Shock and Awe Page #8

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compliance, President Bush...

made clear today, is

of military confrontation.

BUSH:
The full disarmament of

weapons of mass destruction...

by Iraq will occur.

The only question for the Iraqi

regime is to decide how.

Son of a b*tch.

They beat us.

But they missed the whole point

of why the unit was set up.

It doesn't matter, they got

the scoop.

With what?

There's nothing about

cherry picking intelligence.

There's nothing about bypassing

other agencies.

We can still run ours.

John, no one's gonna pay

attention...

to a second story explaining

all that.

We had it.

Goddamn it, Walcott's gonna be

pissed.

Maybe he hadn't seen it yet.

How is it possible he hasn't

talked to us all day?

He's giving us the silent

treatment.

Oh, sh*t, here he comes.

Oh, Jesus.

You had the story.

Don't ever forget how

it feels to get beat.

The only information Congress

is getting...

is coming directly from the

administration.

Iraq is a huge country about

the size of France...

if they want to hide their

weapons of mass destruction...

they're going to be able

to do so.

They're not going to rethink

their positions...

unless they are provided

with independent intel.

No one who's supported the

authorization for war...

in Congress, in Iraq, not the

president...

I am sure would go to war just

because he wants to go to war.

Rumsfeld's been trying to sell

this idea that an Iraqi...

intelligence officer offered

bin Laden safe haven in '99.

Yeah.

Well, if that offer actually

had happened...

bin Laden would have told Saddam

to go f*** himself.

What do you make of the

statement made...

by the Iraqi government that

Iraq has no weapons...

of mass destruction

and is not developing?

They're lying.

Next.

Your daughter is lovely.

Well, I wish I could take

credit.

She gets it from her mother.

Dad, can I get you

anything?

- Oh, no, thanks, sweetie.

- Mr. Strobel?

- I'm fine.

- All right.

Just real casual.

Tom and I were just talking

about your latest article.

Oh, yeah?

Seems like you don't trust

politicians.

Well, that's a pretty solid

rule of journalism.

Even when they're talking

about war?

Especially when they're talking

about war.

You really believe there's

no WMD?

Our names are on the article.

They don't say that

there's no WMD.

They just said that the

administration...

hasn't offered any proof of WMD.

And you don't think

they'll find any?

No, I don't.

You don't know that.

No, we don't.

But before we send our kids

to their possible deaths...

don't you think the

administration...

has an obligation to provide

proof of their rationale?

What if that proof comes in the

form of a mushroom cloud?

Okay, you've been watching

Fox News again?

Rice, Cheney, and President Bush

have all said the same thing.

Oh, well, then it must be true.

You kids are too young

to remember...

how close we came to nuclear war

in '62.

Hell, Warren, you were born

the very day...

President Kennedy ordered the

blockade against Cuba.

The most powerful enemy we knew

was gonna put nuclear weapons...

90 miles off our coast.

The president had to demonstrate

strength.

And the next day, Kennedy sent

Adlai Stevenson to the U.N...

to offer proof that the missiles

existed.

It's not just Fox News.

It's the Washington Post.

It's The New York Times.

Hell, proof is coming from every

major media outlet...

in the country, except yours.

Okay.

Uh, I think I forgot the

hamburger buns, excuse me.

I'm going to grab a beer.

Jesus, Dad.

Are you okay, bro?

Yeah.

Are we good reporters?

What?

I mean, are we doing anything...

other than practicing good

journalism?

No, we're doing exactly what

we're supposed...

Then, why the f*** are we

the only ones...

running these f***ing stories?!

He just wanted you to see

all sides to him...

before you take it to the

next level.

Almost three months ago,

the United Nations...

Security Council gave

Saddam Hussein...

his final chance to disarm.

Our intelligence officials

estimate...

that Saddam Hussein had the

materials to produce...

What's the point of having

U.N. weapons inspections...

if Bush and Cheney are just

going to ignore the results?

Well, when you're creating

your own reality...

it's pretty easy to ignore

the facts.

And so what? Due diligence is

too inconvenient...

for the mainstream media

at this point?

When news is a profit center...

Access becomes currency.

Exactly.

I'm proud of you, John.

Why?

For not wavering.

It's got to be tough.

It's not that tough.

I know who their sources are and

I know who our sources are.

"Iraqi Dissidents Reassured

in a Talk with Bush...

"About the Post-Hussein Era."

By Judith Miller.

She'd quote a carnival

fortune teller...

if he was willing to say

Iraq had WMD.

We gotta dig into the

declassified...

national intelligence

estimate...

and find out if there are any

gems in there.

Yeah, I'd love to see...

what they redacted from the

classified version.

WALCOTT:
Oh, what's going

on with Chalabi?

We're on it.

I'm gonna keep an eye

on my old boss.

- I got a feeling.

- Yeah...

Colin may be the last person

standing between peace and war.

Yeah.

Goddamn it!

F***!

ARTHUR:
Angela, did the mayor

set a date...

for the fundraiser yet?

Hey, Arthur, I was totally

wrong.

Your head isn't literally

up your ass.

It's always a pleasure to see

you, John...

but would you please wait

outside?

You know, it's bad enough you're

ignoring all our work...

but the fact that you're running

these bullshit...

Judy Miller pieces is

unconscionable.

Not in here, John.

Okay, please?

Let's take it in my office.

Excuse me.

Jesus.

Look, as painful as this

might seem...

I don't answer to you, John.

Yes, as evidenced by the fact

that you still have a job.

You know what, my responsibility

is to my readers.

They're citizens who are

patriots...

they're citizens who support

our troops.

And how do you do that, Arthur?

By going down on

The New York Times?

I don't have time for this.

No, you don't have time.

You don't have time.

You know, one day,

The New York Times...

is going to apologize

to its readers.

And when that day comes, are you

gonna write your own apology?

Or are you just going to run

theirs?

Have a nice day, John.

It is beginning to look more

and more as though...

war with Iraq is inevitable.

The Showdown with Iraq and the

countdown to a speech...

by Secretary of State

Colin Powell...

that could move the world

closer to war.

There's not much left for the

soldiers to do but wait...

for orders to attack, Ryan

Chillcoat reports...

That's so frustrating.

I don't know that I could

do what you do.

You know, I once got it

in my head...

that I should hike the

Appalachian Trail.

Thought that it would just be a

good challenge for myself.

Then I look at it on a map

and it's like 2200 miles.

I realized...

That it would take a lifetime?

Yeah.

Or we could walk it together.

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