This would be terrifying. It’s a news report from Tripoli, written by a BBC reporter holed up in a hotel as the rebels come storming in. While he wrote this piece, and indeed while I write this post, it was not assured that he would make it home safe.

I embedded with the U.S. Army in Iraq. While there was some danger, it was not extreme. Reporting in this situation, however, is far more tenuous but also crucial. “Boots on the ground” isn’t just about the military. How are the rest of us supposed to know what is happening? How do we get passed the propaganda? It’s these reporters, the ones willing to plop themselves down in Tripoli when rebels are looking to overrun the cities, that tell those stories. And bless them, because not everyone wants to be hanging around at ground zero.

The Libya story, after months of slow burn, has erupted tonight. We’ll see where it is by the morning, and beyond.