I sincerely hope that Gaddafi will soon be captured and the first phase of the Libyan civil war can come to an end.

But he isn't in the bag yet. And his "captured" sons are apparently free and urging resistance to the rebels in Tripoli.

Wall Street Journal:

Fresh fighting has broken out in Tripoli hours after Col. Moammar Gadhafi's son resurfaced to thwart rebel claims he had been captured and rally supporters.

Rebels and forces loyal to the Libyan leader waged fierce street battles Tuesday, the Associated Press reported, a day after opposition fighters swept into the capital with relative ease and claimed to have most of it under their control.

Thick clouds of gray and white smoke filled the sky as heavy gunfire and explosions shook several districts of the city of two million people, AP said. Some of the heaviest fighting was around Col. Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya main compound and military barracks.

The compound, which has been heavily damaged by North Atlantic Treaty Organization airstrikes, has emerged as one of the centers of government resistance since tanks rolled out Monday and began firing at rebels trying to get in, AP reported.

A NATO spokesman said what is left of Col. Gadhafi's forces has shown "no sign of giving up their aggressive actions."

"The tensions are far from being over. The situation is dynamic and complex," said Col. Roland Lavoie.

It should also be pointed out that Gaddafi has forces loyal to him fighting other battles in towns and cities across western Libya. They appear to be holding their own and show no signs of giving up.

In short, a "complex and dynamic" situation in Tripoli is a far cry from Obama declaring victory and the left doing a sack dance ostensibly because they think the president's "lead from behind" policy has worked. And then there is that little matter of the rebels announcing the capture of Gaddafi's son only to have the dictator's progeny show up on TV calling for continued resistance:

The surprise appearance of Seif el-Islam Gadhafi, seen as a possible successor to Col. Gadhafi and thought to have been captured by the rebels a day earlier, punctured early hopes of a rapid regime collapse. Seif el-Islam showed up at a Tripoli hotel early Tuesday morning local time and in a defiant move invited foreign journalists on a tour of the city, claiming the regime is winning the fight against the rebels.

"My father is safe and in Tripoli... They (rebels) said they control Libya, they can't. Tripoli is under our control," he told reporters.

What if there is still fighting in Tripoli and other parts of Libya in a couple of weeks? A month? Gaddafi still commands the loyalty of his tribe and still has heavy weapons that the rebels can't counter. This fight is not over yet and the premature celebrations by Democrats and the left may come back to haunt them if the war drags on.