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American Morning
Moammar Gadhafi Killed in Libya; Last of Moammar Gadhafi's Sons Being Tracked Down in Libya; Brother of Pan Am Bombing Victim Interviewed; Interview with Rep. Ruppersberger; Libyans Cheer Gadhafi's Death; What Happens to Gadhafi's Money; NATO's Role in Post- Gadhafi Libya; Police: All Animals Believed to be Accounted For; Romney Says He has a "Good Shot"; Sarkozy-Bruni Baby Named "Giulia"; Lohan Late for Morgue Duty; Gadhafi Death New Notch in Obama's Feign Policy Belt; Are You Part of the 1 Percent; Dramatic Testimony in Michael Jackson Trial
Aired October 21, 2011 - 06:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The final moments of a desperate dictator. Moammar Gadhafi meeting his end in a battle for his hometown, and we're learning more about NATO's role in taking him out.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The seaside villas, the private planes, the golden gun. Billions in frozen assets. What happens to the dictator's fortune now?
COSTELLO: And families of Lockerbie victims seeking payback of a different kind on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Good morning. It's Friday, October 21, 2011. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING.
COSTELLO: Friday. You know, it's my favorite day, besides Saturday and Sunday.
ROMANS: You don't buy that this is end of the world? You know that --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: There are some pictures that today is the end of the world.
COSTELLO: I totally ignored them this time for good reason.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Thank goodness.
(LAUGHTER) COSTELLO: Up first this morning, Libya is still cheering the death of former dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. Celebrations lasting for hours. Libya will officially mark a new day tomorrow, and there are new videos and images that virtually take a step-by-step through Gadhafi's final seconds, but we warn you, some of these pictures, this video is graphic. Here's Dan Rivers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was how it all ended for Moammar Gadhafi. Cornered and injured, the former dictator was apparently trying to escape Sirte. He appears bloody but alive here, but died soon afterwards according to NTC officials, his golden gun brandished in wild excitement by NTC troops who seized him, a potent symbol of his decadence. The news of his death spread rapidly across country, disbelief turning into jubilation in Tripoli.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are very free. Today is my birthday and I feel I am six hours' old. Really, Libya's free without him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are so happy. It's a great, the greatest moment in all my life. And I have my brother who was killed by Gadhafi forces on the 20th of February, we was so, so sad. But now is a great moment. We are so happy. We are so, so happy.
RIVERS (on camera): Many of the people here have known nothing other than colonel Gadhafi's 42-year rule. They cannot believe now that finally he is dead, but Sirte has fallen, the war is over. Just look at the sea of flags out here in celebration.
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Wow.
RIVERS: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton learned of the news from her BlackBerry as she prepared for an interview.
CLINTON: Unconfirmed reports about Gadhafi being captured.
RIVERS: But soon officials were confirming the momentous news.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today we can definitively say that the Gadhafi regime has come to an end. The last major regime strongholds have fallen. A new government is consolidating the control over the country, and one of the world's longest serving dictators is no more.
RIVERS: The Arab spring came here on February the 17th when a rebellion against Gadhafi's iron rule spread. Now the winds are turmoil and change that are blowing so strong across the Arab world have claimed yet another victim, and Libya is finally free of the man who so brutalized this country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And you're looking at a picture of Misrata. You see people gathering there. The celebrations have quieted down but people still out on the streets talking about this momentous event in their history.
Dan Rivers is in Misrata. He joins live on the phone. So Dan, first of all, I want to ask you first about Saif Gadhafi, because I talked to a member of the National Transitional Council earlier. He told me they had Gadhafi's son surrounded. What do you know?
RIVERS: We hear from one NTC official that they think his convoy is in an area which is down in the mountainous area, I guess slightly south and west of Misrata, towards Bani Walid, which was a stronghold of Gadhafi;s resistance until a few days ago. It's very difficult to put too much credibility in the statements and claims. They've often come out with information that is incorrect or inaccurate.
But that's the latest information that we have. They're saying she in country still. That they know where he is and they are trying to surround his convoy, and dispelling the idea he may have fled south over the border.
COSTELLO: Why is it important for them to capture or kill him?
RIVERS: Well, I think it will be enormously significant if they manage to capture him alive, because he would effectively be the only member of the Gadhafi family that they could put on trial, potentially in the International Criminal Court in the Hague. He's wanted there on war crimes charges.
So, I mean, I think that would be a huge boost for the Libyan people. A lot of the people we spoke to want to see some sort of trial. They want to see someone from the Gadhafi regime held to account, cross-examined, made to answer the questions about why they brutalized this country for so long and sold so much of its oil well without allowing it to trickle down to ordinary people. I think that would be important to the NTC, and very important for many of the people.
COSTELLO: Dan Rivers reporting live for us from Misrata, Libya, this morning.
ROMANS: NATO officials are expected to meet later today in Brussels. And now that Gadhafi is dead, the coalition's mission in Libya is likely to come to an official end. Meantime, we're learning more about the NATO airstrike that led to Gadhafi's demise. Chris Lawrence has new details now live from the Pentagon. Good morning, Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Christine. Yes, there was a point where the official version of how Moammar Gadhafi died and what we've seen with other own eyes in some of the pictures and video simply don't add up. But we are getting some more new information about what led up to those final moments.
NATO officials now say that the Gadhafi loyalists were boxed in to a particular area of the city of Sirte, and they had drones that were keeping aerial surveillance on that area. About 8:30 in the morning a group, a convoy of those loyalists, made a break for it, driving west out of the city of Sirte. That's when an American predator drone and French fighter jets hit that convoy, taking out several of the vehicles.
Now, they don't believe Gadhafi was injured or killed in that initial strike on the convoy, but it did stop the convoy, split it up and sent people out on foot. Some of the rebel, the NTC, say that they discovered Gadhafi in a drainage pipe, and at that point a firefight broke out between themselves and fighters still loyal to Gadhafi.
That's when the stories we've heard. We've seen the pictures of a bloody Gadhafi being hauled across the hood of a car, pushed around. But the official version from the NTC, from Libyan officials, is that he died in the cross fire between his own forces and the rebels.
ROMANS: So what's next, then, for the NATO mission in Libya?
LAWRENCE: We expect that the supreme military commander is going to call a special session, probably today, actually, in which they're address ending, officially ending the mission. He's basically looking at basically two key pieces of intelligence. Does NATO believe that the NTC now controls the city of Sirte? Yes, they do. And do they think that the Gadhafi loyalists can mount a significant counterattack? At this point, NATO does not. So the NATO mission is likely to officially end probably by today.
ROMANS: The NTC and Mohammed Sayah telling us they think Saif al Islam is being chased into the southern part of the country. So he's surrounded. Any kind of resistance that could come up around Saif, it's looks as though the NTC is confident that that's not going to happen.
LAWRENCE: Yes, when it comes to Saif, I mean, you've already got so many previous stories in which -- I mean, we've heard him reported dead at times, with people celebrating his death. And then you see a video of him alive and well just a few hours later. So it's a very chaotic situation there in Libya. We may have to let this play out over several hours or several days before we get a real clear picture on his whereabouts and what happens next with him.
ROMANS: All right, Chris Lawrence in Washington. Thanks, Chris.
COSTELLO: Vice president Joe Biden says NATO got it right with its assault against Gadhafi. The vice president pointing out that the United States spent just $2 billion on the mission in Libya without losing a single American life. Biden sitting down with "STATE OF THE UNION" host Candy Crowley, calling Gadhafi's demise an opportunity the Libyan people cannot afford to squander.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: This is one bad guy, one really tough guy. He for 40 years had his folks under his thumb. and he's dead, and it's going to give the people of Libya their first chance in four decades to actually put together their own government and have a little bit of freedom, a little bit of opportunity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Be sure to catch candy's entire interview with the vice president this Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION" at 10:00 eastern on CNN.
ROMANS: For Brian Kelly, the death of Moammar Gadhafi represents a promise kept. Flynn's big brother John Patrick was one of the 270 who were killed when Pan Am flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland nearly 23 years ago. Brian made a silent promise to J.P. that day, and he honored it. Here's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When you heard the news, what did you think?
BRIAN KELLY, BROTHER OF PAN AM FLIGHT 103 VICTIM: I was thrilled. And I didn't expect to have that reaction. I'd been dreaming about this more than 20 years, but it was always with the sense you don't want to be the vengeful one that thinks I want my brother's murderer killed, but in a way you do.
CANDIOTTI: Flynn's big brother J.P. was coming home for Christmas after studying abroad when a bomb killed 270 people over Lockerbie, Scotland.
(on camera) To you and to the other families, what did Gadhafi represent?
KELLY: He was an unrepentant murder of these innocent kids coming home from Christmas. So he did represent the essence of evil to us.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): We showed him video of Gadhafi's body for the first time.
KELLY: It's too bad they couldn't kill him more than once.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): On a personal front, what are your reflections on this day about your brother?
KELLY: I remember promising my brother that I wouldn't let it go unanswered, that I would do what I could to get him. I definitely believe that I've honored him and fulfilled my promise by doing what I could.
CANDIOTTI: I look at his picture over your shoulder.
KELLY: Where it usually was, if that makes sense. He was a classic big brother, and today I feel as if, hopefully, he's proud.
CANDIOTTI: Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Oh, that's really sad. ROMANS: Yes. And you know there's secrets about that bombing that died with Moammar Gadhafi, too. I mean, that's the other thing. There are things we may never know about that bombing and exactly --
COSTELLO: The man who planted the bomb onboard that plane is still alive and maybe can still give answers because he has no more excuses. Moammar Gadhafi is dead. There is no more protection. So maybe he'll speak out who exactly ordered the downing of that plane over Lockerbie, Scotland.
ROMANS: We'll see.
COSTELLO: Still to come this morning, what Gadhafi's death means for the United States and Libya's relations. And what will it take to build democracy from the ruins of a four decade old dictatorship?
ROMANS: And the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray winding down. The big question, what's next for the defense?
And a first for the first lady, or any first lady, thanking military families in 140 characters or less. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 11 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 14 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
So many questions remain about what's in store for Libya moving forward and how its liberation will impact relations between the north African nation and the United States.
So let's ask someone who knows much more than I do, Maryland Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger. He's the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee. He joins us live from Baltimore this morning. Good morning, Congressman.
REP. C.A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER, MEMBER, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Did the United States or NATO provide any sort intelligence to the rebels to help them find Gadhafi? Or was --
RUPPERSBERGER: Well --
COSTELLO: Go ahead.
RUPPERSBERGER: Yes, no. Go ahead.
COSTELLO: No, no, no. I was just saying or was it just a given that he'd end up in his hometown of Sirte and it was a happy accident?
RUPPERSBERGER: Well, I think we -- we knew basically where he was in working with NATO. There's always a tendency to get intelligence. But how it ended up, I think it was just a matter of -- of NATO trying to take over the hometown the Gadhafi and they ended up attacking a convoy and then the facts after that is that I think Gadhafi was injured, and they attempted to hide in a certain tunnel area, and that's about all we have.
You know, we still don't have all the information that we need to evaluate how he died and what happened because we don't have boots on the ground. And so now we're working with NATO and the international people to find out what the true facts were and what really caused his death.
COSTELLO: Well, there's some who say that it clearly was an execution. In your mind, how did Moammar Gadhafi die?
RUPPERSBERGER: Well, in my mind I think that he got caught up in a -- in a zone where there was still the rebels fighting Gadhafi forces, and the -- it just happens in war, but not an execution. In the first place, international law does not allow execution of a person, even though he was a dictator, he was -- he was the head of a country for, since 1969.
But we've got to see the facts. Let the facts come out and then we'll evaluate that and international law will also evaluate that.
COSTELLO: If it -- if it is proved to be an execution, what should be done?
RUPPERSBERGER: Well, I don't believe it was an execution but, again, I don't have all the facts, but we have to follow international law. That's -- that's what we do. That's what NATO does. That's what the United Nations is there for.
So even though you don't agree, you have to bring leaders, such as Gadhafi, who's a tyrant, a dictator, he's killed his own people, and -- but you -- still under international law you're not supposed to execute him because he's supposed to be brought before a tribunal, before an international court.
COSTELLO: You also said yesterday that now that Gadhafi's gone we have to ensure that radical extremist groups don't take over that country. And that's especially important given their massive oil reserves, and in short, it will be a well funded country. So what is our role going forward?
RUPPERSBERGER: I think our role is the same role that NATO will have. Clearly, there are going to be difficult times. When you take out a leader who's been in control of that country since 1969, there's a lot to do, and we have experience in the United States, just what we're doing in Iraq right now, to help the people of Libya to start a new government, a democracy, hopefully free and fair elections. That's going to take time.
The good news for Libya is they have oil, and if that's managed correctly, that hopefully will be put back into the country, provide for education, medical care. Provide for infrastructure and they -- they have an ability, but it's going to take a long time, and we are concerned about extremist groups. Whether it be in Egypt, whether it be in other parts of the world, groups such as Muslim Brotherhood that we still cannot trust, in my opinion, they're trying to put the word out that they are more moderate when in fact they have a history of -- of extreme activities and there are groups like that that will attempt to take advantage.
COSTELLO: Well, since -- since the United States didn't take a greater role in Libya's -- in the fall of Moammar Gadhafi --
RUPPERSBERGER: Yes?
COSTELLO: How much -- I mean, how much input will we really have about how the government is formed in Libya?
RUPPERSBERGER: Well, I think the good news is we didn't have boots on the ground because we can't be a sheriff for the whole world. The rest of the world, especially our allies have to stand up.
We have problems in our own country. We have fiscal problems. We're still in Afghanistan, coming out of Iraq. So I think it's really positive that NATO and other countries stood up and now it's about the world coming together to help this country, and to get them on their feet.
Remember, they were under the control of a tyrant, this individual who killed his own people. They don't have a judiciary system. They need a lot of work, a lot of help, but I think that the people there feel relieved. They have expectations now. But it's going to take a while and we do have to be concerned about extremist groups trying to take advantage of this situation.
COSTELLO: And quickly, just after you're having said that --
RUPPERSBERGER: Sure.
COSTELLO: -- there is concern about those chemical weapons and other weapons in Libya. Some of them we don't know where they are. So what can the United States do to ensure those weapons don't fall into the wrong hands?
RUPPERSBERGER: Well, we -- the NATO, along with the United States, has been very active in trying to make sure that those weapons, MANPADS, scud missiles, we have chemicals that could really hurt a lot of people, and I know right now the United States is using our expertise to be able to try to burn off a lot of those chemicals that can be used for destruction and in the hands of the wrong place, an extreme group. Al Qaeda could really be dangerous.
COSTELLO: Congressman Ruppersburger --
RUPPERSBERGER: OK. Good to talk to you.
COSTELLO: -- thank you so much. Good talking to you.
RUPPERSBERGER: Sure. Bye. ROMANS: All right. Also new this morning, frank discussions under way right now in Islamabad where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is meeting with Pakistani officials at a news conference earlier this morning. Clinton stressed that a strong Pakistan is critical to stability in the Middle East. She also pressured Pakistan to step up its efforts to target terrorists along the Afghanistan border.
COSTELLO: President Obama is accusing Republicans of again obstructing a bill that would create jobs and get the economy rolling again. His criticism coming after the Senate rejected a plan to take up a portion of the president's jobs bill that would have provided more money for teachers and first responders. Funding for this slimmed down jobs bill would have been paid for by a 0.5 percent tax increase on people earning more than $1 million a year, something Republicans oppose.
ROMANS: A successful launch only an hour ago, a Russian built Soyuz rocket took off from a European Space in French Guyana. It's carrying two satellites which will rival the current global positioning system. Initially the launch was delayed because of a technical glitch.
COSTELLO: In the world of sports, the Texas Rangers pulling even in dramatic fashion last night in the World Series. They rally for two runs at the top of the ninth inning and they held on for a 2-1 win over the Cardinals. And game two in Busch Stadium, the series now tied at one game apiece, and back to Texas, game three tomorrow night.
ROMANS: All right. Check out who's at the game -- the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden. And after it was over, the First Lady did something no first lady has ever done. She tweeted, and there's video.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So this is how you tweet, huh?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it is.
OBAMA: So then I just press Tweet? Do I press this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's how you tweet.
OBAMA: Wow. I did it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yay!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: As you just saw, she thanked the military families for their service. She was at the game to raise awareness for the Welcome Back Veterans Program. The First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden also visited a St. Louis V.A. Hospital.
Why didn't she know how to tweet?
COSTELLO: I know, you would have thought her daughters would have taught her to do that -- Malia and Sasha?
ROMANS: I know. But I don't know.
COSTELLO: It's really funny.
ROMANS: All right.
COSTELLO: And so unhip, Michelle Obama.
ROMANS: I know.
All right. Still to come this morning, your personal banking information could be in the wrong hands. One big bank says some of its customers are accidentally receiving other people's statements. Somebody tweeted me, "Oh, so that's why I didn't get any fees this -- this month, because it wasn't my statement." We'll tell you about it.
COSTELLO: Lindsay Lohan's late on her first day of court-ordered morgue duty. So, what's her excuse this time?
It's 22 minutes past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Right now, U.S. stock futures are flat. Maybe up a little bit slightly there. Fresh concerns this morning about E.U. leaders coming to an agreement about the region's bailout fund. This after the formal announcement about the terms of the fund pushed back to next week.
The sixth largest company in America, General Electric, announced this morning its earnings were online with expectations for the third quarter. Also up shortly, earnings reports from McDonald's and Verizon.
Wells Fargo says a computer glitch printing problem caused some of its customers to receive another person's bank statements in the mail. WFTV in Orlando reports the problem affected at least 4,000 people who opened their account statements -- opened their accounts, rather, in South Florida -- or South Carolina or Florida. Wells Fargo says it will provide one year's worth of free I.D. protection to anyone affected.
You'll be able to contribute more of your 401(k) next year. The IRS announcing the new limit is $17,000. That's $500 more than the current limit. The reason? Rising inflation.
And California no longer top of the list as the most energy efficient state. According to a private research group, it's Massachusetts for the first time ranking number one. California takes second place followed by New York, Oregon and Vermont. Don't forget for the very latest news about your money, check out the all-new CNNMoney.com.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The top story this morning -- Libyans still cheering the death of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The Libyan transitional government saying liberation will be officially announced tomorrow.
Officials say they found Gadhafi in a drainage ditch. The place of the rat Gadhafi and you scum were painted around the hole after they pulled him out.
COSTELLO: Wow, there are a lot of changes ahead for Libya obviously. But there are also a lot of opportunities. The country is loaded with oil and money, money that was frozen during the revolution.
Felicia Taylor is live for us in London. So Felicia, what happens to all of Libya's assets now?
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the main question is actually trying to find all of the assets. I mean, we're talking about both state and personal assets.
When it comes to the personal assets, many people aren't really sure what exactly exists. I mean, there's talk about multimillion dollar homes in London, Austria and possibly hotels in Africa on the personal side.
But when it comes to the state assets, those are just beginning to trickle back in. But don't forget, back in February, they were sanctions imposed by the United Nation and so many of those assets were frozen.
In the U.S. alone, some $37 billion worth of assets were frozen and there are other countries as well, including the U.K. and Austria that had somewhere between $1 billion and $2 billion worth of assets frozen.
Those are just beginning to trickle back in to the coffers of the new government. The main vehicle, investment vehicle for the Libyan government was something called the Libyan Investment Authority, or the LIA.
And they have a number of different investments in stock and bond portfolios. Taking a look at just some of the U.S. companies that they invested in, they had huge tranches of stock in General Electric, Caterpillar, Halliburton, Exxon Mobil and Citigroup.
That doesn't count all of the others that they were invested in including the U.K. as well. And when it comes to the amounts of money that we're talking about, there was about $64 billion or $65 billion worth in this just one portfolio.
You can talk about the country as certainly taking a look at the United States, Italy, Germany, Finland, and Spain. I mean, it was worldwide where this money was actually going into. So the money has to be found in the first place, and then they will begin to you know, dwindle down the portfolios presumably because I would say the stock market right now hasn't been exactly doing great.
It's been very volatile. It's not the best time to be selling things and the Libyan government will have to decide when it's appropriate to do so. The other thing that's interesting about this story is, as far as the new Libyan government is concerned when it comes to those personal assets.
They're going to have to appeal to a court in order to get them and prove that corrupted money was used to purchase them in order to get them back into the coffers of the newly formed government. So it's a very complicated situation and literally it's going to take years for this money to be recovered.
COSTELLO: It's just mind-boggling how much money there is. Felicia Taylor live in London.
TAYLOR: Yes, a total of $160 billion is what we're talking about.
ROMANS: Just crazy. Thank you.
All right, since NATO served a critical role in eliminating Moammar Gadhafi and liberating Libya, it stands to reason the western alliance will also have a hand in the reconstruction of that country, but how much of a hand should the U.S. and Europe have?
Damon Wilson is a former top aide to the NATO secretary-general and executive vice president of the Atlantic Council. He joins me live this morning from Washington.
Welcome to the program. We know that they're going to be meeting. NATO will meet later today to talk about the future. What do you think will be the ongoing mission now for NATO and the U.S.? I don't suspect one protracted involvement. They don't want to get out too quickly too?
DAMON WILSON, EXECUTIVE VP AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY PROGRAM DIRECTOR, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: I think that's right. Thank you for having me this morning. NATO ambassadors are about to meet I think in the next hour or so.
I think you're right. What we'll see today coming out of Alliance headquarters is a decision to conclude the military operation in some type of phased-down approach. But I think there'll also be a recognition that NATO's operation is done. But NATO's involvement in Libya is not.
I think you'll see an extended hand of assistance. How the alliance will be able to assist in a new civilian government in Libya with things like civilian control of the military, professionalization of forces, border security.
But the reality it's going to take a little while for the Libyans to put forward a new in interim government that can actually speak for the people of Libya and make this request to the alliance.
ROMANS: In the meantime, they want to make sure there isn't any kind of insurgency. Aren't any last legs of this regime that somehow will pop back?
We spoke earlier with an NTC official who told us that they are chasing down Saif Al-Islam right now towards the south of the country. They think that they have him surrounded.
But he is still, they think, on the loose. Do you think that NATO could be concerned about any kind of insurgency? That's something we just have to watch over the next few days.
WILSON: We absolutely need to be concerned about that. We've learned some painful lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan after seeing the toppling of a regime of a dictator pleaded to insurgency.
But I think what's different here is that the Libyans have been control of this operation on the ground themselves. But this does speak to why I think you'll see the NATO ambassadors today talk about how to phase out operations.
So that they can prudently keep watch as things play out in the coming days.
ROMANS: Vice President Joe Biden essentially said yesterday that this is an example how we come up way with a better way to do this. This absolutely worked. The U.S. doesn't have to go in and unilaterally do things on its own.
That this is Europe involved as well. This is NATO leading the way. Is this the new way of approaching these kinds of crises and these sorts of dictators, and can this be extended to Yemen, to Syria? Is this the way the world should operate?
WILSON: You know, I think there are some important lessons to take away from Libya. In many respects, this was a successful operation. It's an operation in which the United States did play a pretty prominent role and downplayed how much of a role we played.
But our Europeans partners really stepped up to the plate, it showed the NATO works, but it also showed that the alliance is effective in including our air partners in this operation, a key ingredient to success. I'm not sure, however, that the way Libya unfolded provides a clean model for a country like Yemen, for example.
Remember, the prelude to what happened in Libya was an Arab league decision requesting international involvement and support against, to support for the revolution.
A U.N. Security Council vote backing an operation, a NATO decision to do so, because of strong political will coming from President Sarkozy of France and Prime Minister Cameron of the U.K.
If you look at Yemen, we don't have the same circumstances lined up right now. So I don't think that Libya offers a neat model for how this is going to play out in the rest of the Middle East.
What it does show, I think what's just happened over the past 24 hours is it shows dictators, whether President Saleh in Yemen's or Bashir Al-Assad in Syria.
That they face a difficult choice, they can negotiate a phased hand over of authority, which may happen in Yemen or they may face a more bleak future.
ROMANS: Let me ask you quickly last question about the militias. We know there are unsecured weapons. There have been unsecured weapons, pretty significant weapons in the country.
We spoke to a senior member of the NTC this morning, Mohammed Sayeh. He said that the militias are disciplined, that they follow the NTC. They obey the NTC exactly. He's not concerned about militias maybe working at cross-purposes with stability in Libya. Do you believe that?
WILSON: I heard his comments. I do think on the one hand, the NTC has exceeded expectations throughout this transition period. Many people thought it would be ineffectual and it's managed in a very different period to help lead this transition.
At the same time, we do have to be very concerned about the proliferation of weapons, the lack of control of militias in Libya. It's only natural to be concerned about that. And I think that's something that the alliance and the United States need to keep an eye on.
And think very clearly about how we can work to support the new interim government to ensure they do gain some control over these militias.
ROMANS: Damon Wilson, thank you so much. Nice to see you.
WILSON: Thank you. My pleasure.
COSTELLO: Things are slowly returning to normal in Ohio just days after dozens of wild animals were let loose by a suicidal owner in Zanesville.
Officials believed that all 56 animals are accounted for either killed by police or back at a nearby zoo. A missing monkey is expected to have been eaten by another animal. That's what they think happened to it.
In the meantime, autopsy results confirmed that the animals' owner, Terry Thompson, shot himself shortly after releasing those animals.
ROMANS: Mitt Romney feeling good. He told an economic roundtable in Iowa that there's a good shot he'll be the next president. He's the national frontrunner for the Republican nomination and has been.
You know, Herman Cain now on his heels, though, and at least in one poll, it's a dead heat.
COSTELLO: French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni announcing the name of their little baby girl. It is Giulia. Sarkozy calls her arrival a very profound joy. Giulia is the first baby in modern history to be born to a French presidential couple in office.
ROMANS: All right, Lindsay Lohan arrived 20 minutes late to her first day of court-ordered community service at the L.A. Morgue yesterday. Someone give this young woman a watch. OK, she was turned away at the door.
COSTELLO: She needs more than that.
ROMANS: Only one day after a judge slammed her for similar failures, revoked her probation and forced her to post $100,000 bail. Lohan blamed her tardiness not knowing how to get into the building.
COSTELLO: A compass. Not a watch. Need a compass and a watch. Get a life. This woman is troubled.
It's 40 minutes past the hour. Time to head to Atlanta to check in with Reynolds Wolf and to see if there are airport delays this morning.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It looks like they're going to be, definitely, in places like -- well, yesterday Chicago was the issue. But it looks like we're going to a lot of travel delay moving a little more to the east and some new ones popping out towards the west.
Let's get right to it starting off with some of the big delays we can expect later on today in spots like New York City, Cleveland perhaps even in Boston mainly due to the wind. That's going to be your primary culprit.
Back out to the west in San Francisco and L.A., some of low clouds and fog and the marine layer maybe fairly intense in places like Hermosa Beach and back towards LAX. It's going to stick around from the mid-day hours before it begins to dissipate.
The other big story we have this morning, the cool temperatures that we have scattered across parts of the mid-Mississippi valley and into the Midwest. Kansas city waking up there to 55 to 33 degrees, 34 in Minneapolis, 38 in Chicago, 40 degrees in Atlanta, 51 currently in New York, 46 in Salt Lake City and 56 in San Francisco, a relatively quiet day weather wise.
Yesterday was kind of rough in the Great Lakes. Now that area of low pressure is going to move up towards parts of Canada and into extreme, the northeast. However, nice and cool for much of the mid- Atlantic and southeast.
Sunny and warm for you in Texas and the four corners, Pacific Northwest could see some rain. Highs today in places like Seattle and Portland, will rise up into the 50s and 60s, 72 in San Francisco, 68 in Kansas City, 66 in Memphis, Washington, D.C. with 63, Boston 63, New York with 57. That's your forecast. Send it back to you.
ROMANS: All right, thanks, Reynolds.
COSTELLO: I can tell you what the temperature is in the studio. It's like 10 below zero.
ROMANS: I know. It felt like a really cold October day when we walked in this morning.
COSTELLO: And then when we walked in, it felt like winter.
ROMANS: Then it dropped to 10 more degrees when we walked in here.
Still ahead, is a dead Gadhafi a win for President Obama and what it could mean as we get closer to 2012?
COSTELLO: Plus, some New Yorker saying, enough is enough. Why they want the protesters on Wall Street to quit beating those drums? It's 42 minutes past the hour.
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COSTELLO: Forty-five past the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
There was no victory lap from the White House but the killing of Gadhafi is another notch on President Obama's foreign policy belt. There was this decision to send in Special Forces to kill Osama bin Laden back in May. Less than a month ago, the man who many called the next generation of al Qaeda, Anwar al Awlaki, killed in Yemen. And yesterday, Gadhafi met his bloody end. The even president being praised even by some top Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R), ARIZONA: The fact is that this is another success for the Obama administration. And there was close coordination, as you mentioned, between NATO air and people on the ground, which weren't always Libyans.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: Let's give credit where it's due. Number one, the French and British carried the load on this, and let's not forget that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Ah, that was Marco Rubio. He walked back on the sentiments later in the day I believe.
Dan Lothian is live at the White House.
Some Republicans, Dan, have been trying to paint President Obama as another Jimmy Carter when it comes to foreign policy. That may be impossible to do right now?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. As you point out, the president under quite a bit of criticism for not acting decisively enough in Libya. He had been criticized for leading from behind, for not getting Congress getting congressional approval.
But the White House and the president himself said yesterday this is a vindication of the administration's policy. They're also careful to point out that this was broad coalition that led to the success and that this is also a victory for the people of Libya, who themselves rose up against their leadership there. But no doubt, as the vice president himself pointed out, yesterday was a very good day. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America spent $2 billion total and didn't loose a single life. This is more the prescription for how to deal with the world as we go forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: And so what he's talking about the prescription of the way going forward, it's that the U.S. not necessarily go into anywhere alone but goes in as part of a broad coalition, either in a leadership role or supporting role as well.
The administration, while certainly seeing this as vindication and as a key victory, also realizing there are big challenges for the people of Libya. Yes, Moammar Gadhafi is there, you have the NTC that is putting together the structure for moving forward, but how will it all look? And will it be a peaceful transition? Those are key challenges even the White House realizes the people of Libya will be facing.
COSTELLO: That's part of the reason why some Republicans out in say the president is leading from behind.
LOTHIAN: That's right. But, again, you know, the strategy -- here they believe the strategy really worked. That this was an opportunity for the U.S. to not go alone. That was the biggest concern, that at least in region, it would be seen as a U.S. mission. That this is something the president himself took on, would be like a cowboy going in to get Moammar Gadhafi. That was never are part ever the mission, at least from the White House, was never about going in and getting him, but part of being in a broad coalition to go in to mount pressure so that there would be, as officials here in the White House have been saying, peaceful change, a peaceful transition. They believe that process is well under way now.
COSTELLO: Dan Lothian, live at the White House. Thank you.
We'll talk to Senator John McCain. He'll come you way live in just about 10 minutes.
ROMANS: Still to come this morning, more bad news for basketball fans as talks to end the lockout foul out.
COSTELLO: One bathroom sits on top of the throne of its own.
(LAUGHTER)
I don't know what that means. But we'll tell you when restroom has been crowned the best in the country.
ROMANS: And today's "Romans' Numeral," $343,927. A hint, it's the amount you need to join a very elite and controversial group.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Could they use that restroom?
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: I think so.
It's 49 minutes after the hour.
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ROMANS: Here's what you need to know to start your day.
Libyans still cheering the death of former dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. Libyan government saying liberation will be officially announced tomorrow.
Two suspects have been indicted for allegedly plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States, and assassinate him on American soil. An October 24 arraignment date has been set Monssor Arbabsiar. His alleged accomplice remains at large.
Major flooding on a direct track towards Thailand's capitol, Bangkok. Officials are considering opening flood gates to divert the waters back to sea. Officials say it's the worst flood in half a century there.
People living in lower Manhattan say they're fed up with the Occupy Wall Street protesters. At a community board meeting last night, they say they're tired of the filth, noise and being harassed as they walk to work. A representative from the movement says they're working to address some of these concerns.
NBA talks breaking down and getting ugly. The players accusing the league of lying after three days at the negotiating table.
The people have spoken. This year's best bathroom goes to the Field Museum in Chicago. It earned the honor in the tenth annual America's Best Restroom Contest. What does it take to be an award winning throne room? Art work of the night sky, eco-friendly faucets and hand driers, and a comfy room and mothers complete with a sofa and tiny toilets for toddlers.
(LAUGHTER)
You're caught up on the day's headlines.
AMERICAN MORNING is back in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. This morning's "Romans' Numeral," Carol, a number in the news. The number is -- this is an income -- $343,927. It's, according to the IRS, how much you need to earn in a year, your household, to be part of that 1 percent. The 1 percent that the 99ers say aren't paying their fair share of taxes. Of course, the Occupy protesters have been railing against them. That's how much it takes to be in the top.
You made a point earlier on "Wake-Up Call" that in the '80s, that number was a lot lower. To be in the top 1 percent, you had to make $266,000 a year or something like that as a family.
COSTELLO: Just shows you how the world is going.
ROMANS: It really is. There you go.
COSTELLO: Yes.
In the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, dramatic testimony from Dr. Steven Shafer, an expert anesthesiologist. He said Jackson is dead because Murray left him hooked up to an I.V. drip of Propofol. Shafer will be back on the stand today.
Ted Rowlands explains what we can expect.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Good morning. When court resumes, Dr. Steven Shafer will be back on the stand for cross- examination. He is the prosecution's expert witness and did an excellent job of spelling out for the jury the different possible scenarios of how Michael Jackson could have died. And in the end, he told the jury there was only one theory that makes sense when you look at the data collected at the crime scene. And he said that theory was that Michael Jackson died because Conrad Murray left an I.V. drip running with Propofol when he left Michael Jackson's side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. STEVEN SHAFER, ANESTHESIOLOGIST: Michael Jackson died while the infusion was running.
DAVID WALGREN, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL JACKSON: The Propofol was going into his body even as his heart was stopping?
SHAFER: That is correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROWLANDS: For the first time yesterday, we saw some emotion out of Dr. Conrad Murray. He was very upset during a prosecution demonstration with Dr. Shafer. They were showing how an I.V. attachment could hold a Propofol bottle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALGREN: Does this contain the same --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: David Walgren, the district attorney, unpeeled a plastic handle that was affixed to the Propofol bottle. This is an important piece of evidence. It's the Propofol bottle that the prosecution alleges delivered the fatal dose. He unlatched this sealed handle and put it up. At that minute, Murray was upset. The defense objected. They cleared the jury out of the room and then later explained to the jury what had happened. But definite fireworks in the courtroom.
Today we expect a short cross on Shafer because they have their own witness that will take the stand once their case starts. In fact, we think their case will start at some point after court resumes.
Back to you guys.
COSTELLO: All right, still to come this morning, we'll ask Senator John McCain what he would have done differently and what the U.S. role in Libya should be going forward. That's coming up in a few minutes.
It's about three minutes to the top of the hour.
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