"War is always the same." "It is young men dying in the fullness of their promise." "It is trying to kill a man..." "That you do not even know well enough to hate." "It is a crime against mankind..." "That so much courage and so much will..." "And so many dreams..." "Must be flung on the fires of war and death." "We, therefore, say again tonight, let us choose peace..." "And with it the wondrous works of peace." "And the decision that I made in Cambodia will save those lives." "It will bring the peace that we all want, in my opinion." "We shall completely destroy Japan's power to make war." "I hate war!" "He counted on America to be passive." "He counted wrong." "The United States will lead the way, and we expect our allies..." "To walk with us hand in hand." "No nation..." "Will be permitted to brutally assault its neighbor." "I call upon chairman khrushchev..." "To halt and eliminate..." "This clandestine, reckless..." "And provocative threat to world peace." "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we can have peace with honor." "2007 is the year..." "In which the unacceptable military threat imposed by China..." "Will come to a halt!" "And to those who challenge my resolve," "I give you two simple words:" "Try me." "The president, on the other hand, has spent the day in Colorado." "First flying into the air force academy..." "Where he gave a speech on the presence of American troops in Korea..." "And later spending the day at his Colorado campaign headquarters..." "In downtown Colorado Springs." "So at this point, how long is the operation going to last?" "I know governor romer had called fort Carson national guard..." "To be able to be motivated, be able to help in this situation." "We're also getting reports from the pikes peak area..." "That there was a huge snowstorm going there." "That's where the president is, of course." "It's supposed to be near blizzard conditions." "As far as we know, the snowstorm has hit Colorado just within the past hour." "Most Colorado citizens voted in the morning or after work." "Eagle leader one, we're below five Miles an hour." "Regs require us to find a nest." "Recon had the diner a half a click up." "Roger that, scout leader." "Jesus Christ, where the fuck are we?" "¶" "It hasn't even been ten minutes." "It has been ten minutes." "What is she doing, trying to win a talent contest?" "Maybe she thinks we're not going anywhere." "That's not for her to think." "For all she knows, I got a sled and ten siberian huskies." "I just want to get this paid for." "Come on, Liz." "Lizzie." "You made the same mistake you made a million times." "I told you before." "Don't move out your queen too early." "Look, you play your game." "I'll play mine." "Okay?" "Good evening and welcome to this special edition of the ibs evening news." "I'm Gerald Irving." "Presidential primaries were held today..." "In Connecticut and Colorado." "The polls are a few minutes away from closing in the rocky Mountain state..." "And have been closed now for two hours on the east coast." "As of this morning, president Emerson is leading... hey, harv." " How 'bout we put the nuggets' game on?" " Talk to Katie." " Care to watch the nuggets?" " The game was snowed out, ralphie." "I can't believe you don't care about this stuff." "Please." ""Snowed out."" "How do you snow out a basketball game?" "Basketball's a bullshit sport anyway." "The president is losing by fewer than three percentage point." "Bunch of genetic freaks..." "Of fuckin's nature, if you ask me." "It ain't the stimulating' exercise like pool," "Let me tell you something about this here game of pool, all right?" "Harv, it's all angles." "You know, you hit a ball here, it goes this way." "You hit a ball there, it goes thatta way." "All geometry." " Who you calling now?" " Sally." "Can't you leave that poor girl alone?" "It's almost midnight over there." "I don't pay that girl to be left alone." "You should lay your king down." "You're a loser here." "Hey, sal." "What's goin' on with the japs?" "This might be the most emotional election in recent American history." "A popular president dies, a very loyal vice president takes the reins." "It seems a natural continuum." "But we should bear in mind that Emerson was an appointed vice president." "After vice president Buchanan was forced to resign, less than 50 percent of Americans backed Emerson's appointment." " You're breaking up." " Listen." "Can you hear me?" "You're breaking up." "The over/under's about 200." "Okay, if it comes in less than... shit." "Here you go, boys and girls." "I'll take it." "Wishful thinking, don't you think?" "Maybe you guys want to start a tab." "I love your accent." "Are you from France?" "I speak French, but I'm not from France." "She's from Canada, Lizzie." "Probably Quebec?" "Bravo, monsieur!" "That one is on me." "Did I ask for that?" "What the fuck is up with this burger, harv?" "What are you talkin' about?" "There's something crunchy in it." "There's something crunchy in this fucking hamburger." "It's lettuce, ralphie." "Eat it." "Hamburgers are supposed to be juicy, not crunchy." "Come on, Lizzie." "I'm thinking." "I'm thinking about what you're thinking." "That's what you told me to do." "I didn't think it would take this long." "Do you want me to tell you my strategy?" "I'll tell you what my plan is." "Then you can... if I lose, I lose." "Okay?" "It's not like it's the fall of the Republic." "That's the problem." ""If I lose, I lose." It means nothing to you?" "It's a problem?" "Because it's a game." "So, why are we playing?" "He put fuckin'... could you try not to complain for once?" "You know it is the best food for Miles." "It's the only food for Miles." "It's only anything for Miles." "Let me ask you this question, harv." "When's the last time you had an inspection here?" "You're supposed to do that, make sure it's clean." "That's it." "Get the hell out." "Come on, Harvey." "Take it easy." "No, no." "When a man insults my joint, he insults the memory of my father." "Your father ever see you in that chef boyardee hat?" "Why you keep messin' with me?" "It's a sacred trust." "You put something in somebody's food..." "Where did they come from?" "Hi." "I sure thought I'd seen the end of customers for the night." "Excuse me." "Yeah, standard perimeter deployment." "Exodus is in." "I need reports into channel 34 on the stat." "I need delta team in six minutes." "Hi, I'm special agent Dexter." "Do-do you guys want a booth?" "No, thank you, ma'am." "This is special agent Williams." "Hello." "Hi." "You the proprietor?" "I'm the proprietor, sir." "Do we have a problem here?" "I'm no stranger to law enforcement..." "Don't make a production out of it, honey." "Good evening, folks." "Hi, good evening." "Hello." "I'm special agent Dexter." "This is special agent Williams." "With your permission, we need to see some identification, check your person for weapons." "Sure." "What's this all about?" "Is there a problem, sir?" "Well, there most certainly is." "Lizzie, sit down." "Lizzie." "Come on, Taylor." "They're just trying to do their job." "Mr. Taylor?" "All right." "My first name's Taylor." "Right." "Yeah, check her out." " Taylor Fletcher woods." " And this is Lizzie Clark woods." "Ms. woods." "Hey, how did you do that?" "It's not cool they know who we are." "What's the juice here?" "How do we know you are who you say you are?" "Mr. woods." "Taylor..." "I'd sure appreciate some cooperation here." "Emerson's a different breed than we thought." "He seems disposed to continuing the deceased president's..." "Hard-line approach on north Korea, committing to keeping the vast majority of U.S. troops there..." "Fucked up my camera." "Thank you, Mr. Emerson." "Send Noah to Colorado." "At least you got loaded up on some good stuff today." "We got you some good stuff!" "Good footage." "Any minute, there's gonna be a crazy mob breaking in through here." "That's not a problem, Mr. Howard." "You got that area cleared?" "It's all secure, sir." "Thank you." "Good footage." "Real stuff we want." "Staged footage." "Make it real for once." "There's no egress, but post in the kitchen." "Trump, victorious in Connecticut." "We got bravo team on the roof..." "president Emerson's campaign..." "Seems to riding a crest of sentiment." "It's freezing out there!" "Selecting Theodore slater from Wyoming." "No statement yet from the president, who, as we said, is in Colorado." "Thanks, bill." "President Emerson may find himself as the first nonelected incumbent..." "To win his party's nomination since Gerald Ford in 1976." "Given Emerson's lack of experience in political posts, the rumors of an impending shake-up in his cabinet..." "Have taken on a new importance." "You're on." "Okay." "You know who that is?" "My God." "Delta team is in position." "Hi." "Pleased." "Walt Emerson." "No kidding." "Walt Emerson." "My God!" "Harvey." "I'm really so excited." "Please tell me you're old enough to vote." "What is your name?" "Katie." "Suppose you tell me about the specialty de LA Maison." "We've got a great chicken pot pie and chicken croquette..." " Mr. president, a second opinion's in order here." " Please." "The chiliburger is harv's specialty." "He's a monster at it." "I call it my usual." "Yeah." "Is that right?" "Pleasure to meet you, sir." "My pleasure." "Chiliburger, Fine, then." "Absolutely." "Let's see what this fella's raving about." "Chiliburger it is." " Would your friends like something?" " Yes." "Order up, everybody." " What did you say your name was?" " Katie." " I'd love a cup of Joe." " Sure." "Coffee all around?" "Ma'am?" "Nothing, thanks." "We're gonna be here a spell." "There's a lot of white stuff between here and air force one." "Good thing I got my campaigning in." "Absolutely." " I didn't vote." " Katie." "Could have used you out there today." "I'm sure you did fine." "That's what they're telling me, but perhaps your vote..." "Could have taken me from victory to mandate." "He looks a lot older than on TV." "Okay." "Looking forward to that chiliburger." "Don't say anything stupid, okay?" "You're telling me that?" "He's coming over." "How do I look?" "Hi there." "Walt Emerson." "Hi." "Hi, I'm, Lizzie woods." "Pleasure." "Nice to meet you." "Walt Emerson." "Hi." "Taylor woods." "It's an honor, sir." "Taylor." "You've got that New York sense about you, no?" "Very good, sir." "Goldman sachs." "I'm the oil and mineral analyst." "Of course you are." "Whose move is it?" "That would be my move." "May I?" "Yes, yes." "Have a look here." "Well, well, well." "Wow." "Is this, Kasparov deep blue, game three?" "I..." "I don't think so, sir." "No, I'd say she's about seven moves away." "Really." "So, you two, satisfied Americans, would you say?" " Absolutely, Mr. president." "We've been so happy this year." " My only..." "My only problem... excuse me, I just want to get this..." "I ju..." "I just want to get something in here." "My only debate with you is the social security issue." "Is that right." "I think your moving the age to 73..." "For benefits on pension funds and stock portfolios..." "Is just gonna trigger panic selling." "Any idea how we came about the age of 65 for social security?" "No." "Actually, no, come to think of it." "I mean, why not 70 or 80 or 64?" "I have no idea." "We adopted the social security system..." "Reloading." "From Bismarck, hook, line and sinker." "Bismarck was an s.O.B. Just looking to boost his popularity..." "With his social welfare system." "So he goes to his actuaries, and they assure him..." "This is the late 1800s." "So they tell him that everyone's gonna be dead by the age of 65." " Of course, today it's equivalent to 105." " Unbelievable." "Fascinating." "It's 9:00, Mr. president." "Okay." "So that's how we're starting to think in terms of 73." "I hope I didn't interrupt the game." "I should go check the results." "Nice meeting you both." "Thank you." "Edifying." "Thank you for the tip." "Good luck to you." "Oop." "I'm sorry." "Got it." "You're gonna need that one, That's okay." "Good luck." "Good luck to you." "You have our vote." "Kasparov deep blue." "He's very short." "What do you two have in the pool?" "Fifty-eight." "Fifty-nine." "The polls in Colorado have now closed." "Sixty-one." "Here at lbs, we are ready to project a winner..." "In the Colorado primary." "With all precincts having reported, ibs is projecting..." "That president Walter Emerson..." "And... yes!" "There it is." "Casper the fucking ghost." "Will win the primary with 63%..." "We got the prick by the balls." "Here's what we do." "Call him up and tell him the deal's still on, but he has withdraw by noon tomorrow." "Otherwise, no deal." "He's got no maneuvering room to even change the platform." "So, we make him feel like he's got a little wriggle room, right?" "Cut him off at the knees, make him think he can walk." "Why don't we just proceed ahead?" "We're gonna win anyways." "Let's just... no, he's at the Hyatt." "I'm gonna call him now." "If he's cozy in that hotel room with a blonde, he's a lot wiser than I." "When do you think we're gonna get out of here, by the way?" "Tracey's got a ballet recital tomorrow, and Alexandra's got my blood oath on this one." "Well, air force one is about 20 minutes from here at Peterson air force base, and as soon as the weather gets better... it clears up, it's safe..." "We get marine one to come, get us out of here... 23-skiddoo, we're all set." "Okay." "Well, let's just do what we need to do." "What if Casper wants to talk to you?" "Well, I'll..." "I guess I'll..." "No, no, no, no, no, no, no." "You don't want to talk to him." "You're talking to your constituents." "Maybe we shouldn't be surprised that he received the votes that he did." "Many people view Emerson as not presidential." "He's very vice presidential, very second banana." "His experience in foreign posts has certainly been strong." "He boasts probably one of the best resumes since George Bush." "True, but he doesn't have the physical bearing of a president." "Traits that well could have been ascribed to har... hold on one moment." "Okay, this isn't..." "I'll say this quick." "Think about it." "We'll all be happy in August, okay?" "Apparently this is a massive military action from the middle east." "Our first indications are..." "No, I said if you... we'll all be..." "That there is a large troop movement in the Gulf area." "Okay." "Apparently Israeli radio has just issued..." "Good news or bad news?" "A nationwide call-up for their reserves." "That's in response to what appeared to be..." "Sir, you should check this out." "A large-scale maneuver from the Iraqi army and air force." " What is it?" " What's the story, Howard?" "What's happened?" "No indication of American troops in the region..." "Having encountered any hostilities." "Gayle?" "Okay." "Bear with me, ladies and gentlemen." "This is..." "let's just get this together." "Okay." "All right, here we go." "We have some information from at least two correspondents in the middle east." "This has not yet been verified by any government sources, and we should underscore that." "But... okay." "Okay, we are now getting word from our correspondents..." "In Baghdad and Kuwait." "Udei Hussein, the dictator of Iraq, has taken a military force and has crossed..." "His southeast border into Kuwait, heading directly for Kuwait city." "Boy's got some balls." "Okay." "All right." "Our initial reports are that the united nations-led American peacekeeping force..." "Has been overrun." "Howard, get secdef on the line." "We're trying to nail down the significant details." "Can... can we..." "Okay." "We have John Marino on a cell phone." "How is this happening?" "Where did this come from all of a sudden?" "I-I-I don't know." "John, can you hear me?" "John?" "Marsh?" " Okay, we're having some problems." "" " Marshall." "Lbs military analysts will be with us shortly." "So far, no contact from the white house, other than a statement that the president is monitoring the situation carefully..." "And that he is gravely concerned." "I don't understand." "What about our satellites?" "How come we didn't... that's a question for secdef, sir." "He's been distracted by the Korean mess." "Yeah, I should say, when a nation can invade another nation..." "And overrun American troops." "Sir, maybe we don't know because it did not happen." "It happened." "It's all over the news we don't have confirmation." "We have to assume it happened." "Doesn't this bastard get it?" "I'd say not." "I didn't even know we had troops in Kuwait." "Technically, we did not." "They were under u.N. Supervision." "It was our turn in the Helsinki rotation." "How many troops were there?" "Three..." "three-twenty." "I'm not sure." "You're not sure?" "There's a big difference between 300 and 320." "Either way, I'd rather have no troops than a small force that acts as an inducement." "Jesus." "The gigantic Israeli reserves..." "Well, does Hussein think that we're just gonna let it stand?" "The Israelis have begun a full mobilization." "I think he does, the little fuck." "I don't need that, marsh." "We need to make this very, very clear for him." "We will." "When we get home, we'll send the bastard home without any supper..." "And we slap him with every economic and diplomatic sanction there is." "Sir, I have secretary hancock on the line." " Well, we're doing something." " Yes, we are." "Okay, let's get to it." "Do we have speaker capability?" "It'll just take a second, sir." "Marsh, Ms. Redford, I need you to listen..." "To these conversations carefully." "Decisions we make must be made instantaneously." "Marsh, talk to the ibs fellow." "Make sure he's not taping." "The phone is ready." "The secretary of defense." "Put your camera down, please." "Okay." "Don, suppose you tell me why I'm hearing about the start of world war III on the TV." "That may be overstating it a bit, sir." "Mr. secretary, I may only be holding this office for four months, but the president selected me his successor..." "Because of my unilateral understanding of foreign affairs." "Hell, I deputy-chaired the national security council." "So why don't we forego the patronizing crap..." "And have you explain to your commander-in-chief..." "Why he's hearing about this on ibs." "We're getting the pieces together, sir." "The s.O.B. Overran our position?" "It appears to be a complete annihilation." "We have a report they executed the few prisoners they took." "The women too?" "There were nurses and administrative personnel there, so, yes, women too." "One of them was an apache helicopter pilot." "Women?" "That's important." "That gives us high moral ground." "How could we have been taken by surprise like this?" "We saw the activity, but we thought it was a military exercise." "Gulf war provisions forbid any Iraqi movement in this area, exercise or otherwise." "It's not the first time he's violated the u.N. Provision." "We didn't feel it warranted taking you from your campaign." "Frank, come in." "General Lancaster just walked in, sir." "Is it just the two of you?" "Yes, sir." "Gentlemen, I want to remind you..." "That we should keep the nature of the classified content..." "That's being discussed here to a minimum." "The president is not in a secure location." " We will be in a few hours." " I'm afraid we don't have time." "Frank, does he have it?" "What?" "He has what?" "Nuclear weapons?" "No, sir, biological and chemical." "We're looking at a computer screen." "The imagery appears to display launching pads for Iraqi..." "Tactical, chemical and biological weapons." "The site that we have there..." "Contains eight canvas-covered missile trailers..." "And four deployed probable missile launchers." "How far advanced is this?" "I've never seen..." "This kind of installation before." "These are m.R.B.M.S. Okay." "Are they ready to be fired, any of them?" "That would depend on their ground support." "I'm hesitant to say, but conservatively, the earliest they could launch is in one hour, forty minutes." "They look positioned to attack Tel Aviv." "Tel Aviv." "In Israel, sir." "Thank you." "And Greece and Turkey as well." " Where are these launch pads?" " Outside rabat, a few clicks from the turkish border." "They're mobile." "That explains why we had not yet seen them." "Jesus." "Marsh, who's running the show over at lbs?" "Carl isaacson." "Isaacson." "Howard, you want to hook up this isaacson fellow with marsh?" "Then get me Ben-razzi." "I'm sure he's on top of this already." "Marsh, I'm going to have to address the nation." "Let's talk to this lbs guy... - no, no, no." "No, I don't think you should address the nation." "I don't think that's a good idea." "Just make it happen." "But the writers aren't even here." "Please." "Okay." "Howard, as soon as you got isaacson, let me know." "Bring him right up." "Give me what our troop mobilization status is." "We can begin defcon 1 and mobilization of 3,000..." "In less than an hour." "We would release the tactical fighter wing at Langley..." "And then the division ready brigade at the 82nd." "And that would put them in Iraq when?" "Partial proliferation in ten days." "Then we'd have to slash our troop strength in the koreas." "But I believe..." "I'm sorry, sir." "May I interrupt?" "I believe premier Kim when he says that a downsizing of our troops..." "On the 38th parallel will propel him..." "Into a flat-out invasion of north Korea." "I'm not gonna drop a domino and allow China to walk into Japan, bottom line." "I'm certainly not gonna offer up another tiny force, naked and vulnerable to Hussein in the Gulf, not like the 300 that just died." "Yeah." "Right, sir." "Are you telling me that we have no manpower in the Gulf area?" " There is one carrier." "It's the u.S.S..." " Wait." "Hold it." "Why didn't you tell us there was a carrier?" "What do you think the point of this conversation is?" "Sir, I was just about to..." "Now you're telling us there's one carrier." "Theu.S.S. Powell." "Hold on, sir." "Hold on, please." "Yes?" "We're just getting the pictures from the n.P.I.C." "What's that?" "Is that ours?" "Lbs correspondents have confirmed that three Iraqi divisions..." "The hammurabi, the Medina luminous..." "And the in God we trust..." "Are in Kuwait." "The Kuwaiti military force of a few thousand troops..." "Must now contend with a half a million Iraqi troops." "Udei's not gonna make the same mistakes his father made." "He's not gonna wait for us to build up our strength." "All right." "There's no tougher military proposition than reversing an invasion, but that's exactly what we're going to do." "I'm gonna hang up the line." "I'll be back to you in ten minutes." "When I do, I expect to be able to conference call." "Howard?" "Conference call makes our line unsecure, sir." "How many speakerphones can we set up, then?" "We have four secure satellite speakerphones like this one." "They're trained on the Sierra system." "But we've got some cell phones, don't we?" "No, those are utterly impossible in terms of security." "I think what we should do is we should stick with the satellites, and I'll place the calls through my q-line." "There are several unauthorized people here." "I don't think... that is my decision." "I want cabinet members and any essential military personnel at the ready." "Major coddington." "Yes, sir." "Take a position by the booth, and access only to the president, myself and, and redford." "No problem, sir." "All right." "You got a map?" "I don't think..." "I can check in the Van." "You looking for a map or a globe?" "A map." "Howard, what about..." "You got a laptop?" "Can you pull up an atlas on the Internet?" "Sir, the I-line memory's not going to accommodate that." "I think if you get rid of one of these phones... no, I need the phone lines." "Are you telling me all I have at my disposal to battle global crisis..." "Is four phones in a diner?" "Four secure satellite phones, sir." " Sir?" " Yes." "Sir, we have a map in the back." "Fine." "Thank you." "Could you get it, please, and set it up over here?" "Sir, I have Mr. isaacson for you." "Hello." "Mr. isaacson." "Hey, how are you?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Well, hold on." "Yeah, this is Marshall Thompson." "Mr. Thompson, how are you?" "You just got me." "I was heading out the door." "You're aware of our situation?" "Yeah, well, of course." "I'm headed to the station." "Yeah, yeah, well, it's obviously very grave." "Now, the president needs to make an address to the nation." "Okay, well, that's great." "Sure." "We have one of your guys here doing a sort of "day in the life of the campaign" deal." "Yeah, right." "Noah Boyd." "He's one of our top guys." "Yeah, well, I never liked the idea, but we could turn this around..." "And make this beneficial to all of us, okay?" "In what way?" "Now, it's the darndest thing." "See, we're stuck here." "We're trapped in a diner in... where are we?" "Morty's roadside diner." "No, no, town, town." " Aztec, Colorado." " Yeah, we're in aztec, Colorado." "A-z-t-e... what?" "Home of the screaming beavers." "Home of the screaming beavers." "A-z-t-e-c, and, we were out campaigning, and, you know, then the storm came out of nowhere." "The caravan was on its way back to air force... anyway, we're in a diner." "So the president has to make an address to the nation a.S.A.P." "Well, no problem." "Can you give me to Noah?" "Yeah, he's right..." " Noah." " Yes, sir, I'm here." "He's right here." "Is this possible, Noah?" "Nothing's ever a problem, sir." "We can go through the I-com line." "Take me less than a minute to boot it up." "Okay, that's..." "That's that, then." "Noah's got you covered." "All right." "Now here's the deal." "This speech is yours exclusive." "All recording devices will go on and off according to our instructions." " Okay, let me talk to Noah." " Yeah." " Yes, sir?" " Got that Noah?" "Loud and clear." "Good." "Okay." "All right." "I'll get word to highland hills." "Now, listen." "I don't want any of this 60 minutes hidden camera bullshit." "Straightforward." "You go over there." "Sir, I have prime minister Ben-razzi on the phone." "Mr. prime minister." "Yes, sir, I'm fully aware of the gravity of the situation." "Yes, sir, well, soon my country will be at a state of full readiness." "I understand." "What?" "No, sir." "Sir, I beg of you to recall those planes, or at least keep them in your airspace for the next ten minutes." "No, no, I see this no differently than bush did in '91." "An incursion on your part will only form an alliance among the arab nations." "Well, Mr. prime..." "Mr. prime minister," "I've made arrangements to go on ibs live..." "In a couple of minutes here." "Globally, yes." "Exactly." "Exactly." "That would... that's all I'm asking." "That would be great." "Yes, sir." "I don't think you'll have any need to take an offensive action at that point." "All right." "Thank you, Mr. prime minister." "Okay." "The prime minister has agreed..." "To keep his air force in abeyance until after the address." "Let's keep an open, secure line there." "Okay." "Let's get ready for the address." "Okay." "All right." "No, off, off, off." "We're not ready yet." "Facts, figures, locations are not important right now." "The important thing is to convey a sense of determination..." "About what it is we're gonna do as a country." "That's what the American people have to hear." "That's what this speech is about." "I can verify what has taken place, obviously." "Yes." "And then I need to be very, very specific." "Yeah." "If you find yourself in general waters, be very specific about it." "Excuse me, Mr. president." "As your national security advisor, I must inform you..." "That what you're about to do is not in your best interest or that of the country." "Noted." "On the record." "However, he is going on in a few minutes." "So is there anything that you can advise the president..." "That would be helpful for what he is about to say to the American people?" "If udei is in Kuwait on his way to Saudi Arabia, that means that he has cleared out all of the minefields." "We are not talking brigades here." "We are talking armies." "I appreciate that very much..." "the republican guard..." "Is out in full force, and that is a totally different matter here, sir." "The debate is over." "I'm going on the air." "Noah?" "Yes." "We have to bring the monitor over where I can read it..." "And the president can see it." "I'm just grabbing my tripod." "Just a sec." "I'll watch the monitor and make sure that lbs..." "Remember, ibs is way ahead of everybody on this." "Everybody knows basically what's going on." "I need to go on and be very specific about what I'm doing about it." "You're the only one who can do that." "Let's do this." "Wait, wait, wait." "Hold it, hold it." "We need a different chair." "This chair is not any good." "It's the only chair we got." "This is ridiculous, this chair." "There are at least three armored divisions in Kuwait." "Okay, now, listen." "In the red?" "Bad color." "It's a distraction." "If you could just..." "Everybody, actually, just move to that side." "Iraq still uses Soviet migs in its air force." "I think you should wear a blazer." "Okay." "All right, could you get a blazer?" "At least one more Iraqi division has entered the fray..." "Forty-five seconds before we get live!" "Dex, Dex." "No time." "All right, come back." "We need to go over your speech." "One thing is clear, and that is that this is a large army." "Emerson the diplomat, Emerson the peacekeeper," "Emerson the coolheaded." "I hear you, marsh." "It's gonna be good." "It's going to be fine." "Thank you." "We've just received word... - back against the wall." "Please be quiet during this." "The president will be addressing the nation." "There is no time delay." "When Gerald goes to you, start speaking naturally." "Right here." "I'll be watching that." "From a diner in aztec, Colorado." "Nice and still." "Watch for my cue." "Ready?" "Very good." "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States." "Here we go." "My fellow Americans, as the world now knows, the leader of Iraq, udei Hussein, in complete defiance of u.N. Resolutions 687, 773 and 883, has invaded the emirate of Kuwait as his father did in 1990." "In the process, he has killed several hundred American troops..." "Serving as a peacekeeping force." "Our intelligence also indicates that at least eight Iraqi divisions..." "Are holding Kuwait and progressing to Saudi Arabia." "This is not the act of a warrior nor a leader..." "But that of a barbarian." "We must now assume that udei Hussein's objective..." "Is one of a manifest destiny." "At present, nearly 80% of our troops..." "Are on the sea of Japan or the 38th parallel." "To put it as bluntly as possible, the United States of America does not have the capability..." "Of dealing with the Iraqi invasion force with conventional expedition." "There are defining moments in the history of every nation, moments which delineate our strengths and our character." "Often these moments require that a harder right be made over an easier wrong." "It is with that in mind that I now wish to speak directly to the Iraqi people." "Unless your leader, udei Hussein, immediately withdraws from his position in Kuwait, leaving all weapons behind where they are," "and turns himself in for arrest..." "At the American embassy in Kuwait," "I will authorize the dropping..." "Of a multi-megaton nuclear device on the city of Baghdad." "I'm now giving you, the citizens of Baghdad, one hour and twenty minutes to leave the city, save your lives and those of your children." "It is my deepest and most heartfelt wish and prayer..." "That udei Hussein accept his responsibility..." "As the sovereign of a nation and a responsible member of the international community." "That is it for now." "God save us all." "Thank you." "Okay, ladies and gentlemen, if you are just joining us, the President of the United States has just given what may be..." " The most dramatic speech ever given by a sitting president." " Jesus." "What?" "What?" "Well, I mean, that wasn't exactly peacemaking, was it?" "Subjective, isn't it?" "All right, thank you, everybody." "Thank you very much." "He would order the dropping of a nuclear bomb on Baghdad unless:" "One, udei Hussein withdraws and retreats from Kuwait;" "Two..." "According to weather intel, navigating an aircraft to your position is impossible." "We could risk it and try sending a helicopter to you." "No, no, no, no." "We could risk sending a helicopter here, but we cannot risk putting the president on a helicopter out of here." "Agreed." "NORAD has dispatched a winter a.P.C. To your position." "It should be there in about an hour." "All right." "What will my ability be to communicate once inside the a.P.C.?" "There are shortwaves on all the a.P.C.S, however the lines are nonsecure." "If they're nonsecure, forget it." "Bottom line, we work from here." "Mr. president, admiral Miller here, central command." "With your permission, I'd like to speak to you off speaker." "Admiral, Hussein's weapons go hot in an hour and a half." "I will not hold your comments against you." "Okay." "Sir, I must object to your threat on ibs." "Hussein's weapons can be dealt with conventionally." "Our high-tech weapons can do all that the nukes can do... no, no, no." "We've been down that road before." "That's a good point, sir." "That's not a good point." "We've been down that road before." "Listen, people!" "Let's be clear." "If we attack, we attack, and it's gonna be major." "I'm not gonna send over a couple of tomahawks, and get on the phone and say, "how do you like them apples?"" "It's never worked before." "Hussein's like his old man." "He's a survivor." "After every calamity, he emerges dusting off his uniform asking, "is that it?"" "Even a limited air attack is an extensive air attack." "It's not 20 or 50 sorties but hundreds." "Which the u.S.S. Powell can't accommodate." "Right." "Then we'd have to move into their planes, airfields, Sam sites." "Granted, but even that doesn't leave us with just the nuclear option." "Okay, okay." "Before we carry out the "should we or shouldn't we" debate, let's ensure what we in fact can do." "General Riley, what do we have?" "Well, Mr. president, at stratcom under start 2, our missiles are now set on a trajectory that ends in the Atlantic." "What brilliant commander-in-chief came up with that one?" "How long to reset the target?" "Our record's 20 minutes." "It used to be shorter, but we de-alerted five years ago." "What do we have in our arsenal?" "Several triple warhead Excalibur 3 nuclear missiles." " We could hit our designated targets in two hours." "" " Two hours?" "No, that's unacceptable." "We have to hit Iraq before their weapons can go hot." "How the United States would launch a nuclear attack, particularly when it must be initiated and completed in less than an hour and a half..." "Is very limiting." "We do have file footage here." "The u.S.S. Powell is our one and only warship in the Gulf region." "The Powell is one of only two surface ships to carry nuclear weapons..." "Since president bush's nuclear ban instituted in 1992." "Okay, what weapons do we have on thepowell?" "The fastest deployment would be by tomahawk." "Detonation in 40 minutes." "Okay, but if we do that, we have to give Hussein enough time to comply." "We could launch tomahawks 45 minutes from now." "He would have that time plus an additional 40 to comply, correct?" "Not really." "Once that missile's on its way, it's on its way." "There must be some way to divert it, right?" "We can do two things..." "If Hussein complies while the missile is in flight." "Firstly, we can detonate." "Then we'd have nuclear rain all over the detonation area." "Possibly a friendly one." "Exactly, ma'am." "We can also deactivate the bomb." "The problem is that, then, where the bomb lands, it lands." "And that's like giving Hussein a free nuclear weapon." "Sir, I'd say our only option is to actually drop a bomb on Baghdad." "We could use our b-2s based in Saudi." "How long to load her and put her up in the air?" "On your orders, sir." "The good news is the b-2 can be recalled at the last second if necessary." "We can strike within an hour." "This is problematic." "The b-2s we'd have to fly over Saudi territory." "We'd have to get permission." "This guy is invading their oil fields." "Of course we're gonna get permission." "There is no "of course."" "I know these guys." "Sharing a little baba ghannouj at a state dinner..." "Does not make you know them." "Okay." "All right." "We're gonna put the b-2 up." "We don't have time for protocol." "Sir, it is not a matter of protocol." "It's international law." "Understood." "Consider it an act of civil disobedience." "Get me secretary of state and, give me a few minutes, folks." "What are you doing?" "Use some common sense." "Come on." "Specialty of the house." "Wow." "Thank you very much." "Bitch of a situation you've got on your hands." "Yes." "Yes, it is." "If I were you... - excuse me." "May we have a word here, please?" "I'll get that." "Okay." "Would you like something?" "No, I'm fine." "Thanks." "Mr. president, I was thinking..." "Gayle." "What can you tell me about admiral Miller?" "Miller?" "Yes." "Do you know him?" "He was one of the president's nominees for chair of the j.C.S. Two years ago." "He lost out to Lancaster." "He's been running central command ever since then." "Southwest Asia, the middle east, those are his territories, but he's based in mcdill, in Florida." "The arab countries don't want us in the Gulf area." "My guess is he's probably feeling like a paper tiger." "Yeah, I think so." "That certainly explains the giant chip on his shoulder." "It's a chip you need right now, sir." "Madam chairman, we just might have to drop that weapon." "If we do..." "You know, Truman debated agonizingly before Hiroshima." "Not so much about dropping the bomb..." "But whether or not to forewarn the Japanese people." "We'd have won the war either way, but he would have slept better the rest of his life." "I'm determined to spare as many lives as I can, and I just, for the life of me, can't imagine..." "Hussein is gonna let the city of Baghdad die." "Our strategy is to roll the dice..." "That he'll comply." "With all due respect to your Vegas metaphor, sir, nuclear warfare is not about gambling." "It's about certainty." "Strategic certainty." "Moral certainty." "Secretary clift is on the phone." "Do I seem uncertain to you, Gayle?" "Hussein, for example, could withhold the oil from us, or he could flood the world market." "In any case, Hussein will have the leverage to manipulate oil prices at will, and you can assume that..." "Well, don't forget, Gerald, in 1990, the only people smiling were the boys at exxon and shell, who saw gas prices and stocks..." "Debra, where are you now?" "I'm on my way to state." "And what are you sensing?" "Well, I'm not sensing support." "Just about everybody is demanding an audience, and Andrea in Greece is going to defcon 1." "Defcon 1 has got to be the limit." "It cannot escalate one inch beyond that." "Understood." "Okay, I'm gonna, issue an executive order freezing all Kuwaiti assets." "Marsh, we need to get on with treasury." "Yeah." "Or is it the a.G.?" "No, I think it's treasury." "Yeah." "Okay." "All right." "It's treasury." "The oil lobby is gonna go ape-shit." "Yeah, I know, but get on with Nichols anyways and get that rolling on the stat." "I'm sure he can work off my verbal directive for now." "Debra, you need to get on with any other foreign nation that'll do the same." "We need to freeze those assets before udei can get to them." "Got it." "Okay, and I need gestaing." "My guess is that he'll follow the French pattern of denying us use of their airspace." "Give me some time." "I think I can make his squares." "No, forget that, okay?" "What I need is to speak with gestaing." "Very well." "As you will." "What has been much louder... this is coming from the congressional side..." "Is what several members of the white house..." "Excuse me, several members of the house..." "Are calling a deliberate violation of the war powers act." "Well, update us on that." "Sir, it's the oval office, line two, Mr. Omari." "No, no, no, no, no, no, no." "Mr. president, this is inappropriate." "You should not negotiate with an emissary from another head of state." "You should leave that to Gayle or myself." "Absolutely." "Normally, yes." "Duly noted, but I need to do this." " On the record." " Record." "Mr. Omari?" "It's Alice, sir." "I have Mr. Omari." "He's with a translator." "Go ahead." "Mr. Omari, this is the president." "I call you on a matter of grave concern to my government, Mr. Emerson." "Yes, this is very grave." "Your announcement has created havoc in our streets." "Our hospitals are flooded with young children, the victims of stampedes." "I request of you a taking back of your comment." " Mr." " Thompson, sir..." "Give us one second, please." "What is it?" "Forgive me, Mr. president, but, this man isn't translating correctly for you, sir." "What do you mean?" "Well, it's a lot of things." "They're small things, but they could add up to something big." "Like?" "He said, "I request of you,"" "when what I heard this Omari really say is, "I demand of you."" "He's got a tone in his voice, sir." "So you speak arabic?" "Yes, sir." "I'm U.S. army, retired, m.I." " I was a decryptor in desert storm, sir." " Is that right?" "Yes, sir." "Yes, it is." "All right." "Well, then, welcome aboard." "You're our translator." "What's your name?" "I'm special agent Dexter, sir." "I'm in charge of your domestic traveling detail." "Shit!" "I should know that." "I'm sorry." "Please, sit down." "Excuse me, special agent." "I just want you to know, sir, that this is not prudent." "There's a special training that goes along with this line of work." "Naturally." "There isn't time for that." "I just want you to know that." "I appreciate it." "Okay." "You're welcome." "Listen carefully, speak carefully, obviously, and, do your best." "I will, sir." "Okay." "Okay, and all set?" "Ready." "Everyone ready?" "Go." "Mr. Omari, I now have a translator." "We're ready when you are." "Mr. Emerson, your threats are the most barbaric act..." "Ever perpetuated against our nation... peace-loving nation." "I believe your people to be peace-loving." "Your leader, however, is clearly in violation of u.N. Resolutions." "Our satellites have detected launch pads for biological and chemical weapons..." "In rabat and other locations..." "Weapons which are outlawed by u.N. Resolutions number..." "I suggest that you reexamine your..." "He sounds angry now, sir." "Belligerent." "We will not stand for your accusations." "Are you denying the existence of chemical and biological weapons?" "Okay, sir." "He's conferring with someone behind him." "I can't quite make out who it is, however." "He said something about..." "Okay, sir, he's back." "We, have every right to defend ourselves." "It is the right of every sovereign nation." "You know as well as I do that directing fully armed..." "Chemical or biological weapons..." "At any other sovereign nation is by every standard an act of aggression." "I must warn you, Mr. ambassador, my speech was not idle." "You must meet our terms unconditionally..." "In just under 40 minutes." "There is no negotiation." "He's rather hysterical now, sir." "You are a, puppet of Zion." "You are not an elected leader of your nation." "I am the President of the United States." "When an elected leader..." "Is in place, perhaps then we will negotiate." "Understand, the, split second..." "That your air force crosses into Iraqi airspace..." "Your air defense has no capacity other than primitive systems which we can easily overcome." "I assure you, our air wing will be over Baghdad proper..." "Several minutes before you've reached launch capability." "I repeat, we will take necessary actions." "And I repeat, unless I have proof and am convinced..." "That your weapons will not be hot, we will make good on my promise." "Unless I am convinced by our satellites that you are laying down arms..." "And equipment and return... sir." "He's left the phone, sir." "What?" "He's conferring with someone behind him, sir." "I can't make out who it is or what it is, but it's some kind of argument, sir." "Okay, he's back." "I will not negotiate with a Jew." "It is my, defined duty and obligation..." "And instructions not to negotiate with a Jew." "This is why I told you this was not a good idea." " He hung up, sir." " He what?" "He hung up?" "Yes, ma'am." "Howard, reconnect." "Are you sure?" "No, it was distinct." "Definitely the sound of a phone slamming down on a receiver, sir." "That was inevitable." "Israel will not tire in its defense, and the I.D.F. Will continue..." "Balancing between deterrence and restraint." "It should not be an issue, and it will not be." "I think what Gayle means is..." "I know what Gayle means." "It's one thing if George Bush dropped a bomb on an arab country." "It's war." "If you drop it, a Jew..." " It's jihad." " A holy war." "The problem with jihad is, you know when you've lost the war." " You just don't know when you've won it." " That's right." "When do you stop fighting for Allah?" "At least Saddam was secular." "Udei's been playing the Allah card for years." "Yes." "Which is why we have to win this war now." "Dropping an atom bomb isn't a war, sir." "That's right." "Katie, sit down." "Are you following any of this?" "I think so." "It is difficult not to." "Yeah, I imagine so." "My staff here thinks that my being Jewish..." "May affect my decision about what to do with Hussein and Iraq..." "That I have some bias, some racist..." "Sir, you're taking this way out of context." "That's not what I meant." "No." "What do you think?" "I'm not one to say." "There's not a lot of Jews in aztec." "I mean, some may pass by if they're truckers, but for the most part, I can't make a comment..." "On things having to do with Jews." "Is it okay to say "Jews," or do I have to say "Jewish Americans"?" "You're doing fine." "Well, the only thing I know is..." "That you guys don't believe in Jesus, and that means that..." "If you are the president of the United States, you have nobody to answer to but yourself?" "You know, the truth is, I'm an atheist." "Every president must become an atheist." "You take the oath, and then you must leave behind..." "All thoughts of an afterlife, a better place beyond." "My responsibility, my purpose..." "Is to preserve our existence here on earth." "Okay." "Well, thank you very much, young lady." "Now, I'd love a fresh cup of coffee." "You want some more?" "Yes, some more coffee." "Thank you very much." "If you could..." "How 'bout some decaf?" "No, regular coffee." "Yeah, regular coffee." "Okay." "That's what you do, that's what we do." "This is what..." "We're all winners." "Are you trying to get the Vegas vote with this atheism bullshit?" "I gotta talk to bean." "Could you..." "Howard, let's get the first lady on the phone!" "Preserve the secure line and go with the phone booth." "Sir, I'd appreciate it if you'd put that phone away." "We could take it from you if you'd like." "No, you don't have to take it." "Not doing me any good anyway." "Appreciate that." "You're helping us out." "No problem." "We got a very tough storm still in Southern Colorado, even though it's moving through Colorado Springs, I hope." "People, stay in, stay off the roads, and we're working very hard to get ahead of this snow removal." " Can I get some coffee, please?" " Yeah, sure." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "Ms. Gayle redford." "You know, I, I read about you." "Time, newsweek." "Even read an interview about you in one of them girlie magazines." "Which one was that, now?" "Playboy." "That's right." "That's just what it was." "Yeah." "You led protests against desert storm." "Almost cost you your confirmation." "I'd rather think it won me my confirmation." "You know what?" "You may not get a shrink to say so, but that man is plain insane." "I'm tellin' ya, that man, our leader..." "Is gonna rain down the end of the world on us." "He thinks the United States..." "Has to play big brother to every pipsqueak nation in the world." "I've been listening." "There's not one legitimate reason..." "For him to even be considering what he's doing." "I don't have to educate you..." "About nuclear winter, Ms. redford." "Can't you stop him?" "I guess not." "I guess no one can." "¶" "This is Gerald Irving with an ongoing lbs special report." "We are trying to follow events across the globe..." "As efficiently and quickly as possible." "On a satellite phone, we have John desimio from riyadh." "John." "Gerald, hi." "Hey, bean." "Hello, Walter." "How are you?" "Just when I started growing into the job, it got bigger on me." "This is something else, Yes, it is." "Listen, Walter..." "listen, let me talk to Tracey first." "Is she there?" "Yeah, she's right here next to me." "Don't tell her anything, okay?" "Come on." "Okay." "Daddy wants to speak to you, honey." "Hi, daddy." "Hey, muggins." "How's my angel?" "Daddy, I'm not your angel." "I'm your Princess." "That's right." "I'm sorry." "How's my Princess?" "Daddy, know what?" "Tell me." "Guess who was special person at school today." "You." "No, daddy." "Timmy." "It was his turn." "Well, when is it gonna be your turn?" "I don't know, daddy." "Do you want to speak to mommy again?" "Yeah." "I love you." "Mommy, daddy's on the phone." "Hey." "Hey." "Tell me you're not really gonna do it." "I have to." "I may have to." "I don't know." "You realize you're killing just civilians, Walter." "No soldiers, no udei, just civilians." "I may not have a choice." "You're the President of the United States." "You've got all the choice in the world." "Alex, honey, I need you with me." "I'm not your Eva braun." "Do you think history's gonna forgive this?" "Do you think it'll forgive us?" "It's gonna be fine." "No matter what happens, it will never be fine again." "Listen, I'm not gonna be able to get you and Tracey up in the looking glass." "The harder right over the easier wrong?" "Listen, it's not..." "I just need a working government." "I need every seat, that's all." "I..." "Don't do it." "I love you, bean." "We... we gotta get the looking glass to Andrews." "Yeah." "Of course." "I already called it in." "Good." "How's Tracey?" "She's a kid." "She's good." "Bean?" "I don't know." "I need the cabinet on the ground, so we should put the deputies up." "We should also probably board speaker Hazel." "Aw, Jesus." "That fat, smelly fuck is gonna load the whole shebang down." "Guy couldn't shovel sand in a rat hole." "I suppose he's next in line, but why do we have to get him up, put him in control?" "It was all for naught getting the nomination." "No, here's what we do." "We make a constitutional play." "We argue that Teddy slater is the de facto vice president." "Not Hazel." "You don't think we're on the tightrope already?" "Why don't we just play this one by the book?" "All right, I'll put fatso in the air." "Maybe it'll crash." "You hangin' in there?" "Yes, sir." "This weather's something." "You went to school around here, didn't you?" "The air force academy, right?" "Yes, sir." "Couldn't get into west point." "Yeah." "Do you, ever look inside that thing?" "Yes, sir." "What's it look like in there?" "Is it ominous?" "Not as ominous as it should be." "I guess these things never are," "Listen, Nick, I just wanted you to know..." "How much I appreciate the fact that..." "You may be the first of your kind to ever actually have to do his job, and it means a lot to me to have you on the team." "Thank you, sir." "Thank you." "Roger that, bravo team leader." "We believe that was just a deer." "Out." "Roger." "Out." "For a man who has sent the world into turmoil, it is surprising how little we know about udei Hussein." "Carla livingstone is a fellow with the tumar institute in Philadelphia..." "And is currently working on a book about the Hussein dynasty." "Carla, what advice do you give to president Emerson given what you know about..." "We're done." "The speaker was already at Andrews with his family." "His family?" "Yeah." "The bad news has been conveyed." "If you look at our history, it's filled with..." "Prognosticating the behavior of world leaders as if they were all rational." "Things are a little different..." "From when we were at Princeton." "Little less hair, a few more pounds." "I was quarterback." "You were the running back." "Yes, but, as you said, it was Princeton." "Yeah." "Back then, you won at everything, marsh." "Debate class, poker, cheerleaders." "Udei actually killed his father's valet... but you got bean." "He would pummel him to death with a club at a party honoring hosni mubarak's wife." "You're not with me on this one, are you?" "The garden of Eden was in Iraq." "Did you know that?" "No." "Yeah, yeah." "The garden of Eden was in Iraq." "Walt, did you ever read the test results on Los Alamos in '45?" "It was a motherfucker of a fireball." "It rose to 10,000 feet before it dimmed." "People could see it 180 Miles away." "Shattered glass a hundred Miles away." "Yeah, it was..." "It was beautiful." "Very impressive." "It, it created a crater that was a thousand feet in diameter." "And there was this... this..." "Steel tower." "It was about ten stories high." "It weighed 220 tons." "It was knocked right off its foundation." "And then..." "Just evaporated." "Just like that." "Now, what you are going to do in Baghdad..." "Is gonna make those tests look like mosquito bites." "You are going to be wiping out Baghdad." "There's going to be nothing left." "No rebuilding, no aid, nothing." "Just cockroaches." "You will be wiping out a civilization..." "Where civilization began." "And, my friend, you'd better damn well be okay with that." "Sir, general Riley is currently available at offut." "General Riley?" "Yes, sir." "What status report can you give us?" "Well, sir, the republican guards moved 20 clicks from Saudi Arabia." "There's no hint of withdrawal?" "Not at all." "In fact, it now seems the Syrian and iranian armies..." "Are moving troops to the Israeli front." "The Israeli military is fully mobilized." "Are the Israeli fighters in the air?" "No, sir, but the Israeli nuclear silos..." "The ones that don't exist?" "Yes, those ones." "They've gone hot." "Excuse me." "Mr. president?" "General Riley, hold on a second." "Yes, general Lancaster." "We... we've latched onto every known nuclear silo on the planet." "And?" "And it seems everyone has gone hot, sir." "Mr. president, it's Carl isaacson at lbs." "Well, now, this certainly should be interesting." "Mr. isaacson." "Mr. Thompson, how are you?" "Yeah, quite a mess we have going on." "What could we do for you?" "Well, look..." "We got a situation here." "We've been approached by haffez Omari about going on the air." "Wha... it..." "He wants to go on the air?" "That's right." "And, you know, given the circumstances, we'd like to get a green light." "Hold on." "You can't be serious." "Really?" "Yes." "Where is he?" "At his office at the u.N." "We have a crew, and we're ready to go." "Okay, put him on the air." "Okay?" "Yes, okay." "Okay, we're talkin' less than a minute." "All right." "Thank you for consulting with us." "No problem." "You know, you think there's a panic now, wait till this prick finishes his speech." "And if you could say anything to udei Hussein tonight?" "I'm sure I am saying it to him." "He is a huge fan of ibs." "Go ahead, then." "Abu Hussein on ibs." "Love your country." "Livin' large in Providence, r.I." "Thank you very much, Mr. Hussein." "Abu Hussein, the nephew of..." "Okay." "We're moving fast here, folks." "Standing by at the united nations is haffez Omari, the Iraqi ambassador to the u.N." "Mr. Omari, thank you for joining us tonight." "Yes." "Thank you." "Allow me to begin by asking about your specific intentions." "I have not agreed to be subjected to a hostile interview." "I instead have a statement of some urgency to make." "Okay, then." "Go ahead." "One hour ago, your nonelected president..." "Announced that he had ordered the delivery..." "Of nuclear bombs..." "To be dropped with... no... on the peaceful people of Iraq." "Five minutes ago, surveillance indicated..." "That a fleet of war planes..." "Have left a base in Saudi Arabia..." "Without Saudi approval." "We do not feel the need to engage in a war with the U.S.A., and so we must do..." "Yes!" "What we have to to stop the aggression." "They're gonna cave." "They're gonna cave!" "Congratulations, Mr. President." "They reacted as you expected." "So it humbles us to come..." "To this level." "I have before me a list of precise locations." "I have just now sent them..." "Via facsimile to the office..." "Of the American chairman..." "Of the joint chiefs..." "This very list." "These are the locations..." "Of land-based and submarine-based missiles..." "General Lancaster." "Armed with nuclear warheads." "The moment the American wing of fighters crosses..." "Iraqi airspace, we will launch a full-scale..." "Nuclear attack..." "On five..." "Four locations..." "Inside America, Israel..." "And every member of NATO." "Knight takes rook." "That is all for now." "Miller here, sir." "We have one option now." "Miss, let me get some more coffee." "Conventional attack, or no?" "Not even that anymore." "I think we must carefully consider what Omari said." "Our satellites have been on the listed longitudes and latitudes." "I should have a report in five minutes." "Admiral Miller, I want the b-2 to proceed forward till it reaches the border." "Sir, in light of this new development, I must agree with admiral Miller." "We don't even know if they're going to fire chemical weapons at all." "It's even less likely now that arab forces are moving towards Israel." "They'll be firing on themselves." "Exactly." "So why risk an international nuclear attack on something that probably won't happen anyway?" "Sir, we risk almost no condemnation..." "If we fire on them using conventionals." "Look, even if they do fire those weapons..." "Let me be Frank." "If it means sacrificing Israel or Turkey, so be it, as long as we save American lives." "Sometimes the toughest decisions are the ones with one option." "Excuse me, sir, but you have created a mistake here." "You've created a monster." "But that does not mean that we can't deal with this thing methodically." "We take out their chemical warheads using conventionals." "Upon returning to the white house, we deal with Hussein..." "Calm, cool and collected." "Lancaster back, sir." "I'm here." "It's bad." "Let me give you the layout." "Okay, hold on a second." "Howard, you got a pencil?" "I have a red felt pen, sir, but no pencil." "Please, give it to him." "Didn't ask for a red felt p... felt pen is fine." "Agent Williams, general Lancaster is going to give us some locations." "Mark them on that map over there with that red pen." "Yes, sir." "Thank you." "Ready when you are, general." "We have uncontroverted information..." "That nuclear weapons are now uncovered." "On the tip of tripoli, we see two missiles." "Tripoli." "Ladies and gentlemen, ibs has latched onto..." "The latitudes and longitudes of all the locations..." "Provided by the Iraqi government." "Our satellite cameras can now confirm..." "The following launching pads, which seem to come from land bases all over the world, and, remarkably, submarines." "The first appears to be in tripoli." "We have uncontroverted information..." "The missiles in tripoli are aimed at Rome." "Cruise missiles are directed at New Delhi." "Tomahawk missiles are poised to strike against Addis Ababa." "Missiles based on inland China..." "Are aimed at Tokyo and Hiroshima." "We now confirm the following American targets." "There's also an indication that New York, Washington, D.C., and pensacola, Florida, are targeted." "Iraq's Lancelot missile is programmed to hit NORAD in Colorado Springs." "Sir, Mr. Omari is back on the line." "So much for not negotiating with a Jew." "Yeah." "Considering this situation, I'm surprised he wants to negotiate with this Jew." "Okay, I'm ready for you, sir." "Back up, Dex." "Go ahead." "And... you're good." "I assume you have confirmed out positions." "We have." "I assure you, the moment your air force passes into our airspace, we will consider that a first strike before the fact." "I understand." "We will fire..." "All our weapons simultaneously." "We have never bluffed a military action, and we will not now." " I assume not." " We are, however, willing to reach an accommodation which should..." "May result in a peaceful resolution." "I'm listening." "Turn your plane around, and we will stop loading missiles in rabat." "In addition, we will lower our nuclear readiness..." "And, disable our nuclear missiles." "What about the incursion into Kuwait?" "That remains." "The United States has neither the right nor the privilege..." "To interfere in the internal affairs of the Gulf states." "But, since you..." "Attach your economic future to the Saudi oil fields, we'll be willing to sign a treaty..." "Freezing oil prices at..." "Current opec levels for the world." "We will also begin peace negotiations with," "Mr. Ben-razzi." "Carter and Clinton..." "Had their moments as middle east peace brokers." "Now... now you can as well." "Not acceptable." "You must withdraw from Kuwait immediately." "This is not a negotiation, Mr. Emerson." "All right." "Well, then the b-2, of course, will be over your airspace in about five minutes." "He wants to speak directly to you, sir." "Here goes." "Put him on speaker." "He's up." "This is the president." "Mr. president, understand this." "We have the power." "We have the oil." "I have the match." ""I have the match"?" "Is that your response, sir?" ""I have the match"?" "That's my response." "Omari is right, sir." "If there's one thing these guys don't do, they don't bluff." "No, he's not bluffing, but nothing's changed." "Sir, 23 nuclear missiles aimed at us and our allies..." "Is a definite definition of something having changed." "General Lancaster, you still with us?" "Right here, sir." "There must be someway to confirm where the Iraqi nuclear arsenal came from." "We have Paul rubenstein on it." "He's our foreign munitions expert." "He's looking at our satellite images now." "Okay, let's not let the b-2 enter Iraqi airspace." " I want to hear this first." " Good move, sir." "I don't see what difference it makes where they came from." "They have them." "They're ready to use them." "We either call their bluff, or we abort the nuclear mission." "Mr. president, I'd be happy to give the order to abort mission." "I didn't say anything about abort mission." "I said hold position." "Don't play a fucking game with me, admiral." "This is the bomber that our sources in the Pentagon are telling us..." "Will be used to carry and drop a nuclear weapon onto the Iraqi capital." "This multibillion-dollar stealth bomber has been revamped..." "So we can assume that their ballistic missiles..." "Came from an exchange of technology from China and/or north Korea." "Pakistan." "Pakist..." "China and north Korea, sir." "I wouldn't jump to that conclusion just yet, Gayle." "Let's hear what this rubenstein fellow has to say." "Madam secretary?" "I'm on with Blair in a minute." "The rest of the department is already in communication with the other heads of state." "What about president gestaing?" "He's being transported to a secure phone." "It has been 60 years since any nation..." "Has dropped an atomic bomb on another." "Sixty years in which the deadliness of the weapon..." "Has risen in direct proportion to the advances in science and technology." "Our two pair cannot beat his boat." "What?" "Major coddington, would you excuse us, please?" "No, he's fine." "Hear me out." "Take away udei's offer for price stabilization." "Assume he's gonna bump the shit out of oil prices, okay?" "That's gonna send us into an economic tailspin." "He still has the weaponry to launch on us and a dozen other countries." "Now, once we hit Iraq..." "If." "Ifwe hit Iraq, there's no reason for any country to attack Baghdad." "Damage is already done." "They're just gonna sit back and take a licking." "So once we are in Baghdad airspace, there's nothing that can deter him from hitting us or our allies." "Now you understand?" "This is what's happening?" "What are you telling me?" "To cave in?" "Absolutely not, sir." "You present it as his capitulation." "He has come to you with the idea of price stabilization." " Hey, when has that ever happened?" " Never." "Walt, this is the thing." "Never." "Not in any administration." "This will be a first." "On top of that, you've saved..." "Three countries from chemical attack." "Sir, the level of heroism here is at least as high as that of Kennedy in '62." "Powell in Venezuela." "Stop it right there, sir." "I appreciate you got a job to do, but I'd like to have a word with the man." "I just wanna talk to him." "Not now, okay?" "I don't understand why you're giving me this static." "You need to calm down." "The man has a weapon." "I pay my taxes." "I can speak my mind." "You know how much I paid in taxes last year?" "I can understand." "Three large." "You know what that's like for a guy like me?" "You know what that is?" "All right!" " Let's hear what he has to say." " Yes, sir." "Keep it under control." "I got it." "Thank you." "Thank you." "I pay my taxes, you know?" "Yes, I heard that." "Okay, I just wanted to say that, speaking for the common man, we're with you." "Thank you." "Yeah." "Let's crispy-critter them motherfuckers, you know what I mean?" "Teach that little prick a lesson he and his daddy never learned." "Keep your hands at your sides." "You drop that bomb, you got my vote and the vote of every real American." "My buddy Ace and I were having this conversation the other day, and accidentally I let slip the word "fag."" "My buddy gets bent out of shape, saying, "ralphie, be careful." "You don't know who's around."" "Then he teaches me this little trick." "Every time we see one of them homosexuals, we use the word "watermelon."" "You see a fag, you say, "wouldn't some watermelon be nice now?"" "I said, "geez, Ace, that's ingenious!" "What do you call blacks?"" "He says, "texans."" "I say, "what do you call spics?" He says..." "He says, "truckers."" "Finally, I say, "what do you call them arabs?"" "He looks at me and says, "hell, Ralph, we just call them sand niggers."" "See what I'm sayin'?" "Nobody gives a shit about no dirty-ass sand nigger." "And as far as their nukes go, they're so stone age backwards, they probably never seen a button, let alone know how to push one." "Ralph, is it?" "Yeah." "Ralphie." "Ralph..." "Is there anything else?" "No, that about covers it." "Okay." "How 'bout, if I promise when all this is over..." "To pass a presidential decree..." "Forever relinquishing you from paying taxes?" "Would you promise to never speak to me again?" "Gentlemen." "Okay." "Step out, sir." "Thank you." "It's fine." "Sir, general Lancaster has Mr. rubenstein available." "Finally." "Mr. president, we have Mr. Rubenstein." "This should be interesting." "Mr. Rubenstein, this is Walt Emerson." "It's an honor, sir." "All mine." "What do you got for us?" "Sir, we have authenticated the nuclear weapons the Iraqis laid out for us." "Yes, we know that." "Yeah, but what you don't know is..." "I mean, the thing of it is, these are American-made weapons." "American-made?" "Yes, sir." "Arms dealers?" "No, not arms dealers." "The markings are clear." "These weapons were French property." "The French government?" "That is exactly what I mean, Mr. Thompson." "It's France for sure." "Our analysts at defense are swearing by it." "Something doesn't jive here." "You've been invaluable, Mr. rubenstein." "Good luck, sir." "I'm here if you need me." " Thank you." " Excuse me, sir, but monsieur le president gestaing is available now." " I got him on two." " Fucking, cocksucking, motherfucking French..." " Marsh." " Piece of frog shit." "We call them milkmen." ""Milkmen"?" "Shut the fuck up, Ralph." "Okay." "It's one thing for them to have sympathy for Iraq." "In fact, I always admired them for their... their..." "Humanitarianism?" "Yeah, but this is different." "I mean, this is outright treason." "How the fuck do they think they can get away with this?" "Sir, gestaing is now available." "That's not a conclusion you want to jump to, marsh." "Henri." "Monsieur president." "Comment allez-vous?" "Ca va bien." "So the mosquito is back." "I'll say." "Inevitable." "Yes." "Henri, I must ask you about these weapons Iraq has." "Yes." "It seems they're all French." "Oui." "That they're yours." " They come from France." " Of course." "Of cour... how can he say that..." "It's quite a situation." "Oui." "I understand." "Your administration... no, it was not me." "It was bouvier." "Personally, I find it to have been his most heroic act." "Well, now that everyone knows where they're from," "I have to figure out a way to explain it to the American people." "Tell them the truth." "The world should understand why France has taken this position all these years." "And you've also sold them some submarines?" "The submarines were improvisational..." "Bouvier looking for an extra dollar." "Could have told us." "It was discussed with president Buckingham." "He was angry, but it was done, and what was done was done." "Well, we'll discuss it at gatt next month." "For now I need to do what I need to do, and so do you." "So, can you send over a portfolio with all the weapons you sold Iraq?" "I've just sent the list to general Lancaster's office." "It should be there momentarily." "It is the most updated list." "Just to acknowledge, what is the exact vintage of these weapons?" "Exactly as we used the pakistanis." "They're all post-1996, every one of them." "Okay, Henri." "I'm also being told that a missile is headed your way." "We see that." "You know, the bastard promised that they wouldn't do that." "We predict it will land in orly." "Right." "Well, just don't launch anything offensive." "No, no." "Under any circumstances." "We'll save our bombs for qaddafi." "Talk to you later." "Au revoir." "Did you hear how cavalier he was?" " I don't get it." "I don't understand." " Am I missing something?" "Okay, okay." "Here's what we have to do." " We have to get gestaing back on the phone." " Absolutely." "The French supplied them." "They have the means to disarm them." "We have to get gestaing's commitment on this." "Also, call a meeting of the general assembly." "This is unacceptable behavior from a member of NATO." "They can't just supply the world..." "Marsh." "You're missing something." "What?" "I'm all ears." "General Lancaster?" "Yes, sir." "Does gestaing's laundry list correspond with our surveillance?" "Perfectly." "Iraq can hit, by our estimations, over a dozen nations at once." "All right, then." "Send the b-2 into Iraq." "We're gonna let her fly." " Gonna let 'em fly?" " That's illegal." "It's absolutely illegal." "They will impeach you before you're elected." "Okay." "You know what?" "We need to have a chat." " Where's my coat?" "Ms. redford, would you join us outside?" " Certainly." " My coat." " I have it, sir." "Agent Dexter, I want you two to stay inside." "If there's a sharpshooter in that shit storm out there, he deserves a target." "Major?" "I'll be ready, sir." "Your coat, Mr. Thompson." "No." "Hey, look at this!" "Okay, sir, you can't sit here." "Come away from the window." "Poor bastard's goin' to hell." "He's gonna take us with him." "What the hell are you talkin' about, Mr. Crispy critter their asses?" "Ralph, you just told the president he should drop the bomb on Iraq." "That was before Katie told me that our fearless hebe leader didn't believe in God." "They're going to be nukes flying around like tennis balls at wimbledon." "Why are you people discussing this?" " You think Emerson's gonna come back in and put it to a vote?" " When he comes back in here, we'll sit him down and we'll all talk some sense into him." "What do you think this is, a.A." "Okay, folks, I need you to clear this window area, please." "Thank you." "I got Emerson's ear." "We had a good dialogue going." " He'll listen to me." " Give me a break!" "Thank God kissinger's on the case." "Shit!" "Son of a bitch!" "What the fuck are you doing?" "Drop the weapon, pal." "Drop the weapon!" " Put it down, buddy." " Shit!" "Drop the weapon, mister." " Put it down." " Why don't you just shoot?" "Put it down, now!" "Put it down!" "Harvey!" "Don't gonna be no apocalypse here." "Not on my watch!" "Harvey!" "Don't you do it to yourself!" " Don't you do it!" " Harvey!" "Jesus!" "Jesus, where'd the fucking shotgun come from?" "Williams, secure the weapon." "Nest is secure." "Jesus, mother Mary." "Sir, we're under control." "Under control." "Yeah." "That's that." "He's the only person with the combination to the briefcase." "All right, let's call stratcom." " Howard!" " Yes, sir." "Call stratcom, chairman, joint chiefs, Miller." "Right, sir." "Get 'em on the phone." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "Okay, gentleman, we've, had a rather serious incident here." "As a result, our man with the football has been shot." "Shot?" "What happened?" "The cook here, he lost it." "He took our..." "He killed coddington." "He was a fine young man and a good guy." "I don't want to diminish what's happened here, but we must keep focus." "Inside the briefcase are the codes necessary to launch our weapons, of course." "I'm assuming one of you has the combination." "Not here, sir." "Can we just shoot it open?" "No." "No, no, sir." "You can't do that." "Any kind of forced entry and the components self-destruct." "Right, but there's got to be a backup, right?" "I have it, sir." "Thank goodness." "Every joint chief receives the combination code..." "At the weekly briefing if our arm is carrying the football." "All right." "Let's get this going, then." "Admiral Miller?" "Mr. president, I respectfully decline." " "Respectfully decline"?" " Bring me the briefcase." " Right away, sir." " I have four minutes to acquire those codes." "What I need is for you to set aside your personal feelings and do your fucking job!" "May I remind you, admiral, that this is an act of treason?" "Sir, the combination..." "Is 0-8-0-6-1- niner-4-5." "And, sir, along with that, I must submit my resignation." "Sir, let me repeat that back." "0-8-0-6-1- niner-4-5." "Okay, general, I got binoculars and a keyboard." "I have no idea what to do." "Okay." "Put your eyes to the lens, and your retinal code..." "Will enable you to see a ten-point alphanumeric code." " Can't anyone look through these?" " They could try, but their retinas would be burned." "Just an n.S.C precaution, sir." "I'm almost certain that we've reactivated the system..." "Using your specific retinal information." " "Almost certain"?" " Yes, sir," "I'm pretty certain." "Okay." "I see..." "Latitude, longitude..." "And the code atop." "Okay, sir, look back into the briefcase, type in the latitude and longitude that you need..." "Hold on." "We have it right here." "Okay." "It is 33.14 north," "And 44.22 east." "All right." "You see the code, sir?" "Yes, I see the code." "All right, relay it to us in the phonetic alphabet." "That'll constitute your authorization." "7-5-Juliet-kilo-Romeo- Lima-8-golf-5-niner." "Let me say that again." "7-5-Juliet-kilo-Romeo-Lima- 8-golf-5-niner." "7-5-Juliet-kilo-Romeo-Lima-8-golf-5-niner." "Sir, you are authorizing the release of free-falling, strategic nuclear weapons on Baghdad, Iraq." "That's right." "Mr. president, your codes are now being electronically delivered to the b-2." "We have finally been able to make satellite audio contact with Eric Vince, our correspondent in Baghdad." "Eric?" "Eric, can you hear me?" " Eric Vince, are you there?" " Yeah, I can hear you just fine now, Gerry." " Are you okay?" "" " I'm here to tell you that here in Baghdad..." "Pandemonium that I have never seen in my entire professional career." "I can tell you... honey, I'm getting through." "Really?" "Yeah, maybe the storm..." "Hello?" "Yeah, h-hello?" "Yeah." "Hello." "Mrs. Fisher." "Yes, Mr. woods." "Yes, I know it's late." "I'm sorry to wake you, but Lizzie and I want to talk to Dylan." "Is he..." "No, no, I'm sure he's asleep." "Of course he's asleep." "We just wanted to get one... hi, this is Lizzie." "We just want to talk to Dylan, okay?" "Eric, I should tell you, if you do not already know this, that it is more than understandable..." "For you to put down the phone and head out of the city now..." "For your own protection." "Well, Gerry, I see 12 million people on the street, all trying to get out of the city." "They're either on foot or they're in cars." "I'm told more people have died by being trampled to death than died the entire Gulf war." "How many reporters get to say morituri..." "As I do to you and to my family, my friends at lbs." "Not many, Eric." "When daddy gets home, he's gonna give you..." "A million, zillion..." "A million, zillion..." "Good night dream drops." "What the fuck are you doing?" "Mr. woods, we were very clear about this." "We asked you repeatedly to stay off the phone." "We've been very clear about the phone." "I'm... give me the fuckin' phone back." "Hello." "No." "No, your daddy will call you back, okay, buddy?" "That's my..." "I'm just speaking to my kid." "They're dropping a bomb on my kid!" "That's my son on the phone." "Give me the fuckin'..." "Let me talk to him!" "You motherfucker!" "Please try to lose your threatening tone." "Please, sir." "Are you gonna shoot me now?" "Are you gonna shoot me now?" "Mr. woods, you're gonna have to calm down right now." "Ten minutes before we all die, are you gonna kill me?" "You have to calm down." "That makes a lot of fucking sense." "We'll all be fine." "I'm fine." "Give me the f..." "Come on." "You can understand stress at a time like this." "Please, Taylor, please." "Sit down, Mr. woods." "Let the man stand, please." "I appreciate what we all have to do here." "If you have something you need to say, please, let's hear it." "Let's hear it now." "What is it?" "You..." "You have no right." "Regretfully, I am the only one that does have this right." "No, you have no moral right." "You were never elected." "You can't even make the shallow argument you have a mandate of the people." "You made a choice that your ego will not allow you to back off from." "Taylor... if you bomb..." "Baghdad, we're all next." "I understand you're afraid." "Everyone's afraid." "The whole world is afraid." "I'm asking you to believe me that it's gonna be okay, not because I am telling you to but because..." "It's the truth." "Sir, the b-2 spirit has acknowledged receipt of the presidential order." "You're asking too much." "I have a son in New York." "It's heading due east..." "I have a daughter." "Tracey, right?" "Dylan!" "I love my child no less than you love yours." "He's gonna be five!" " Please trust me." " We have an Iraqi launch..." "In tripoli." "We now have two more launches, sir." "What's the e.T.A. Of the detonation in Baghdad?" "Six minutes and twenty seconds." "And the e.T.A. Of the tripoli?" "We now have eight more Iraqi launches, sir." "E.T.A. Of the tripoli launch." "17 minutes in Rome, sir." "Okay, so that's 12 Iraqi launches thus far?" "Yes." "No..." "No, we now have..." "Sir, we have confirmed the launching of a Lancelot missile, target position..." "Sir, it's coming in on NORAD." "That's not far from where we are." "Sir, a.P.C.S have arrived at your position to get you to safety and handle casualties." " What about the other American cities?" " Washington, D.C.," "Miami and New York." "I would not be overly concerned about those cities, sir." "Our spacecom at Peterson should be able to deal with them." " And what about our position?" " Sir, we don't have the air defense capacity..." "To actively engage the Lancelot." "We don't have the capacity?" "Sir, no one anticipated..." "That we'd have to defend ourselves against our own technology." "Isn't that terrific foresight." "Once the missile enters space, we lose our lock on it, and we can't regain lock until..." "The a.P.C. Outside your position is far safer than where you are, sir." "I'll be staying inside, general." "No, you won't." "Mr. president, allow us to escort you outside." "I'm staying inside with these brave people." "You're the president." "You have to go into the a.P.C. If I asked you to wait..." "In the a.P.C., what would you do?" " I wouldn't go." "I'm not the president." " Excuse us a second." "You have to trust what I told you outside, what Paul told me on his deathbed, as fantastic as it sounded." "It was insane." "He was a great president until the end." "In the end, he was a hallucinating fool hooked on painkillers." "Sir, Israeli db-12s destroyed one of the icbms." "Yeah!" "Yeah." "All right." "Sir, stratcom is reporting less than five minutes from Baghdad." "Stay here." "Be a fuckin' hero." "General, who's in the b-2?" "Their names, you mean?" "Yes, their names." "What are their names?" "Jeter and meyers, commanders both." "Can you patch me through to them?" "It won't be secure, sir." "I understand." "Patch me through." "Yes, sir." "Sir, stratcom is now latched onto the b-2." "It is approximately two minutes from position." "One of us will have one hell of an "I told you so" when this is over," "Gentlemen, please give your attention to the president." "Sir, these are commanders jeter and meyers." "Commanders." "Mr. president." "It's a privilege." "You fellas hanging in there?" "Yes, sir, we are." "Hell of a job you got picked for." "A hell of a job." "More people have walked the moon than have done what we must." "So, I guess that's why we get the big money." "Yeah, well, you've..." "You've got to know..." "You're serving a greater cause for mankind." " Right, sir." " Eleven minutes and thirty seconds, sir." "All of the missiles appear one minute to thirty seconds behind your e.T.A." "Sir, less than one minute from target." " Where you men from?" " Kennebunk." "Meyers is from Hawaii." "We were classmates at the university of Maine." " We played football together." " Yeah." "Year of the national championship?" "A little late for that, actually." "Sir?" "Yes." "Sir, meyers and I have thought, and, we don't know how we're feeling about this." "You're going to be okay, son." "Eleven minutes to detonation on your position, sir." "You just have to remember one thing." "You're not doing this, I am." "Yes, sir." "It's an argument I've heard before." "Eight seconds to Baghdad, sir." "Men don't go on this kind of mission, and, well, meyers and I have talked, and we figure we're just horses with broken legs." "You're good men." "Good luck to you both." "Three, two..." " We've reached target, sir." " Sir, the b-2 has arrived." "Sir, stratcom now confirms the detonation..." "Of a 100-megaton nuclear weapon..." "Ten minutes e.T.A..." "On your position, sir." "Ladies and gentlemen, ibs satellites now confirm..." "A gigantic explosion over Baghdad." "We cannot clarify the nature of this explosion." "However, our earliest indications seem to establish..." "That, in fact, a nuclear weapon has been dropped..." "On that Iraqi capital." "This was just a few minutes ago." "Sir, it's incredible what's going on here." "Okay." "Ladies and gentlemen, ibs satellites are monitoring the activity..." "Over the Iraqi capital." "We do have a partial image from Baghdad that was cut off in mid-explosion." "Here it is." "Eagle leader, Secure." "Okay." "Okay." "Ladies and gentlemen, ibs satellites have now latched on." "Can we get the satellite images on the air?" "Okay, as you can see, ladies and gentlemen, these are, indeed, hostile warheads..." "Iraqi warheads that are in flight at this time." "These are warheads confirmed to have originated from the locations..." "Provided by the Iraqi spokesman, that is, the Iraqi ambassador, Mr. Omari." "This fool is gonna create a panic the world has never seen." "There's a lot to sort out, and we're doing so in real time." "Our nuclear expert, Daniel golan, is on the line..." "Calling from our satellite surveillance center." " Daniel." " Gerry, from our vantage point, it's clear that at least 22 missiles are in flight." "Our trajectories indicate bombs targeting New York City, pensacola, Washington, D.C., and NORAD in Colorado." "There are several European cities targeted as well." "Australia is also projected." "Do you have any estimate on the arrival of any of these weapons, Daniel?" "Well, they've all been in flight for a while." "Many of the weapons are tomahawks." "The one headed to NORAD appears to be a Lancelot." "We should, of course, point out that NORAD..." "Is within 40 Miles of the president's current position." "Okay, Gerry, we've just gotten word." "A warhead has landed in Athens." "It's landed on a small building, and there are not yet any casualty reports, but Gerry, we can report no detonation." "Of course, there will be casualties associated with the impact." "Gerry, we now see there is no detonation of the bombs landing in Djibouti." "Well, this is remarkable." "Daniel, give me a second while we go to Sylvia Charles in Tokyo." "Sylvia." "Gerald, the bombs presumably headed for Tokyo have landed in the sea of Japan." "More importantly, another bomb has landed in the park in Hiroshima." "There's no detonation." "It's absolutely incredible, Gerry." " We'll get back to you soon with more..." " Thank you, Sylvia." "Information on this situation." "Folks, you've just heard what I heard, which appears to be an odd pattern..." "In that many of these bombs..." "Did not detonate after having hit their target." "We are now getting word that the Lancelot missile fired from..." "Noah, how we doin'?" "On in just a few, sir." "NORAD in Colorado Springs, has landed in the rockies, how are ya?" "And like many of the other bombs, without detonating." "What are you gonna say?" "I'm gonna give it to them straight, I guess." "What do you think?" "I like your tie..." "Is less than 50 Miles from the president's position." "Final look." "President Emerson and his entourage are apparently safe." "Standing by." "Right here." "The president will now address the nation..." "Exclusively here on ibs." "Do we have that picture now?" "Okay." "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States." "My fellow Americans." "President Roosevelt once said, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself."" "By God, that is true." "Fear is our nation's cancer." "It sucks the marrow out of our economy and our national psyche, and fear is the dragon that every president must slay." "At 1:47 A.M., eastern seaboard time, a b-2 spirit bomber, on my launch code orders, dropped a 100-megaton nuclear device..." "On the Iraqi capital of Baghdad." "Our aerial reports have confirmed..." "A successful detonation and the destruction of that city." "Nuclear weapons, 23 in total, were launched by Iraq..." "Simultaneous to our b-2 crossing their border." "Our antiballistic missiles successfully destroyed 18 of those bombs." "Five, however, landed on their targeted cities, one of which, a Lancelot missile, landed not too far from where I'm standing now." "Not one of those five bombs detonated." "I would like to now tell you why." "Several decades ago, we began a ban on nuclear testing." "In the early '90s, the United States..." "Created the teraflop computer, the most sophisticated simulator..." "Of nuclear detonation known to man." "The efficiency of the teraflop, which can literally perform one trillion calculations per second, became the envy of the world." "A few years ago, we began to sell nuclear weapons to Iraq." "Our motivation was simple." "The only way to stop Hussein from building a nuclear arsenal..." "Was to supply him with one, and we did through an emissary." "The French government supplied Iraq with as many nuclear weapons..." "As they would ever need and a teraflop computer to verify their efficiency." "As some of you may have guessed, we sold them a bill of goods." "Not one of the nuclear weapons we sold Iraq through the French government..." "Ever had the capacity to detonate, though the teraflop computer they received..." "Assured them that they would." "Throughout modern history, it was believed that the nuclear era de facto..." "Would last two days, from Hiroshima to Nagasaki." "When the five member nations of the security council..." "Were confirmed to have nuclear arsenals, it was assumed they would never be used." "The domino effect was simply too overwhelming." "Deterrence was our global shield." "Today, the United States sent a message to the world." "If our national security is threatened, we have nuclear weapons, and we will use them." "Tomorrow night at 9:00 P.M. eastern time," "I will make a significant announcement from the white house." "Until then, I wish to express my eternal sorrow..." "For all the lives lost today." "God bless you, one and all, and God bless the United States of America." "We know the news of this evening..." "And we're out, sir." "Is coming in at a frustratingly rapid rate." "We'll sort everything out as soon as the dust settles." "Significant announcement?" "What's this?" "That's it." "It's over." "What's over?" "I'm withdrawing from the race." "What?" "What..." "What did jeter say?" ""I'm a horse with a broken leg."" "So, a-all this... every... nothing." "For nothing?" "Come on." "There's a big difference between strategy and tactics." "When China backs down, was it all for nothing?" "Marsh..." "I guess I'll leave the future in your hands, Gayle." "Well, sir, the future isn't what it used to be, is it?" "No, I guess not." "Sir, here's your jacket." "Katie, can I help you up?" "Noah?" "Yes, sir." "Come up with it, please." "All right." "Gotcha." "This will probably be the last time." "I'm on top of it, Marshall." "Agent Williams?" "Yes, sir." "Take that down, please." "You bet, sir." "Mr. president?" "We have a deal." "Well, why don't we..." "Mr. woods." "You know what, give me a second." "Ma'am." "Thank you." "Mr. president, football is secure." "We're ready when you are, sir." "Thanks." "Taylor." "I'd lay down the king." "You're right, sir." "Let's go." "Eagle two to air force one at Peterson." "Reporting all systems..." "I have seen war." "I have seen war on land and sea." "I have seen blood running from the wounded." "I have seen children starving." "I have seen the agony of mothers and wives." "I hate war!"