Rules Of Engagement Page #5

on the day of the riot?

It was a peaceful demonstration.

There was no reason to stay.

After the killing, were

any weapons found in the crowd?

No. They picked up everything

that was left. No weapons.

Hey!

No, look. Now, wait.

Wait a minute.

Wait a minute, fellas.

Hey. Hey!

Hi. What's your name?

Do you speak English?

You're a very pretty girl.

Katchi!

Is that your name? "Katchi"?

- May I help you?

- Yeah.

I was wondering

what happened to her?

She lost her leg.

Who are you?

I'm a lawyer with the United States

Marine Corps. What happened?

- A marine lawyer?

- Yeah.

Follow me, please.

There are hospitals like this

all over the city.

Most of the people here

will die.

Sir? Do you want

something to drink?

Give me another one!

Open the goddamn door!

What's wrong with you?

Get yourself a new lawyer,

you son of a b*tch. You lied to me.

I could not find

one goddamn witness.

I couldn't find

one goddamn shred of evidence!

Not for our side

anyway!

You clearly opened up

on those people. What were they?

Rag heads, camel jockeys

or f***ing gooks?

- You through?

- Yeah.

Get up.

Come on. Get up. Come on.

Look at you.

You went all the way to Yemen.

All you proved is

you're still a drunk.

You know what your problem is? You

never measured up to your old man.

But I can't help you with that.

Stop this sh*t

before somebody gets hurt.

I lost every one

of my men at Ca Lu.

And I'll tell you

the first thing I felt.

Joy.

Elation.

Gladto be alive.

I was glad it wasn't me, and

I f***ing hate myself for that.

That wasn't your fault.

We're in deep sh*t, bud.

Yeah.

It's fourth and 40, Hodge.

I need a Hail Mary.

How?

Send him in.

I just want to make sure

we're on the same page here.

- Off the record.

- Of course, Bill.

Now, you didn't see any weapons

in that crowd, did you?

Well...

There was some shooting,

but I...

couldn't be sure exactly

where it was coming from.

Now, see, that's

gonna be a problem,

because we can't get on the stand

and waffle about the charges.

Waffle, Bill?

In your mind, Childers

was responsible, wasn't he?

I wasn't exactly there.

I had already evacuated.

You have to remember

he saved my life and my family.

This all happened after...

Does that mean the United States...

is gonna have to take the fall

for what he did?

I don't understand.

The investigating team didn't

find any weapons in the crowd.

That's because they weren't

there until the following day.

The Yemeni government

cleaned up the scene,

but unfortunately that's

not something we can prove.

Nor can I testify about it.

It all happened afterward.

Yeah, but you can testify

about Childers' frame of mind,

his behavior

while you were there.

He saved my life.

Surely this will all come down

to what the tape shows.

The tape's inconclusive.

Hodges subpoenaed it,

of course, but, uh...

it was a faulty recording.

- I see.

- Do you?

If Childers isn't held

totally responsible,

then the United States

will be.

And just guess...

where the finger...

is eventually gonna point.

- Me?

- Where else?

You should've known

this was gonna erupt.

And if you didn't,

you were asleep at the wheel.

Either way, your conduct

was inexcusable.

Now, do you want to face a

congressional inquiry over this,

put your career at risk?

Think about it.

Thank you, Bill.

All rise.

Be seated.

Look closely

at this picture.

Why did a well-trained

fighting unit...

have to slaughter unarmed

men, women and children...

when their orders

were simply to protect...

and if necessary,

evacuate the embassy?

The answer is,

they didn't.

They were ordered to open fire,

and that order came from one man...

Colonel Terry Childers,

who stands trial

here today,

a day of sadness,

a day when America has

to accept responsibility...

for its failures and its

mistakes as well as its glories.

We will show you that the accused,

through his mind-set and actions,

ignored the rules

of engagement...

and went far beyond

the scope of his authority...

to intentionally order

the murder...

of 83 innocent people.

I was the last one to enter the

courtroom this morning. I was late.

I was late because

I was in the head.

And I was in the head

because... I was throwing up.

And I was throwing up

because I don't know if I'm...

able to handle this job.

I believe that Colonel Childers

is innocent of these charges.

I just don't know if I have what

it takes to make his case for him.

I'm simply not on the same page

as Major Briggs, uh...

Major Biggs here,

as a lawyer.

We all know that.

So why did I take

this job?

I took this case because

Terry Childers told me...

I would have done the same thing

he did if I'd been in his shoes.

I took the case because I know Terry

Childers. His word is his bond.

He told me he did

what he had to do.

Now, I hope

I don't let him down.

We sent Terry Childers out

on a very tough mission.

And when it went bad,

and he did everything he could

to save the lives of his marines,

save the lives

of the embassy people,

you turn around now and want

to blame the whole mess on him,

send him to prison possibly

for the rest of his life.

That's not fair.

It's not right.

It is what made me sick

this morning.

It was a large crowd.

There was a lot of commotion.

The noise was very unsettling.

But it was

a peaceful crowd.

That is, until Colonel Childers

arrived and prevented me...

from pursuing

further avenues of diplomacy.

Did Colonel Childers

force you to leave the embassy?

Yes. He charged in.

He... started

pushing us around.

He physically restrained me

from doing my job.

What was his state

of mind at this time?

He was in a fury.

He was disrespectful

to me and my family.

Oh, that's bullshit.

It was almost, how should I say,

a murderous rage.

Do you remember what he said?

I remember he said

something like...

diplomacy is bullshit

at this point...

"and that ""nobody fucks

with the American flag""."

- Those were his words.

- Thank you, Ambassador.

No further questions.

Do you believe...

that an American embassy

on foreign soil...

is sovereign

United States territory?

As a general principle, yes.

Do you believe Americans

have a right...

to defend that territory

if it's attacked?

If it is, in fact,

attacked.

Would you have expected

Colonel Childers to surrender...

to the attacking crowd

or to fight them?

I would have expected neither.

The colonel should have let me

address the crowd,

then he could have withdrawn

his marines.

Would you have expected him

to hold his fire as he withdrew,

even if he were taking casualties?

- To the extent possible.

So your order would have been,

Hold your fire to the extent

possible, Marines.

And to the extent not possible,

fire away.

Ambassador.

This photograph

is exhibit "C".

- What is that?

- It's a security camera.

Is it mounted

on the roof of the embassy...

and pointed down to where

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