Season 5 – Episode 13 – “The Warfare of Genghis Khan”

Episode Summary:

When the flash of a secret nuclear detonation is detected over the Indian Ocean, Bartlet calls upon his people to investigate which nation now has the atomic bomb–and since conventional thinking favors Iran, Bartlet orders bombers into the air to destroy that nation’s most likely uranium-enriched targets. Meanwhile, Josh chides NASA personnel on the future of space exploration–until he is introduced to an attractive female administrator. C.J. fumes when a combative television talk-show host, Taylor Reid (Jay Mohr), denigrates her on the air, and Will discloses to Vice President Russell (Gary Cole) that Russell is considered a buffoon by the White House staff.

Script:

THE WEST WING
5x13 - "THE WARFARE OF GENGHIS KHAN"
WRITTEN BY PETER NOAH
DIRECTED BY BILL D'ELIA

TRANSCRIBED BY SOUNDMAN FOR TWIZ TV.COM.
 SEND FEEDBACK TO [email protected].

TEASER

FADE IN: INT. - RESIDENCE - BEDROOM - NIGHT
      THURSDAY 3:16 AM

We hear the phone on the bedside table ringing. We see a light flashing on
it. After it rings several times, Bartlet answers it groggily.

BARTLET
[into phone] Yes? ... Please. ... Yeah, Leo.

He sits up in bed as he listens.

CUT TO: INT. - SITUATION ROOM - NIGHT

We see someone righting on the map at the far end of the table. We hear
everyone called to attention as the President walks in wearing his Air Force
One windbreaker. He is obviously still waking up. Leo, McNally, Slattery,
Hutchinson, and Alexander are seated around the table.

BARTLET
Good morning.

ALL
Good morning, sir.

BARTLET
Or whatever 3:00 am is. Please.

They all sit down.

BARTLET
Let's have a look.

We see a zoomed in region shown on one of the maps.

BARTLET
Where?

HUTCHINSON
Over the north central Indian Ocean, sir. Not near anything.

BARTLET
Are you sure?

McNALLY
It's the telltale double flash.

ALEXANDER
All atmospheric detonations produce that unique signature, sir; an initial
one-millisecond flash, the fireball, which is then overtaken and obscured
by the expanding shock front.

BARTLET
So, it couldn't be anything else?

HUTCHINSON
No.

ALEXANDER
And no false alarms have ever been ascribed to the NDS.

LEO
Other sensors?

HUTCHINSON
Still being analyzed. But both the X-ray and EMP detectors show readings
consistent with atmospheric detonation.

BARTLET
Who else knows?

HUTCHINSON
Sir?

LEO
Who else in the world?

ALEXANDER
The Russians and the Chinese have satellite detection capability for an
atmospheric NUDET.

HUTCHINSON
Nuclear detonation, sir.

Bartlet stands as his concern and understanding of the situation seem to grow.

McNALLY
Sir, no test was scheduled or has been reported by any of the other six
declared nuclear powers.

BARTLET
Yeah.

We see on the map an image of the detonation.

LEO
There's a new member of the club.

Bartlet looks concerned about this new revelation.

SMASH CUT TO: MAIN TITLES.
END TEASER.
* * *

ACT ONE

FADE IN: INT. - OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT
      4:06 AM

We see Charlie handing coffee cups to several members of the National
Security Team.

CHARLIE
The mess isn't open yet, sir. This is from the Secret Service command post.

BARTLET
If it's too hot, they wrestle it to the ground.

CHARLIE
The CIA director called. He's been held...

CIA DIRECTOR SLIGER
I'm here! Sorry. Construction on Lee. They do it at night.

LEO
To avoid snarling traffic.

SLIGER
That's the theory.

BARTLET
We just started. Thanks, Charlie.

Charlie leaves and shuts the door.

BARTLET
We've talked to the Russians and the Chinese?

SLATTERY
They agree about keeping this quiet.

BARTLET
Whoever this was, they knew we'd pick it up.

LEO
Likely suspects?

HUTCHINSON
North Korea or Iran.

BARTLET
Yeah.

SLIGER
They've both been heading down this road. We just didn't know they'd gotten
this far.

McNALLY
We were pretty sure about North Korea.

SLIGER
Well, "sure" is a word we don't throw around at Langley.

LEO
There've been strong indications the North has nuclear weapons.

BARTLET
What about Iran?

SLIGER
Well, the intel is sketchy.

McNALLY
We know they've been working on it.

SLIGER
There's that other word: "know".

BARTLET
What we know and are sure of is this happened. We're going to need to focus
less on semantic distinctions and more on how this caught us so completely
by surprise. We need to make contact. The Chinese for North Korea?

Slattery slightly nods his head in the affirmative.

LEO
Iran?

SLATTERY
Usually the Italians or the Swiss.

LEO
No good. We don't want them in the loop.

BARTLET
The Russians, then. We can assume Moscow's not crazy about the idea of
another nuclear state in their neighborhood.

McNALLY
Sir, what if this wasn't a state?

LEO
A terror group?

HUTCHINSON
No terrorists have the capability for a test on this scale. Their nuclear
event will be a suitcase bomb detonated in Manhattan.

BARTLET
Or Pennsylvania Avenue. Thank you, everyone.

ALL
Thank you, sir.

They all leave except for Leo.

LEO
Little rough with the Director?

BARTLET
I'll send him a lollipop.

LEO
You want your Intelligence head focused and at his best.

BARTLET
Guy couldn't find a clear route in at 4:00 in the morning. I'm not
over-brimming with confidence. This is the nightmare. [pause] I thought when
the Soviet Union fell, we could actually have disarmament. You go from trying
to get rid of these weapons altogether to holding your breath one doesn't
go off on your watch. Strike another goal off the list.

LEO
We find out who this was, then what?

BARTLET
We'll have to do something. I want a Defense briefing on contingency plans.

LEO
We act, we'll need a statement.

BARTLET
Toby?

LEO
Sooner is better.

They both begin to turn to leave.

BARTLET
Oh, God.

LEO
What?

BARTLET
The Vice President.

LEO
Yeah. I'll brief him.

BARTLET
Apologize. Tell him... I don't know what the hell to tell him.

Bartlet walks out onto the portico and heads back toward the Residence.

CUT TO: INT. - WHITE HOUSE LOBBY - DAY
      7:58 AM

We see Donna walk through the doors from Josh's Bullpen area and then we
see Josh walking into the building. Donna joins him as they begin walking
toward the Mural Room.

JOSH
Hey.

DONNA
Morning. So this meeting's a breakfast.

JOSH
Okay.

DONNA
So you have to eat something.

JOSH
I already ate.

DONNA
Or else it's rude.

JOSH
I'm not hungry.

DONNA
Or else it's rude.

JOSH
[sighing] This order, as soon as I get back. Why am I even meeting with some
geeks from NASA?

He takes off his coat and hands it to her.

DONNA
I'm sure they're not geeks. I'm sure they're not all geeks, and it's to
discuss administration space priorities. Do we even have space priorities?

JOSH
Exactly.

Josh walks into the MURAL ROOM. Several people from NASA are there. They
are all wearing nametags. A man named KARL seems to be the spokesperson for
the group.

JOSH
Morning.

KARL
Good morning.

JOSH
You have nametags?

KARL
Haven't been to the White House much these five years. Thought it'd help.

JOSH
Right, "Karl".

KARL
I recommend the scones. They're...

JOSH
Out of this world?

RUSSELL [prelap]
Leo?

CUT TO: INT. - VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE - DAY

Leo comes into the Vice President's office. They walk over to his desk and
sit down.

LEO
Mr. Vice President.

RUSSELL
Please.

LEO
Thank you.

RUSSELL
What's up?

LEO
Sir, this is to be kept in the strictest of confidence. At approximately
2:17 am eastern time, an atmospheric nuclear detonation was detected by a
DSP satellite over the Indian Ocean.

RUSSELL
Pakistan's attacked  India.

LEO
No, sir. This was a test.

RUSSELL
Pakistan being provocative. Shot-across-the-bow sort of thing.

LEO
It wasn't Pakistan. If you'll just let me finish. No nation has claimed
credit. We're trying to ascertain who was responsible, but it appears there's
a new player on the nuclear stage.

RUSSELL
Is India mobilizing?

LEO
It was 1,200 miles from India. India has no idea that it happened.

RUSSELL
But, I don't...

LEO
Let me start again.

CUT TO: INT. - CJ'S OFFICE - DAY

Carol is on the phone.

CAROL
[into phone] Hang on.

She presses a button and then replaces the receiver. She walks into C.J.'s
office.

CAROL
It's him again.

C.J.
Him, who? Ben. Take a message.

CAROL
He gets any more persistent, they're going to open a case file. Can I just
tell him you're not worth it?

C.J.
We used to date; he knows better.

C.J. walks out of her office and into the hallway. Toby walks up and joins
her, walking and talking as they head toward the briefing room.

TOBY
Feeling frisky?

C.J.
Remembrance of things past.

TOBY
The briefing, two things to deflect. New Israeli settlement activity in the
West Bank. You can do it.

C.J.
'We discourage new settlements; deplore Palestinian terror.' Balance but
not too much balance. No moral equivalence...

TOBY
The greatest hits.

C.J.
The golden oldies. Second thing?

TOBY
RINOs.

C.J.
Endangered species, powdered horn considered an aphrodisiac. That were the
word "horny" come from?

TOBY
Not precisely, it's... These aren't the animals. It's "Republicans In
Name Only".

C.J.
"RINOs". Adorable.

TOBY
Right-wings new name for GOP members who voted with us. They're being targeted
in the primaries, uh...

C.J.
'We're happy to stay out of that particular slap-fight in the schoolyard.'

TOBY
Make it 'sandbox'.

C.J. writes something on her notepad as Toby walks away and she walks into
the briefing room.

CUT TO: INT. - VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE - DAY

Leo and Russell come out of the office.

RUSSELL
Thanks, Leo. Don't hesitate to call on me if I can be useful in any way.

LEO
Be sure to let you know, sir.

Russell returns to his office as Leo walks away. We see Will walk up to Leo
as he is leaving.

WILL
Leo, anything I need to be aware of?

LEO
Uh-uh.

WILL
I've been thinking. To build the VP's issue profile, I'm wondering if there's
some policy area the administration could give him.

LEO
Such as?

WILL
Well, I have some notions, certainly.

LEO
Take it up with Toby.

WILL
Yeah, thing is, he and I, ever since...

LEO
Take it up with him. That's what he does. If you two have problems, work
them out. I'm not a couple's therapist.

WILL
Yeah.

KARL [prelap]
A probe must launch by then...

CUT TO: INT. - MURAL ROOM - DAY

Josh and the men from NASA are still talking.

KARL [cont.]
... to use Jupiter's gravitational field as a slingshot. The data gathered
about Kuiper Belt objects would be invaluable.

JOSH
Listen, I... appreciate your coming in, but you may be meeting with the
wrong guy. My knowledge about space is like the old joke about the official
announcing a new program. He says, 'We're going to go where no one has
ever been. We're going to land on... the sun!' Reporter says, 'But, sir,
the sun's a burning mass of fire.' The official replies, 'Ah! Thought of
that. That's why we're going to go at night.' What I know is politics. Public
perception. And the image of NASA is not good. Telescopes launched that can't
focus. Planetary probes that crashed because engineers mixed up meters and
feet. The only time NASA makes the front page anymore, is when something goes
wrong. You need to get off the front page. This administration has only one
space priority: that you guys stop screwing up. Thanks for your time.

He gets up and leaves.

LEO [prelap]
Will's going to come to you...

CUT TO: INT. - WHITE HOUSE HALLWAY - DAY

Toby and Leo are walking down the hallway, talking as they go.

LEO [cont.]
... about a policy brief for the Vice President.

TOBY
Unfortunately, everything we have, we care about.

LEO
We've got to give him something.

TOBY
What can he handle? Potholes.

LEO
Infrastructure?

TOBY
No, I mean actual potholes, on - I don't know - the interstate.

LEO
Come up with something low-profile and easy. Keep him out from under-foot.

They have reached the door to Toby's office. [whispering] There's another
thing.

They go in and close the door.

LEO
We've got trouble, Toby.

TOBY
Uh-huh?

Leo begins telling him what is going on. He speaks in a soft whisper that
we can't hear.

CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE - DAY

Bartlet is sitting at his desk signing some papers. We hear a knock at the
door and we see Leo and Toby enter from Leo's office.

BARTLET
You go see the Vice President?

LEO
When I briefed him, he kind of tilted his head. I'll update him after.

NANCY
Sir? Everyone's here.

Bartlet motions for her to sent them in.

NANCY
You can come in.

McNally, Hutchinson, Slattery, and Sliger all come in from the Outer Oval
Office. They stand in a line in front of the President's desk.

BARTLET
Where are we?

SLATTERY
The Chinese have no indication North Korea did this.

McNALLY
Beijing feels comfortable ruling out China.

BARTLET
What do we think?

SLIGER
It's good news and bad. We think North Korea's got two bombs, probably more.

TOBY
Please let that be the bad news.

SLIGER
'Cause we also believe their technology's so advanced they don't need to
perform tests.

BARTLET
Why does the good news make me feel worse? Iran.

Bartlet gets up from his chair and stands behind his desk.

HUTCHINSON
Moscow doesn't think so.

LEO
They might just be covering their own ass.

McNALLY
There's rumors about three missing warheads from Kazakhstan that supposedly
wound up in Iran.

SLIGER
Rumors.

McNALLY
Persistent ones... that I get from your people.

LEO
The IAEA reports Iran's had a secret nuclear program for the past 18 years.

HUTCHINSON
It makes more geographic sense. The Korean peninsula's 4,000 miles from the
blast site.

LEO
What it's near is Iran.

McNALLY
Sir, given the volatility of the region, a secret test would be how Iran
would certainly proceed.

BARTLET
All right, let's put our cards on the table. What helped keep the Cold War
cold was a sense of moral restraint that these weapons were to terrible to use.

LEO
That restraint won't exist in jihadists who strap bombs to their chests and
enter nightclubs.

SLIGER
There are moderate elements on the ascendancy in Iran.

TOBY
"In the Koran, God commanded to kill the wicked and those who do not see the
rights of the oppressed and to murder them. If we abide by the Koran, all of
us should mobilize to kill." Televised address by President Alijani: Moderate.

BARTLET
Mr. Slattery, have the Iranian Ambassador to the U.N. fly down to the Swiss
embassy to meet with you immediately.

SLATTERY
Thank you, Mr. President.

BARTLET
Thank you, all.

ALL
Thank you, sir.

They all leave as Bartlet contemplates what is happening.

FADE OUT.
END ACT ONE.
* * *

ACT TWO

FADE IN: INT. - PRESS BRIEFING ROOM - DAY
      10:56 AM

We see and hear that CJ is briefing the press.

C.J.
Lyle?

LYLE
What's the reaction to announcements of new Israeli settlements in the
West Bank?

C.J.
Our position remains that we discourage such activities.

LYLE
Well, is the administration contemplating a more forceful expression of
disapproval?

C.J.
We continue to urge every party in the region to take every step to reduce
tensions. Steve?

STEVE
Do you have a response to Taylor Reid?

C.J.
That's hard to say, never having heard of... Is it him or her?

STEVE
On his new cable show last night, you were named "Chicken of the Week".

C.J.
Sorry?

STEVE
His designation of the newsperson who he says is refusing to appear on
his show.

C.J.
Well, it's hard to refuse to appear on something you've never heard of.

STEVE
So, you'd be willing to go on?

C.J.
I have no idea. Though, truly, what girl can resist being referred to as
poultry? Gail?

CUT TO: INT. - WHITE HOUSE - BASEMENT - HALLWAY - DAY

Toby and Leo are walking.

TOBY
What about going to the U.N.?

LEO
It'll be discussed.

TOBY
Isn't that what it's there for?

LEO
Yeah. But this isn't the room where you talk about that.

They have arrived at the door to the situation room. Leo enters a code on
the keypad, and then places his hand on the palm scanner. Leo enters the
situation room and Toby remains in the hallway.

CUT TO: INT. - SITUATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS

The National Security Team is seated around the table and they are talking
as Leo comes in and sits down next to Bartlet.

BARTLET
Follow-up confirms it was a nuclear blast?

HUTCHINSON
Yes, sir. We're still gathering data on precise yield and type.

BARTLET
Options, General.

ALEXANDER
North Korea's nuclear facilities and weapons are stored in tunnels a half
mile underground. Unreachable by air power. And they've threatened nuclear
retaliation in the event of attack, presumably against the South, but also
conceivably against Australia or Japan.

McNALLY
Or us. They've tested a missile that could possibly reach the U.S.

BARTLET
And Iran?

ALEXANDER
There are available nuclear targets for air strike.

HUTCHINSON
The downside is a potential retaliatory nuclear strike at Israel.

CUT TO: INT. - JOSH'S OFFICE - DAY

Josh is seated at his desk as ALEX MOREAU comes in and introduces herself. As
she is speaking, he stands up behind his desk.

ALEX MOREAU
Mr. Lyman? Alex Moreau, Assistant Administrator, NASA. I was at the
breakfast. I mention it because you were hardly there long enough to take
any of us in. You're wrong about us only getting on the front page when we
screw up; Hubble images appear on page one all the time.

JOSH
You're sending up a new telescope.

MOREAU
The Webb, yes. Out past the moon.

JOSH
Every news story noted it'll be too far out for the Shuttle to fix if it's
all screwed up, like the Hubble was. I prepare even for meetings I don't'
want to go to. I wasn't improvising. You guys are lost in space.

Josh sits back down and Alex comes in and sits across from him.

MOREAU
Well, I agree with you, NASA's lost purpose. But the problem isn't getting off
the front page, its getting back on. The New York Times has never published
a larger headline than when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.

JOSH
Only, you don't do that anymore. Now, it's launches to service the pointless
International Space Station - which should be re-christened the SS Good Money
After Bad. It's all low-earth orbits. It like if, 30 years after Columbus,
Spain expected people to get hot and bothered about a trip to Mallorca.

MOREAU
That's why we need to do this.

She reaches down and grabs something out of her bag. She lays a button on
Josh's desk. It is red and has 'MOB' printed on it.

JOSH
What's this?

He picks up the button and looks at it.

MOREAU
'Mars or Bust'. We want the government to commit to a manned mission to Mars.

JOSH
There aren't 20 votes for it in Congress. You couldn't get funding for
the buttons.

He drops the button back on his desk.

MOREAU
The Republican Congress isn't the problem. It's liberals that killed the
space program.

JOSH
Yeah, 'cause we like to use government money to, I don't know, help people.

MOREAU
Space travel's inspirational. You don't think that helps people?

JOSH
Not like feeding them or getting them jobs.

MOREAU
Well, you have to feed the soul, too. Ever look through a telescope?

JOSH
In school. Uh, a guy on my floor liked to aim one at the women's dorm.
MOREAU
What're you doing tonight?

JOSH
Uh...

MOREAU
Until you get a good look at what's up there, you only think you're
prepared. Pick you up at 8:00.

She gets up and leaves the office. Josh gets up and walks out of his office
and over to Donna's cubicle.

JOSH
Donna, cancel my dinner with Bregstone tonight.

DONNA
Stargazing?

JOSH
You were listening?

DONNA
I'm right outside. [pause] Would you be going if she weren't attractive?

JOSH
We'll never know.

CUT TO: INT. - TOBY'S OFFICE - DAY

We see Will walking through the Communications Office and into Toby's office.

WILL
[clearing throat] Did you...

TOBY
I spoke to Leo. I got the Vice President a policy focus.

WILL
Great.

TOBY
Good government.

WILL
Not that chestnut. "Reducing bureaucracy, rewriting regulations into plain
English."

TOBY
Extremely important.

WILL
And incredibly boring.

TOBY
As is the Vice President. A match made in heaven.

WILL
I don't think many theologians would stipulate Toby Ziegler's office as heaven.

TOBY
You asked, and ye have received.

WILL
And, yet, my joy is less than full. "Revoking the franking privilege".

TOBY
I have work to do.

Will turns and leaves through the door.

TOBY
Close the door.

Will closes the door and walks away.

CUT TO: INT. - MEETING ROOM - DAY
      12:08
      THE SWISS EMBASSY

Leo, McNally, and Slattery are standing around waiting for the IRANIAN
AMBASSADOR.

McNALLY
Lovely room.

SLATTERY
The Swiss like nice things.

LEO
You can afford them when you don't have to pay for a national defense.

A woman comes to the doorway and ushers in the Ambassador.

LEO
Mr. Ambassador.

AMBASSADOR
Mr. McGarry.

ASSISTANT
Do you require anything else?

LEO
No thank you, ma'am.

The assistant leaves as Leo introduces the Ambassador to the others. He
shakes both their hands as they are introduced.

LEO
National Security Advisor McNally, Assistant Secretary of State Slattery. I
hope the trip down wasn't too inconvenient.

AMBASSADOR
The summons was a bit abrupt.

LEO
Please.

They all sit.

LEO
We'd like to discuss your nuclear program.

AMBASSADOR
We've agreed to IAEA inspections, suspended production on enriched uranium.

LEO
Temporarily.

McNALLY
Your 40-megawatt heavy water reactor at Arak. It's a size too small for
electricity generation, and larger than for research.

LEO
The type that provides fuel for nuclear weapons in India and Pakistan.

AMBASSADOR

And Israel, I understand.

SLATTERY
The Iranian exile organization NCR has identified other secret enrichment
facilities: the Lashkar-Abad site near Hashtgerd, a site near Ramandeh
village...

LEO
Why are you enriching uranium?

AMBASSADOR
For reactor fuel, for power generation, as our European friends recognize
is our sovereign right.

LEO
Power you don't need, with you oil and gas reserves.

AMBASSADOR
It is necessary, because of rising domestic consumption rates, and our desire
to preserve oil and gas to generate foreign currency.

McNALLY
You displayed the Shahab 3 missile. The only logical purpose for such a
long-range weapon is to carry a nuclear payload.

AMBASSADOR
And we enjoy and anticipate stable relations with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan,
Turkey, Afghanistan. These are the nations within range of this missile.

LEO
And Israel, I understand. Sir, we believe your country has been engaged in
developing nuclear weapons.

AMBASSADOR
The Ayatollah has decreed their production to be haram - prohibited on
religious grounds. We consider the development and use of such weapons to
be immoral, inhumane, and against our basic Islamic beliefs. In contrast to
the United States, which is not merely the only nation to ever employ such
weapons--twice--but also brought the world to the brink of nuclear holocaust
with the Cuban missile crisis.

LEO
The United States will not tolerate these weapons' further proliferation.

AMBASSADOR
It is disconcerting to be dictated to by the only transgressor in human
history.

LEO
Let me make myself plain, Mr. Ambassador. Evidence that Iran possesses or
has tested a nuclear weapon will be greeted by the United States as a matter
of gravest consequence.

AMBASSADOR
Are we finished?

Leo nods and they all get up.

AMBASSADOR
I know what terrifies you: an Islamic bomb.

LEO
And I know what concerns Iran: a Jewish bomb.

AMBASSADOR
Einstein, Oppenheimer, Teller... They're all Jewish bombs.

He leaves them.

FADE OUT.
END ACT TWO.
* * *

ACT THREE

FADE IN: INT. - HALLWAY - OUTSIDE LEO'S OFFICE - DAY
      3:36 PM

Josh is standing against the wall and he is reading a newspaper. Leo walks
out of his office and they walk together as they talk.

JOSH
You all right? You look tired.

LEO
I've been tired five years.

JOSH
Tired... er.

LEO
One of those days.

JOSH
So, I had this meeting with NASA this morning.

LEO
What a waste, since the moon. My generation never got the future it was
promised.

JOSH
What do you mean?

LEO
35 years later, cars, air travel's the same. We don't even have the Concorde
anymore. Technology stopped.

JOSH
The personal computer.

LEO
A more efficient delivery system for gossip and pornography. Where's my jet
pack, my colonies on the Moon? Just a waste.

Leo walks off.

CUT TO: INT. - CJ'S OFFICE - DAY

Carol walks in to C.J.'s office. C.J. is sitting at her desk.

CAROL
Chris Aldrich of the Sun wants ten minutes, and Danny Concannon left a message.

C.J.
And it is...?

CAROL
I'm not sure I can do it justice.

C.J.
Carol...

CAROL
Okay. It's "bawk, bawk-bawk, bawk". Chicken noises. This whole Taylor Reid
show thing.

C.J.
Get me a copy of the show.

BARTLET [prelap]
Latest intel.

CUT TO: INT. - SITUATION ROOM - DAY

Bartlet and the National Security Team are seated around the table.

SLIGER
Combing through spy satellite data going back a week, analyzing for any
suspicious presence at the blast site.

HUTCHINSON
U-2s are over Iran and North Korea, monitoring for any unusual activity.

LEO
Any conclusions?

HUTCHINSON
No smoking gun.

BARTLET
Recommendations. If it's North Korea.

HUTCHINSON
It's not. The Chinese don't think so, the CIA.

SLIGER
We can't say definitively, but no, it doesn't appear likely it was the Koreans.

BARTLET
Iran, then. General?

ALEXANDER
Surgical air strikes on enrichment sites.

LEO
Which ones?

HUTCHINSON
All five. In for a penny.

McNALLY
If they retaliate?

ALEXANDER
They'll regret it.

Bartlet stands up and everyone else follows.

BARTLET
Get the B-2s in the air, General.

ALEXANDER
Yes, sir.

BARTLET
We go the minute, and I mean the minute, we're certain.

Bartlet leaves.

ALL
Thank you, Mr. President.

RUSSELL [prelap]
"Good government"?

CUT TO: INT. - VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE - DAY

Russell and Will are talking in his office.

WILL
Curtailing Congressional junkets, shuttering archaic agricultural field
offices...

RUSSELL
You don't think I should do it?

WILL
It buries you in minutia. The public's all for it, but they'd rather chug
sewage than have to hear anyone discuss it.

RUSSELL
You know, it's easy to characterize junkets as vacations at taxpayer's expense,
but they serve a purpose. Contacts get made, frank exchanges take place that
would never happen in the glare of Washington.

WILL
Reason enough to beg off. You don't fully agree with the administration's
stance.

Russell looks as though he has just thought of something profound.

WILL
Sir?

RUSSELL
Will you excuse me?

WILL
Yeah, of course, sir.

Will leaves as Russell thinks.

CUT TO: INT. - CJ'S OFFICE - DAY

C.J. is watching a tape of the Taylor Reid show. Toby walks in while she is
watching it.

TAYLOR REID
... and when you work for a man like the President, who's got, what I think you
could generously characterize as a casual relationship with the truth... When
your job is to go out and be his spokesperson, the question that naturally
arises is how can you justify lying for your boss the way C.J. Cregg has
to. And if Ms. Cregg isn't a liar, then the only obvious conclusion to draw
is that she's either gullible, and idiot, or so completely out of the loop
that she shouldn't be drawing a salary.

She shuts off the TV. Toby has sat down on the couch.

TOBY
I want to see where he calls you a chicken.

She turns and glares at him.

TOBY
But can wait.

C.J.
I want a piece of that twerp.

TOBY
You can't win.

C.J.
 I'd mop the floor with him - smirk first.

TOBY
You'd just keep it alive. Old newspaper adage: "Never pick a fight with
someone who buys ink by the barrel."

Toby's pager goes off. He takes it out and looks at it and then replaces it.

TOBY
I've got to go.

C.J.
Something going on?

TOBY
I'll see you in the morning.

Toby leaves.

CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE - DAY

Bartlet is pacing his office while he is reading a book. Charlie knocks and
enters from the outer office.

CHARLIE
Excuse me, sir.

BARTLET
I know. I've got to get dressed for the HHS thing.

CHARLIE
Mr. President, you should cancel. It's been a long day, sir.

BARTLET
I'll be fine.

CHARLIE
You should get some rest.

BARTLET
I'm not sure I could sleep.

He closes the book.

BARTLET
I'm going to get dressed.

CHARLIE
Yes, Mr. President.

Bartlet leaves and then Charlie returns to the outer office and shuts the door.

CUT TO: INT. - LEO'S OFFICE - DAY

Leo is seated at his desk. Toby comes in.

TOBY
Yeah.

LEO
Shut the door.

Toby shuts the door and walks over to Leo's desk.

LEO
B-2s have taken off. Their targets are five uranium enrichment sites in Iran.

TOBY
We've confirmed it was them?

LEO
It's not a go till we're sure.

TOBY
Is this the room?

LEO
What?

TOBY
Where we talk about the U.N. So far, I'm the only one bringing it up.

LEO
The U.N. doesn't want this. They want to wring their hands and censure us
after, but they expect us to take care of things like this. And after they've
exhausted themselves calling us warmongers and imperialists they'll go home
and quietly drink toasts to their relief.

TOBY
Unilateral air strikes.

LEO
Have a statement ready.

Toby leaves the office.

CUT TO: EXT. - STREET - NIGHT

We see an SUV driving down the street. Josh and Alex Moreau are inside.

MOREAU [VO]
I have a political question.

JOSH [VO]
Hmm?

MOREAU [VO]
If the theory of democracy is that people have the most direct connection
to officials at the...

CUT TO: INT. - CAR - CONTINUOUS

MOREAU [cont.]
... most local level, how come everybody can name the President, but no one
knows who their assemblymen is?

JOSH
Complacency--who knows? It's like asking why the sky's blue.

MOREAU
The colors that make up light have different wavelengths. The color with the
shortest wavelength, blue, is the most easily dispersed. So, when sunlight
hits the Earth's atmosphere, blue's what gets scattered most.

Josh looks at her as though he has no idea what she's talking about.

MOREAU
Why the sky's blue.

CUT TO: INT. LEO'S OFFICE - NIGHT

Leo is sitting at his desk. The phone is ringing. He answers it.

LEO
[into phone] Yeah. ... Can this wait till tomorrow? ... Put him on. ... Yes,
Mr. Vice President.

CUT TO: EXT. - DC COUNTRYSIDE - NIGHT

The SUV that Alex and Josh are riding in parks on a country hillside.

MOREAU
This is good.

Alex gets out, followed by Josh. They go to the back of the SUV and grab
the equipment.

MOREAU
Here, could you...?

JOSH
You want me to carry that?

MOREAU
Yes, please.

JOSH
Okay. When you said... I thought we were going to some big observatory.

MOREAU
You're not ready for that. You need to have the same experience nine-year-olds
are having all across the country tonight.

JOSH
Are they ruining their shoes, too?

CUT TO: INT. - HALLWAY - OUTSIDE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE - NIGHT

Leo, Nancy, and Russell are walking. They walk past the Communications office.

CUT TO: INT. - TOBY'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS

Toby is sitting at his desk. He watches the three walk by.

CUT TO: EXT. - DC COUNTRYSIDE - NIGHT

Josh and Alex have set the telescope up and they are getting ready to look
at the stars.

MOREAU
Amazing once you get away from the city lights.

JOSH
There's one named after me up there. The Josh and Linda star.

MOREAU
The International Star Registry. Romantic.

JOSH
Yeah. Name something that's going to be there for billions of years after
two people who won't be speaking in six months.

MOREAU
Alex and Guillermo.

JOSH
Guillermo?

MOREAU
Yeah. Chilean. Long story.

JOSH
Sexy. Player. Dumped you.

MOREAU
Okay, not such a long story. Go ahead.

Alex has adjusted the telescope using the remote she is holding in her
hand. Josh bends over to look through the telescope. We see Jupiter through
the telescope.

MOREAU
Jupiter. The dots on either side are the four Galilean moons. You're seeing
what Galileo saw 400 years ago.

JOSH
I remember studying Jupiter. It has 13 moons.

MOREAU
Yeah, it has 61.

JOSH
61?!

MOREAU
Go ahead.

She adjusts it again. Josh again looks through it. We see a nebula through it.

JOSH
Wow. What is that?

MOREAU
The Orion Nebula. Gas and dust. Stars are born in that. Well, born and die,
actually. Everything, every atom in our bodies comes from exploding stars. I
guess Joni Mitchell was right. We are stardust.

JOSH
Or, put another way, nuclear waste.

She adjusts it again and indicates for Josh to look. This time, we see Mars
through the telescope.

JOSH
Is that...?

MOREAU
Mars. Since it's near its closest point, you are getting the best look at
it anyone's had at it in 60,000 years.

CUT TO: INT. - SITUATION ROOM - NIGHT

We see two military officers open the door as Bartlet enters the Situation
Room. They National Security Team, as well as the Vice President, is seated
at the table. They are called to attention as Bartlet comes to his seat.

BARTLET
Everyone.

LEO
Good evening, sir.

BARTLET
One thing about this job: it's hard to unobtrusively slip out of a party.

They all sit.

LEO
Mr. Vice President, would you tell everyone what you told me?

RUSSELL
I was on a Congressional junket to the Mideast last year. Wound up at a
party on a boat cruising the Mediterranean. The combination of jet lag,
booze, and choppy seas made some guests sick. As they leaned over the rail,
one of our high-level government hosts came over to me and drunkenly mused
he hoped they weren't puking on one of their nuclear subs. He winked and
lurched off. And the host's country... was Israel.

McNALLY
He was talking about nuclear-powered subs.

ALEXANDER
Israeli subs are diesel-powered.

HUTCHINSON
Guy was drunk.

SLIGER
Israel's nuclear capability's been an open secret for years. Why would they
perform a test now?

RUSSELL
Getting nuclear warheads on submarine-based missiles requires miniaturization
technology that could need to be tested.

SLIGER
'Could'...

BARTLET
I know. That's not a word your fond of at Langley. Let the man talk.

RUSSELL
Israel's been developing advanced fusion-boosted technology. This technology
is extremely difficult and requires testing to produce warheads that are
capable of being shrunk to the size needed to be placed on submarine-based
cruise missiles.

BARTLET
Where are the bombers, General?

ALEXANDER
Three hours out of Missouri, sir. They'll be over their targets in Iran in
14 hours.

BARTLET
Tell the Israeli ambassador to get his Prime Minister on a plane.

SLATTERY
Yes, sir.

BARTLET
General.

ALEXANDER
Yes, sir?

BARTLET
Put a hold on the bombers.

ALEXANDER
Yes, sir.

BARTLET
Leo, Mr. Vice President.

He indicates for them to follow him. He stands, as does everyone else.

BARTLET
Thank you, all.

ALL
Thank you, Mr. President.

CUT TO: INT. - WHITE HOUSE - BASEMENT - HALLWAY - NIGHT

Bartlet, Leo, and Russell are walking through the hall.

LEO
We'll need a cover story for the visit.

BARTLET
Brief Toby. Have him get with C.J. right away. Thank you, Bob.

RUSSELL
I'm, uh, I'm sure Leo's wondering how it is I know so much about all this. You
know all those jokes about me being the Congressman from Western Colorado
Mining. Colorado Plateau is this country's leading source of uranium. Good
night, Mr. President. Leo.

He turns and leaves. Leo and Bartlet head up the stairs toward their offices.

FADE OUT.
END ACT THREE.
* * *

ACT FOUR

FADE IN: EXT. - DC STREET - OUTSIDE APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT

Alex's SUV pulls up to the curb outside the building.

CUT TO: INT. - CAR - CONTINUOUS

Alex puts the car in park.

JOSH
Okay it's not going to happen, but tell me about going to Mars.

MOREAU
Right here?

Josh reaches over, stops the car, and takes the keys.

MOREAU
The plan is called Mars Direct.

JOSH
What'll it cost?

MOREAU
$30, $40 billion.

Josh scoffs.

MOREAU
Over ten years. It's the cost of one weapon's system.

JOSH
Go on.

MOREAU
We launch a crew directly there, like we went to the Moon, and use the
resources there to make the fuel to get back.

JOSH
Is that doable?

MOREAU
It's 19th century chemistry. It's all doable now. All we lack is the ambition
and political will.

CUT TO: EXT. - WHITE HOUSE - DAY
      FRIDAY 7:26 AM

CUT TO: INT. - WHITE HOUSE LOBBY - DAY

Toby and C.J. are walking.

TOBY
The Israeli Prime Minister is flying in today to discuss their new settlement
activity.

C.J.
You mean the thing you had me shrug off yesterday as a non-story?

TOBY
That was yesterday.

C.J.
I'm trying to decide if I'm gullible, an idiot, or being completely kept
out of the loop.

TOBY
Yeah.

Toby walks off.

CUT TO: INT. - VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE - DAY

Russell is seated and Will is standing. They are talking.

WILL
Mr. Vice President.

RUSSELL
I've been thinking about this good government thing.

WILL
You should speak directly to the President about your reasons for not
going along.

RUSSELL
No, I'm gonna do their bidding on this.

WILL
Due respect, it's not a serious policy brief. You have to get the West Wing
to start treating you with more respect.

RUSSELL
I'm a team player. I do what's asked. And, Will, for the record, I'm not
worried about having the President's respect.

CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE - DAY

Bartlet is seated at his desk and he is signing some papers. Charlie is
standing behind him and he takes the papers as Bartlet hands them to him.

BARTLET
Thanks for your concern yesterday.

CHARLIE
Did you get some sleep, sir?

BARTLET
Not much.

He continues signing papers.

BARTLET
 Some terrible choices have had to be made in this room, none more agonizing
 that Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

 CHARLIE
 I can't imagine.

 BARTLET
 When you sit here, you have to.

He gets up, holding the book he was reading earlier in his hands, and walks
over and puts it on his bookshelf.

 CHARLIE
 Would you have made the same decision Truman made?

 BARTLET
 On Okinawa, the Japanese knew they couldn't win, so they just tried to kill
 as many Americans as possible. There were 110,000 Japanese troops and nearly
 a quarter of a million people died there, including Japanese civilians. To
 defend  Japan itself, they would have mobilized two and a half million,
 with a civilian militia of 30 million more pressed into service just to
 die for the emperor.

 CHARLIE
 So, you could claim the bombings actually saved lives.

 BARTLET
 That's one argument. The other is that after Potsdam Truman wanted Stalin
 to know we had the bomb and we were willing to use it.

 CHARLIE
 But would you have done it, sir?

 CUT TO: INT. - JOSH'S OFFICE - DAY

Josh is sitting at his desk and he is flipping through the pages of a book.

JOSH
[yelling] Donna!

DONNA
[calmly] Yes.

Josh looks up and sees her standing in the doorway.

JOSH
How long have you been there?

DONNA
Long enough.

JOSH
Uh... I need a breakdown of NASA funding as a percentage of discretionary
spending in five year increments starting in 1969. Hey, you want to hear
something cool? Voyager I just crossed the termination shock eight billion
miles away. First human-made object to leave the solar system.

DONNA
Funny, I'm going through a little termination shock myself.

JOSH
What?

DONNA
Suddenly this consuming interest in space just because some NASA administrator
batted eyes at you?

JOSH
You hate that I'm interested in this.

DONNA
What was your first hint?

JOSH
That's perfect. Sit down. Sit. I need to play out an argument.

She sits down in front of his desk.

JOSH
Everyone hates us.

DONNA
Inspiring start.

JOSH
We're the most dominant nation on earth. But too often the face of our
economic superiority...

CUT TO: EXT. - WHITE HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY

We see a VIP motorcade pulling up to the doors as Josh's voice can still
be heard.

JOSH [VO][cont.]
... is a corporate imperialism, our technological dominance shown by Smart
bombs and Predator drones. We could do something else. Something generous
and uplifting for all humankind.

We see someone open the door of one of the limos and we see a pair of feet
step out.

CUT TO: INT. - JOSH'S OFFICE - DAY

JOSH [cont.]
We could send the first representatives from Earth, to walk on another
planet. We could land people on Mars.

CUT TO: INT. - HALLWAY - LOBBY - DAY

We see the Israeli Prime Minister and his entourage walking through the
hallway.

CUT TO: INT. - JOSH'S OFFICE - DAY

JOSH
Needs work.

DONNA
Needs something.

Donna gets up from her seat.

JOSH
Yeah, that inspiration thing.

He gets up from his seat.

JOSH

Voyager, in case it's ever encountered by extra-terrestrials...

CUT TO: INT. - OUTER OVAL OFFICE - DAY

We see the Prime Minister walk into the Oval Office. Bartlet and Leo are
waiting for him. Bartlet greets him when he walks in.

JOSH [VO] [cont.]
... is carrying photos of life on Earth, greetings in 55 languages...

BARTLET
Prime Minister, thank you for coming.

JOSH [VO][cont.]
... and a collection of music from Gregorian chants to Chuck
Berry. Including...

We see Leo and the Prime Minister shake hands.

CUT TO: INT. - JOSH'S OFFICE - DAY

JOSH [cont.]
... "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground" by '20s bluesman Blind Willie
Johnson, whose stepmother blinded him when he was seven by throwing lye in is
his eyes after his father had beat her for being with another man. He died,
penniless, of pneumonia after sleeping bundled in wet newspapers in the
ruins of his house that burned down. But his music just left the solar system.

DONNA
Okay, that got me.

She walks out of the office.

CUT TO: INT. - OVAL OFFICE - DAY

Bartlet and the Prime Minister sit down across from each other.

BARTLET
Thank you for coming, Mr. Prime Minister. You've had a long flight and
I've had a long last day and a half. Let's not waste any time with veiled
questions and coy answers. Your government conducted a atmospheric nuclear
test over the Indian Ocean 36 hours ago. This action poses enormous problems
for the region, for the world.

PRIME MINISTER
And for the U.S.

BARTLET
Yes. It undercuts our counterproliferation policy and makes us look at best,
biased, and at worst, like outright hypocrites.

PRIME MINISTER
You do not look hypocritical espousing nonproliferation while funding research
on a new generation of tactical nuclear bombs? This is not my view. The U.S. is
merely looking after its national interest. As Israel has the right to do.

BARTLET
Proliferation breeds proliferation. China's bomb produced India's. India's
begat Pakistan's.

PRIME MINISTER
The United States' ideal number of nuclear weapon states is one. No matter if
it's merited or arrogant, it is irrelevant. Our chief of Military Intelligence
asserts that if Iran completes its enrichment program it will be able to
produce nuclear weapons within one year.

BARTLET
No one disputes Israel lives under threat.

PRIME MINISTER
Threat? We are 6 million surrounded by 200 million who wish us obliterated. For
Israel, deterrence is not an option, but an imperative.

BARTLET
There's a fine line between deterrence and provocation.

PRIME MINISTER
We model our approach on America's during the Cold War: Mutual Assured
Destruction.

BARTLET
There's a reason its acronym was MAD.

PRIME MINISTER
It succeeded entirely in keeping the world safe. Iran will become a nuclear
state. I mean, what difference if it takes one year or five or ten? What
difference?

BARTLET
We can stop them. By force if it comes to that.

PRIME MINISTER
But should this fail, all that would stand in the way of an Iranian first
strike is an assured second-strike capability. Submarines armed with nuclear
missiles. Mr. President, this is essential for Israel's survival.

BARTLET
Your argument boils down to asking the world to trust you.

PRIME MINISTER
As does America's.

BARTLET
It's telling that the physicists involved in the creation of  these weapons
became the most fervid opponents of their use. Einstein, Oppenheimer,
Szilard. Hans Bethe wrote: "If we fight a war and win it with H-bombs,
what history will remember is not the ideas we were fighting for, but the
methods we used to accomplish them. These methods will be compared to the
warfare of Genghis Khan, who brutally killed every last inhabitant of Persia."

CUT TO: INT. - LEO'S OFFICE - NIGHT

Leo is standing as Toby walks in.

TOBY
Hey.

LEO
It's over. It was the Israelis. The bombers have turned back.

TOBY
It's a hell of a dress rehearsal. This is our plan. This is our nuanced,
reasoned... we bomb, then they nuke, then we nuke. This is the best we've
gamed this out? The fate of the world just hung on a Bing Bob brainstorm. You
want to live by those odds?

LEO
As opposed to sanctions, inspections and never-ending talks while a Hezbollah
martyr leads a donkey cart packed with plutonium smack into downtown Tel Aviv.

TOBY
It's not over. And we need a better plan.

Toby walks out of the office.

CUT TO: INT. - JOSH'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Josh is sitting in a recliner listening to some music when we hear the
doorbell buzz. He gets up and answers the door. No one is there but we see
that someone has left a smaller telescope than the one he and Alex used
outside his doorstep with a bow stuck on top.

CUT TO: EXT. - DC STREET - NEAR CAPITOL BUILDING - NIGHT

With the Capitol building in view, we see Josh set his telescope up and peer
through it at the stars.

CUT TO: INT. - SITUATION ROOM - NIGHT

Several people are seated at the table. They stand as Bartlet comes in. He
motions for them to sit back down. He walks over and looks at the map.

CUT TO: EXT. - DC STREET - NEAR CAPITOL BUILDING - NIGHT

We again see Josh staring through his telescope.

CUT TO: INT. - SITUATION ROOM - NIGHT

Bartlet walks over to one of the screens showing the region and the replay
of the detonation. We see a deeply reflective look on his face as we...

DISSOLVE TO: END TITLES.
FADE TO BLACK.
THE END.
* * *

The West Wing episode 5.13 "The Warfare of Genghis Khan", original air date
11 February, 2004.

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