would have to be what is the end game here because the road to a quagmire is often paved with good intentions, isn't it? CLARK: It is. And this is a classic problem of intervention. I think the president and secretary of state had been very careful to try to finch off Mission Creep by limiting the stated objectives of the operation to stopping the attack on innocent civilians.

I think President Sarkozy was trying to do that by saying the door remains open for Gadhafi to come back to the diplomatic table. I think all those are important, but the U.N. resolution importantly enough and our viewers should understand this, it's not just for a no- fly zone. It is for whatever actions are taken except for military occupation. Everything short of that is authorized under chapter 7 so that means you can attack targets on the ground with air. You could put helicopters in. You could put Special Forces and Air Naval gun fire liaison teams. You could do a lot of things under the authority, this resolution.

It's quite broad, and so it's not the measure -- it is not the range of military actions that defines Mission Creep, it's a change in the mission. The mission is to do something, to protect, decisively protect the populations, innocent civilians there. And the real challenge is to keep it from becoming a contest against Gadhafi because all of us know that as long as Gadhafi's there, there's trouble.

LEMON: And, General, I want to tell our viewers what you are seeing there on your screen. This is Libyan state television, this is their live broadcast, but what they're actually doing is showing file footage of their military and their troops as John Vause said the propaganda campaign is under way.

My question to you, general, the U.S., the president, President Barack Obama has said he is not promising, he is not promising to put troops on the ground and no one else has promised to do that.

Does that pose any sort of problem when it comes to this conflict in Libya?

CLARK: No, I don't think it does. I mean, I think that's the appropriate way to start at this point. Hopefully there won't be a requirement to put troops on the ground. Hopefully, Gadhafi, he'll see the writing on the wall.

There's no way he can stand against the power of this coalition. He can bolster and threaten all he wants, but there is overwhelming power available to the group of nations that have allied themselves against him and he has to recognize that at some point. Now, maybe he won't. In which case the forces will escalate the pressure against him militarily. At some point, the diplomats will go in and they'll do their best to use the military power to lever Gadhafi out of power and hopefully it won't come to ground troops. But if I were Gadhafi, I wouldn't bet on that.

VAUSE: OK. General Clark for us giving us some very good insight, former NATO supreme commander. We appreciate you thoughts, live for us in Little Rock, Arkansas. LEMON: Yes. And as you pointed out again, Libyan state television, you said the propaganda campaign is in full force. And you see these pictures that are being broadcast live on Libyan state television, but obviously this is file footage.

VAUSE: Yes. It hasn't happen -- this has not been going on in Tripoli certainly to this extent. There have been a number of rallies, but not these numbers that we are seeing broadcast right now on the state controlled television there in Libya. Obviously, the regime of Gadhafi trying to rally the supporters who is still there in the capital and those who still support Gadhafi, whatever their number may be.

LEMON: And, John, coalition leaders say time's running out for Moammar Gadhafi.

VAUSE: Up next, how the situation in Libya got so bad so quickly. Stay with us.

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LEMON: Welcome back, everyone, to CNN's special coverage of TARGET LIBYA. I'm Don Lemon.

VAUSE: And I'm John Vause.

A coalition of countries including the U.S., France and Great Britain are taking out key targets across Libya right now. Today strikes in Libya have been swift and deliberate. They come just two days after the U.N. imposed a no-fly zone over the country.

LEMON: So how's it all happened so fast for a leader who's ruled so long?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (voice-over): Freedom's cry erupted in Tunisia, deposing a dictator. Engulfed Egypt, ousting a president.

(VIDEO CLIP)

Swept across Libya virtually unrestrained until colliding with a defiant Colonel Moammar Gadhafi.

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MOAMMAR GADHAFI, PRESIDENT OF LIBYA (through translator): We are prepared to break any aggression by the people. The armed people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: By mid-February, anti-Gadhafi forces had taken strategic towns in the east of the country, including Benghazi, Libya's second largest city where one of the Gadhafi's palaces had been trashed by dissidents.

Ill-equipped and largely untrained, but not afraid to risk their lives for freedom.

Some died. Nearly a thousand by one account. Gadhafi fought hard turning air strikes and live ammunition against civilians. The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved sanctions on Libya. There were some calls for direct action.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (R), CONNECTICUT: I begin with the imposition of a no-fly zone so that Gadhafi can't be attacking his own people from the air.

LEMON: In Libya on the day after the U.N. vote, there were deadly clashes over control of the rebel-held town of Zawiya and Misurata, west of the capital. Days later in the east, two towns controlled by dissidents of Brega and Ajdabiya were bombed for the second straight day. Followed by a report that the government was once again in control of Zawiya. And at the center of the conflict, Saif Gadhafi. Defiant.

MOAMMAR GADHAFI, PRESIDENT OF LIBYA (through translator): "Thousands and thousands of people will be killed."

LEMON: Determined.

GADHAFI (through translator): I came here in order to greet you. Greet your courage and I tell you to repel them.

LEMON: And at times, delusional.

GADHAFI: They love me all.

LEMON: Meanwhile, Libya became a no-man's land for foreigners including the country's vast number of foreign guest workers. Some 200,000 are said to have fled, many across the border with Tunisia creating a mass refugee crisis.

The airports were swamped by polyglot mobs scrambling to get out. This week, as Libyan government forces began retaking towns held by rebels, the United Nations voted to impose a no-fly zone over the country.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: This resolution should send a strong message to Colonel Gadhafi and his regime.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And tonight, now this. Gun fire and explosions light up Libya's capital city. Details and the dramatic pictures coming up next.

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back, everyone to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Let's update our top story.

The U.S. and Britain have launched more than 100 missiles striking anti-aircraft batteries and other targets across northern Libya. "Operation Odyssey Dawn" is under way. French fighters patrol the skies over Libya enforcing a no-fly zone to stop Gadhafi forces from attacking rebel positions.

Tonight, Libyans in the capital City of Tripoli heard loud explosions and anti-aircraft fire. You are looking at video shot about an hour ago, and if you look closely, you'll see the streaks of anti-aircraft gun fire looking almost like bright dashes in the sky. That's tracer rounds.

CNN's Nic Robertson says it sounds like the gunfire came from an area close to Gadhafi's palace. He describes hearing loud explosions of unknown origin that he says shook the ground.

Libya's leader Moammar Gadhafi is defiant tonight. He says he'll open up weapon depots to arm the people. Gadhafi is also asking other Islamic nations to help Libya fight against what he calls Naked Aggression. The Libyan government also claims the missile strikes have caused real harm to civilians. Gadhafi says the coalition attacks are being carried out by a quote "crusader army."

LEMON: It certainly did happen quickly after the June resolution 1973.

VAUSE: Yes.

LEMON: The ambassador, you know, put it into motion and then all of a sudden we're to this point.

VAUSE: From international point of view, from the diplomatic point of view, this happened at light speed.

LEMON: At light speed.

VAUSE: Yes.

LEMON: So why don't we bring in our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr to talk about this.

Barbara, let's talk about the military strategy of "Operation Odyssey Dawn."

Coalition forces were trying to take out Libya's defenses earlier. Have they moved on to the next phase?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's what they're trying to determine. Of course, now, we are already at first light in Libya. U.S. -- the U.S. will try and determine what they call the battle damage assessment.

Did they hit the targets? Did they get what they wanted? How much of it did they destroy? Because the first step here that we know is all of these cruise missiles, dozens of them have gone after the air defenses, the radars, the surface to air missiles that they can take out so that they can begin the no-fly zone. You can't send war planes over Libya until you take out that air defense system. So that's what we're going to see at the next step being over the next many hours. And what will be so interesting is what will the next round of targets be? Is it more of this air defense, or are they going to start moving against those Gadhafi ground weapons, tanks, artillery and the Gadhafi ground formations? If they want to get his forces away from civilians and stop threatening them, that's what they're going to have to go after.

VAUSE: Barbara, how long does it take to set up this no-fly zone?

STARR: Well, you know, really behind the scenes they have already been working on it for many weeks. The aircraft are in place. The bases in southern Europe are in place. The refuelling, the command and control, all of it. But the essential problem is, even though U.S. war planes for the moment have no plans to fly in to Libyan Air Space, they're going to help behind the scenes. You really cannot send the pilots over Libya whether they are French, British, Canadian, from Arab league countries, you've got to get rid of Gadhafi's air defenses.

Everybody says they're old and out of date, and that is true. They do date from the Soviet era, but he does have something called the SA-5 surface to air missile. That's got a fairly significant range. It's a surface-to-air missile that can reach out towards incoming aircraft and potentially shoot them down so they're going to want to get rid of the surface-to-air missiles, the air defenses, the radars, jammed the communications and do it as much as possible with these cruise missiles so they don't have to risk pilots in the sky before they start the no-fly zone.

LEMON: And, Barbara, on Libyan state television, Libyan official said that these air strikes had hit civilians and hospitals and children and women.

So how will the coalition avoid civilian casualties? And we don't even know if that's true. It's probably part of the propaganda. We don't know. We'll find out.

Well, how will they avoid hitting civilian casualties?

STARR: Well, you know, I spoke to a military source in Europe earlier today to ask that very question. And he said it is the same as it always is. A very top priority is to avoid civilian casualties.

This may be a problem, though, once they start moving against targets in the cities. You know, you saw already the shots you put up earlier of Libyan anti-aircraft fire in Tripoli, a very populated city. You see the Libyans shooting up into the sky. You see the tracer fire. Exactly how are you going to go after those targets in a populated area without risking civilian casualties? It may become a very limiting factor on how fast the coalition can move.

I think by all accounts this initial round of targets has been at military bases, military installations, places where they genuinely do not believe according to the latest intelligence there are civilian populations. But look, Gadhafi is one savvy character. Just like Saddam Hussein. Expect to see him move his troops and his weapons into the cities, potentially next to mosques, next to hospitals. Places where the coalition will not bomb. That is the rule of the road for NATO, for U.S. forces, for coalition forces. And it may slow things down, it may make it very tough in the coming days. Everybody could be in for a really long haul on this one.

VAUSE: Barbara Starr, our Pentagon correspondent, thank you so much. And there really are so many similarities between what's going on in Libya tonight and the first Gulf War, the scene of those Tomahawk missiles cruising sending a very clear message to Gadhafi, much like Saddam Hussein.

LEMON: And to see it, going up in the sky, the air strikes and the fire and lighting up the night sky in Tripoli is just unbelievable to witness. And as you said, it happened at lightning speed. We go from a resolution now to this. And the pictures we are getting out of Libya tonight, of course, loud and violent.

And in stark contrast to what's going on in Japan right now, John.

VAUSE: And this is the other major story we're following.

Coming up, the heartbreaking images of ruin and recovery from one of the hardest hit areas by the tsunami. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Back to Libya in just a moment. We want to turn now to the crisis in Japan.

A strong aftershock early Saturday north of Tokyo rattled walls and nerves. Measured 6.1, at least 600 aftershocks have struck Japan in the past week.

VAUSE: The death toll from the March 11 quake and tsunami keeps rising. And now stands at 7,700. More than 11,000 people are still missing.

LEMON: And meanwhile, workers at the Fukushima plant made progress today to restore power to the facility. Reactor number 3, one of the most seriously damaged is being showered almost non-stop with seawater to keep it from overheating. Emergency power was turned on to reactor number 6. A critical step in ending the crisis.

VAUSE: And government officials say samples of milk and spinach from near the power plant show a spike in radioactive iodine. The measurement is much higher than normal, but officials say that trace amounts do not pose a health risk.

LEMON: And John, more than a week after Japan's worst-ever earthquake, you'll find an incredible amount of destruction and mountains of debris.

VAUSE: CNN's Gary Tuchman takes us on a first-hand tour of one of the hardest hit areas in northeast Japan. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The scene behind me here is one of chaos, confusion, it is surreal. We seen the video we took. You won't believe it. At least we didn't when we saw it in person, so much debris, so much rubble. It's impenetrable. It is like a canyon. When we went down there, it's like climbing a mountain, cars, boats, houses. Pushed out of different neighborhoods, pushed out of different areas and blocking fire officials, military officials.

Looking for survivors, the possibility of survivors or trying to find bodies. We met a woman today who told us her father was at the second floor of this house, made the decision to stay in the second floor when the tsunami siren sounded. Well, anyway, at this point, they can't get to the house. It appears the house is still there, but there's so much rubble surrounding the house, there's no way to check if this man survived.

It's just an absolutely incredible scene. It's hard to imagine what the people here in northeastern Japan going through. The death toll is rising rapidly. We know it will continue to rise. We ourselves, just myself and my crew found a body in the back of a car. This is how they're finding bodies, officials. There's so much rubble down there they can't get to. It's very likely that it will be weeks or months before they come anywhere close to knowing what this death toll is.

And the aftershocks continue. Last night while we were sleeping, we felt at least six or seven sizable aftershocks and that only increases the anxiety that people feel here in northeastern Japan.

This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in Japan.

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LEMON: And, you know, you can help out in Japan, as well. If you want to find out how to help the people in the quake-stricken area, you can go to CNN.com/Impact. Again, CNN.com/Impact. There you will find a list of ways that you can help out.

The world's top diplomats gathered to discuss Gadhafi. Their stern message for the Libyan leader up next.

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LEMON: Welcome back, everyone.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is calling on Libya's Moammar Gadhafi to stop defying international sanctions.

VAUSE: Mrs. Clinton was in Paris on Saturday joining other top diplomats for an emergency summit on Libya. She says the U.S. is committed to getting the job done and will stand with its allies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: So let me just underscore the key point. This is a broad, international effort. The world will not sit idly by while more innocent civilians are killed. 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.

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LEMON: The Secretary of State, the U.S. Secretary of State in Paris today.

And you know, John, the rebel forces fighting the Gadhafi government had a reason to celebrate today.

VAUSE: Yes, up next, we'll look at the hard-fought battle to try and keep Benghazi.

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LEMON: Dozens of relief organizations are now on the ground in Japan trying to deliver aid where it's needed the most. And one group is focusing its efforts on the relatively isolated northern prefecture of Iwata, more than 325 miles from Tokyo.

VAUSE: And the organization is called Shelter Box. Its founder is Tom Henderson, and he was a CNN Hero in 2008.

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SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As thousands flee northern Japan, there are tens of thousands left behind. They need food, they need water, they need shelter. That is why CNN Hero Tom Henderson and his Shelter Box team were going in.

TOM HENDERSON, CNN HERO: We were the first team on the ground within 24 hours. What they are finding is exactly what you've seen. It`s just horrific.

O'BRIEN: Since 2001 Tom's organization Shelter Box has delivered more than 100,000 boxes of life saving aid to victims of disaster all over the world.

HENDERSON: Every disaster is unusual, this particularly so because of the nuclear problem is unfolding. The clean water is becoming a problem as well food, very shortly.

O'BRIEN: Each shelter box contains items critical to survival after a disaster.

HENDERSON: We've got 400 to 600 on the ground already there. We've committed up to 5,000 boxes if they're required.

O'BRIEN: Just as it was last year in Haiti, Tom Henderson's Shelter Box is again on the front lines, ready to assist in recovery efforts and provide much needed aid to a country in crisis. HENDERSON: What key to going is very simple, is that need, that desperate need to help people as quickly as we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And to learn more about Shelter Box or to donate to its relief work, log on to CNNHeroes.com.

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LEMON: Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM special coverage of TARGET LIBYA. I'm Don Lemon.

VAUSE: And I'm John Vause. A coalition of countries including the U.S., France and Great Britain is striking key targets in Libya.

LEMON: And just as the cruise missiles showered destruction on Gadhafi's forces, rebels in Benghazi were pleading for outside help.

VAUSE: They've been fighting a ferocious battle with government troops to hold on to their stronghold, and CNN's Arwa Damon is there.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The crowds here are naturally very excited to have survived yet another on onslaught by Gadhafi's forces. And down the road here in the southern part of the city that his troop, his heavy armor came barrelling down in the early hours of the morning.

This tank that was captured by opposition forces, now it has turned into something of a victory symbol.

That was the driver of the vehicle where obviously you could see the two bullet holes in the glass and everyone, of course, congratulating him on the fact that he survived.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, a long line of tanks, missiles, I mean, people with -- armed with -- I mean, with heavy arm.

DAMON: Where were you? Where were you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been there in this street, four of our cars and now my home have been hit, have been damaged. They are randomly hitting the houses and -- they were laughing. They are hitting us, they were laughing.

DAMON: Were you worried? Where is your family? Were you worried?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Inside the house! They were crying, screaming, sighing. Kids, intimidating.

DAMON: Was it just -- did they only come on tanks or were they on foot as well?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Foot, tanks, cars. All of the things, you see. You can hear the different voices of the weapons which makes you believe that there's a lot of weapons, a lot of different weapons. You can't imagine that they're hitting civilian people.

DAMON: You can clearly see the tank tracks here where they have dug up the concrete, and we're beginning to see some of the damage that was caused by the rounds that were fired earlier.

Around the corner there's a building that has sustained quite a bit of damage with eyewitnesses telling us that that is directly where the tank rounds were firing.

This here used to be a pharmacy residence, they're telling us. They're also talking about a residential building that was fired upon, one of those many apartment blocks back there. Everybody here growing very concerned that Gadhafi's forces have withdrawn only to launch yet another attack.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Benghazi, Libya.

LEMON: All right, Arwa.

We'll go live to Benghazi for the latest on what's happening there.

VAUSE: More of our special coverage "Target Libya" is just ahead.

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