Crimson Tide

This is Richard Valeriani

reporting live...

for CNN from the French

aircraft carrier Foch...

somewhere in the Mediterranean.

Six days ago,

as the rebellion in Chechnya...

spread to the neighboring Caucasus

republics, the Russian president...

ordered massive bombing strikes

against rebel positions...

around Rutul and Belokany.

Appalled at the loss of human life,

the President of the United States...

joined by the French president

and the British prime minister...

suspended all foreign aid

to Russia.

Ultranationalist leader

Vladimir Radchenko...

denounced the U.S. Pressure

as an act of war...

against the Russian Republic

and Russian sovereignty.

Denouncing his own president

as a U.S. Puppet...

he called on the Russian people

to join him in revolt.

He said, "This brutish and hypocritical

American intervention...

will not go unanswered."

On Tuesday, at 10:00

in the morning Moscow time...

the Russian parliament was suspended

and martial law was declared.

With the government in crisis,

the Russian Republic...

was entering into what can only

be described as a state of civil war.

Then yesterday at dawn,

Radchenko and rebel forces...

seized the region around Vladivostok,

including a naval base...

and a nuclear missile base

housing Russian ICBMs.

As regular Russian military forces

move in to encircle Radchenko...

allied military forces

are in a state of high alert.

These French planes

taking off behind me...

have been deployed near the Caucasus

since the beginning of the crisis...

and a crisis which started

in the Caucasus

has now spread to the Far East...

and appears to be turning into the worst

standoff since the Cuban missile crisis.

This is Richard Valeriani

reporting live for CNN...

from the French aircraft carrier Foch,

somewhere in the Mediterranean.

Abracadabra!

- I can't hear you.

- [Screaming] Abracadabra!

[Children Exclaiming]

I need a volunteer

from the audience.

- [Kids] Me! Me!

- Me, me, me!

A brave volunteer.

[Kids] Me! Me! Me!

Preferably...

Preferably somebody who was born

on October 18...

nineteen hundred and ninety.

That's you, honey. That's you.

[Magician] Over here? Over here?

Ahh! You must be the birthday girl.

- What's your name?

- Robin.

[TV] Russian ultranationalist leader,

backed by his rebel army...

threatened nuclear attack

on the United States and Japan.

The threats come as a response

to U.S. Involvement in Chechnya...

and are not considered idle.

Now sit on the board.

And tell me, Robin,

do you believe in magic?

- Where'd he go?

- Good. Because if you believe...

- I'll get him.

- We can suspend you in the air...

- Be right back.

- Without the help of a flying carpet.

Meeting in an emergency session...

You'll miss your daughter's levitation.

While the President is sequestered

with his joint chiefs of staff.

[Automatic Gunfire]

That footage was taken yesterday,

but half an hour ago...

surrounded by hostile forces,

rebel leader Vladimir Radchenko...

Maybe it's not as bad as it looks.

- [Phone Rings]

- Threatened to use nuclear arms

on the United States and Japan...

should anyone, including the Russian

Army, attempt to move in on him.

[Ringing Continues]

- Based on the history of this man...

- [Pager Beeps]

- This can't be viewed as an idle threat.

- [Beeper Continues]

- Sander Vanocur standing by...

- It is.

Commander Hunter.

[Thunder Rumbling]

- [Classical]

- Annapolis.

Five patrols on fast attacks.

Two on boomers;

one as X.O.

- [Continues]

- Hmm.

A year at...

Excuse me. Harvard?

I talked to your former C.O.

He tells me he tried to adopt you.

As you no doubt heard,

my X.O. Has appendicitis.

He's the best

I ever had.

I need a good man

to fill his spot.

Your name was

at the top of the list.

Well, that's good to know, sir.

It was a short list.

Your interests, Mr. Hunter.

What do you like to do? Do you, uh...

Do you paint, play ball, play

an instrument, ride motorcycles, what?

- I ride horses.

- Horses.

What's the best horse

you ever rode?

- Arabian, sir.

- An Arabian? That's a powerful animal.

- Yes.

- [Chuckles]

- You ever ridden one?

- Me? Are you kidding?

Nah, I couldn't handle an Arabian.

Nah, just give me an old paint.

Yeah, horses are

fascinating animals.

Dumb as fence posts

but very intuitive.

In that way, they're not too different

from high school girls.

They might not have

a brain in their head...

but they do know

all the boys want to f*** 'em.

Don't have to be able to read Ulysses

to know where they're comin' from.

- No, sir.

- [Barking]

He approves of you.

Jack Russells.

Smartest dogs alive.

Name's Bear.

Goes everyplace with me.

Well, welcome aboard

the Alabama, son.

- Do me proud.

- I will, sir.

- Congratulations, Mr. Hunter.

- Thank you.

If one Russian citizen

is killed...

and I am president...

then I will kill 900,000 of the people

who are responsible.

- You'd use nuclear weapons?

- Yes, I would hit them...

- Attention!

With nuclear weapons.

- At ease. Be seated.

- [Reporter] Sir, such talk

is highly inflammatory.

[Radchenko] My dear young lady,

I do not engage in "talk."

These are serious threats, which I hope

to be in the position to carry out.

I take it you've seen enough?

Gentlemen, after a nice little vacation,

looks like we're back at it again.

I hope you enjoyed the peace, because

as of now, we're back in business.

In the good old days of Cold War, the

Russians could always be depended on...

doing whatever is in

their own best interests.

But this Radchenko's playing a whole new

ball game with a whole new set of rules.

Now I've heard people talk...

but I don't think this man's talking

to get his picture in the paper.

He seems to have a serious weed

up his ass and a legitimate gripe.

Always a dangerous combination.

And I think he's capable...

of doing every damn thing

he says he's going to do.

That's why we have to go out there

and give the man a moment of pause.

So ends theory.

Thus, let us begin the facts.

We've been informed by the NSA...

that an entire rebel corps

of the Russian Army is involved.

That's four armored divisions

numbering 60,000 men.

There seems to be

massive defections.

Vladimir seems to be winning the hearts

and minds of the Russian soldiers.

- Admiral.

- Thank you.

They've seized the region by the Chinese

and North Korean borders.

That includes a submarine base...

from which they've surged

four Akula-class attack subs.

They have acquired

a nuclear base at Artem...

that houses 25 hardened silos

for Russian ICBMs...

armed with up to

ten warheads apiece.

Now the Russian government has

assured us that talks are underway.

They claim that Radchenko forces

do not possess the launch codes.

But if Radchenko

were to crack them...

they could launch against

our west coast direct...

or come in over the Pole,

take out Washington and New York.

[Admiral] The Commander-in-Chief...

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