War Machine Page #4

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get everybody talking together.

The time will fly, you know?

Get everybody excited.

You know, you're the best

in the business at this stuff.

We've been operating

at an extremely high optempo.

In the last week,

we've conducted six air assaults

into previously denied territories.

Uh, we're also

in final coordination with RC South

to develop an ops box

in the seams

existing along the provincial border.

You got that, uh, Lexus?

No. No, now we got a Prius.

She got the new Prius.

Sweet.

Yeah, my wife, too. She's got one.

We both have one. We love it.

My first car was a Taurus.

My father bought it.

What do you got?

Sir.

Where you boys headed?

Back to our patrol base, sir. Sasquatch.

Where you coming from?

Where are we from in the States,

or where have we just been?

Where have you just been?

- Italy, sir, on R & R.

- Ah.

R & R in Italy.

- Yes, sir.

- Well...

Attention on deck!

So why the long faces?

You just got back from Italy.

I'm guessing you ate

some sensational food,

saw some antiquities. Hmm?

I bet you got yourselves good and drunk

and bumped into beautiful girls.

So what's it like out there?

Out where, sir?

- Sasquatch, son.

- Oh, um...

it's not good, sir.

You know, I mean, it's whatever.

- It's... it's okay.

- No, it's a f***ing shithole, sir.

No, I don't know.

We'll see where we land.

Cory, what time's that bird due?

- Uh, in about 20 minutes.

- Cancel it.

Uh, why's that, boss?

I'm going to Sasquatch

with those boys there.

General, those boys are heading out

to an inhospitable corner of the world.

I'm a goddamn Ranger, Frank.

Those boys, they need me.

I've spent the last week or so

talking to guys

who I would call middle management.

But you boys are at the coal face.

After all the blah, blah, blah,

you boys are where it actually happens.

I'd go so far as to say

you boys are the only thing that counts.

If it doesn't happen here,

it doesn't happen. End of story.

- Yes, son?

- If what doesn't happen, sir?

It, son.

Okay, thank you, sir.

Does anyone here know what "it" is?

Anyone?

Anyone?

To, uh, secure the area, sir.

To protect the people from the enemy

so they can go about building their lives.

Okay. Okay, thank you, Sergeant.

Okay, but I can't tell the difference

between the people and the enemy.

They all look alike to me.

I'm pretty sure

they're the same people, sir.

I understand it can be tough, son,

but that's the job.

I have another question.

Um, I hear now they're giving out medals

for heroic restraint.

Do I have that right?

Courageous restraint.

And that is right.

Well, I don't mean to be rude, sir,

but I do not understand

what the f*** that means.

It means, son, that sometimes

when you're dealing with an insurgency,

you're not gonna be 100% clear

on who the enemy is.

It means you're gonna find yourself

in situations where,

when you're afraid or whatnot,

you're gonna have to make

a judgment call.

Because, as Sergeant Ortega here

has so rightly pointed out,

your mission is to protect the people,

not kill them.

We can't help them

and kill them at the same time.

It just ain't humanly possible.

Do you understand me?

No, not really, sir. No.

What part are you struggling

to comprehend, son?

I don't know, sir. It seems to me

that we all here with our guns and sh*t,

trying to convince these people that...

deep down we're actually really nice guys.

And I don't know how to do that, sir,

when every second one of them

or every third one of them

or every tenth one of them

is trying to f***ing kill me, sir.

'Cause I'm a marine. 'Cause we're marines.

And it seem like now

they handing out medals

for heroically not being a marine, sir.

I'm confused,

is what I'm trying to say, sir.

Well, then you're just gonna have

to get yourself unconfused, son.

On the day

of the Afghan general elections,

for which Glen had waited so patiently,

Badi Bassim joined his team.

Cory wouldn't tell me

where he found Glen his Afghan mascot.

No, I'm doing your job!

He said he just found him

in the phone book.

Put the bag down.

I assume that was a joke.

My name is Captain Badi Bassim.

I'm here to start work

with, uh, General McMahon.

- Who?

- McMahon.

- McMahon?

- Yeah.

- Why are you not wearing the uniform?

- Uh, my uniform is in my bag.

It's too dangerous for me to wear it

while I am walking here from my home.

Unzip it.

Unzip the bag.

My uniform.

- Why are you walking in here?

- Why I am working here?

Walking! Walking! Walking here?

Walking.

I like to walk.

- Badi! Come in. Come in.

- Ah!

Everyone, this is my new aide-de-camp,

Badi Bassim.

He's a soldier and a scholar.

This is the face of the new Afghanistan.

Greg, you know. That's Cory.

You know Cory. Pete Duckman.

And, uh...

we got people here

from Spain and Italy and, uh...

- You know, places like that.

- Okay.

Ah.

- Have you voted?

- I wanted to report to you first.

- You haven't voted?

- No.

Good. Good. You can do it right here.

We got a polling booth right here,

right around the corner.

Okay.

- Election day. It's exciting.

- Yeah.

This is important, Badi.

That long line of men,

that slow shuffle there,

that's the slow shuffle towards freedom.

The steps are small but, by God,

their importance...

It's like the moon landing.

Small step, giant leap. Yeah.

Are you familiar

with the moon landing, son?

- Yes, sir.

- It's like the goddamn moon landing.

Yes, sir, I agree. It's very important.

- Yes, it is.

- Yeah.

- A what?

- We're gonna have another election.

We can't ignore these fraud allegations.

They're coming in

from every corner of the country

and everything points

to a ridiculous Karzai victory.

I mean, the whole thing

just smells stupid.

Sure.

Sure, there's gonna be irregularity

now and again.

But surely a result

is the best possible outcome. Yeah?

The polling station,

the one right there over where you are...

367 registered voters,

1,200 votes counted.

It's a joke.

We're going to a runoff election.

Tell them what you told me!

Uh...

- About what, sir?

- About the elections.

About the whole concept of elections

in this country.

Well, I was just observing, sir,

that, um, people don't quite

understand elections.

They see that the president is alive,

everything is okay.

So what's the big problem?

Why are we having an election?

Yeah.

And then you have an election anyway,

and people vote for whoever

the local leaders tell them to vote for.

Yeah.

Because they don't want to have

their heads chopped off.

See what I mean?

Thank you... for that. Uh...

I'm sorry, Glen.

We're going to a runoff election.

Jesus H...

I got the White House sitting on my report

till after these elections get done.

I can't do anything until the president

approves my recommendations.

And now you're telling me that's not gonna

be until after another goddamn election?!

You need a legitimate partner here, Glen.

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