The Looming Tower (2018) s01e03 Episode Script
Mistakes Were Made
1 Deb Fletcher, Chief of Station.
Oh Hi.
You come find me when you're done.
I'm one floor up.
Less than 36 hours ago, some number of Americans and scores of Kenyans were murdered.
Has there been any word on an American woman, Deborah Fletcher? Our estimates give us a 75, 80% chance of killing UBL if we wipe out all the targets.
How much collateral damage are we talking about? Find him, arrest him, put him on trial, then in jail.
Treat him like a criminal, not a hero.
The day before, an Arab man walked up to the guard house.
He wanted to know how I operated the metal bar.
I believe he lives up in Manchester.
All right, I'm coming to England.
Ali, Barry, I'll see you tomorrow morning in Manchester.
The President agreed today to testify in the Monica Lewinsky case.
The White House will be desperate to turn people's attention away from the story.
We're gonna finally get Clinton to pull the fucking trigger on al-Qaeda.
Oh After the embassy bombings in East Africa, the United States engaged in two retaliatory strikes, did it not? I'm sorry, was that not rhetorical? No, we ask real questions here.
Yes.
Let the records show actually, I believe it already does that there were two retaliatory strikes.
Thank you.
And how much thought went into - the American military response? - How much thought? I don't understand the question.
- How much thought? - The American government had two paths open, following the embassy bombings.
We could've treated the bombings as crimes, and used the FBI to hunt down the criminals, and prosecute them under American law.
The other option was to treat the hostile individuals Hostile is perhaps an understatement.
As we would treat a hostile nation, and respond to their bombings with bombs of our own.
We chose the second path with Operation Infinite Reach, did we not? - Surely rhetorical.
- So, what I am asking is, how much thought went into the decision to treat the bombings of the embassies as though they were an act of war? Well, what do you think qualifies as an act of war? Hm? We go forward now.
You should all know that our teams are on the ground in Africa.
We will do whatever we can to bring the murderers to justice.
There has never been a time in human history when we have been free of the organized forces of destruction.
And the more open the world becomes, the more vulnerable people become to those who are organized and have weapons, technology, and the ability to move.
Hey, how are you? Good.
How are you? I'm fine.
- What was that? - What? Was that a zip? Oh, yes, my boot, it has a zip.
- Going out? - Yeah.
Where are you? I I can't tell you.
Is it nice? Is it warm? I, uh I can't tell you.
You can't tell me if it's warm? Yeah, and you can't ask me to tell you things I shouldn't tell you.
Okay.
I won't ask you if it's warm again.
Um listen very, very closely.
Is that rain? Okay, so where does it rain in August? - Brazil? - So I've heard.
- Okay - so not Brazil.
Well, that's about half of South America, which is one of six inhabitable continents, so I've narrowed it down to about 92% of the world.
Hmm where's Waldo? And when is he coming back? I don't know for sure.
What's happening over there? No, I do not want this all to be one-sided.
I'll tell you something if you tell me one thing, one actual thing.
I can't tell you this.
It's too cheesy.
How can a thing be too cheesy? Your eyes are blue, and just around the pupil, turquoise.
Look, uh I gotta go.
- I'll call you soon, yeah? - I look forward to it.
Okay.
Transport's leaving at 11:00 tonight, and you're on it, taking all of this with you, so everything here needs to be bagged and tagged.
You're the engineer.
- I have the blueprints.
- Great.
Chuck! You need Chuck.
He's running forensics.
Toyota sent their best man.
- Chuck Esposito.
- We talked on the phone - What's up? - I got a tip I want you to check out.
Come here.
Guy calls in, anonymous.
Said someone's staying in a hotel over in the Somali quarter, and they don't fit in.
- They don't fit in? - What's that mean? Got no clue.
Why don't you check it out? They didn't ask for some specifics or something? Hey, we follow every fucking lead, big or small.
If there's other business you banana heads would rather be doing, - I can take this elsewhere.
- No, no, we we got it.
Thank you.
The general feeling among my people is that an appropriate military response means two for two.
They hit two of our targets, so we get to hit them where it hurts the most.
- Twice.
- And this is? - Uh, a tannery, sir.
- A what? - Uh, it's a tannery.
- It's in the Sudan.
Look, Bin Laden owns it.
We take it out, we're taking out one of his income streams.
Half the fighters in al-Qaeda are doing it for the money.
We have to disrupt that cash flow.
And the other target? One of the training camps.
Is Bin Laden going to be there? Our intelligence confirms he's often there.
Will he be there when the missiles strike? I can't make that promise.
Solution is to hit all the camps, but you don't wanna do that.
Fine with the camp, not with, uh Uh, tannery, sir, where you make leather.
We've got to hit him financially.
Are you seriously telling me a tannery? A fucking tannery is a significant source of funding for al-Qaeda? I know you're in a rush, boys, but do your fucking homework.
So you'll prep the President on the two-for-two strategy? I don't prep the President, I advise him, and I can tell you right now, - he's not gonna like it.
- Well, that's good, sir.
No one should like going to war.
He starts throwing bombs, and the press will say he's spilling blood to distract everyone from Monica Lewinsky.
That's what they'll say.
Dick, advise the President that some of us aren't into it for the politics.
We're into it for America.
I won't be passing that on, but thank you.
We have been attacked.
This is combat.
Clinton needs to nut up, do his job, and prioritize national security over what the bobbleheads are saying on the nightly fucking news.
Is that not correct, Dick? Find me another target.
Al-Liby has just got back from Nairobi.
He's al-Qaeda.
We can assume he's dangerous.
Feel safe now? Your toys didn't get broken on the drive over or anything? Now, if this guy today pulls a weapon on you, - and I'm somewhere else - Like where? - Like chasing his accomplice.
- Oh, I see.
Oh, you're getting chased, just like in the films? I'm chasing one guy, you're talking to another, he pulls a gun, what would you do? Pull your weapon, and I'll show ya.
How about not playing with guns in this very small car? - Ah, your friend is no fun.
- Ah, he's fun.
- He's fun.
- Hm.
Shall we? When did he get back from Kenya? A few days ago.
- Uh, can I help ya? - How are ya? I'm Chief Superintendent James from Scotland Yard.
These two gentlemen are from the FBI.
You're joking with me.
No, ma'am.
Oh, you're from America.
Now, what are you doing in Manchester? We're looking for a guy.
Oh are you? Called Anas al-Liby.
- Yes.
- Well, he lives here.
Fantastic.
We need to have a little chat with him.
Yeah, okay then.
Come in.
Wipe your feet.
Mostly Somalis around here, huh? A lot of refugees, from the civil war.
This it? Let me go in first, see what they know.
They may not cooperate with Americans.
Black Hawk Down.
No, no, no, no, no.
Wrong hotel.
Wrong hotel.
Down the street.
Down the street.
What did he say? He said it's the wrong hotel.
I rent that place as a guest house.
Anas has been staying there awhile.
Thanks very much.
Come in.
You are welcome.
- Oh, thanks a bunch.
- Don't mind if I do.
I have nothing to hide.
You were just in Kenya.
Weren't ya? Bring back any souvenirs or anything? My niece was there, backpacking.
She brought back an insanely large wooden giraffe, practically life size.
Can't believe they let her on the plane with it.
Get yourself anything like that? I assume you have a warrant? See for yourself.
Turn on that computer.
It's on.
He wiped it.
He said, "Winds don't always blow" in the direction that ships desire.
" What'd you say? I said, "Shut the fuck up.
" Quickly.
Come on, move.
Move! Stop! Back the fuck up! Stay back! Stay back! I said stay back! Stay back! Get in, get in, get in, get in, get in.
He was very polite.
Very proper.
Almost never came in the house.
Uh, one time, he did, uh, 'cause there were a leak, and I had the builder out there, getting it fixed.
So I said to Anas, "Don't be daft.
" "Just come inside while Roy's working.
Sit in kitchen, keep me company.
" And I offered him a sausage, and it were pork, and I didn't know they didn't eat pork.
Uh, I thought that was just Jewish people, so I thought I'd got confused, and that he were Jewish, and he said he weren't, and We laughed a little bit.
He were dead quiet, very clean.
Always paid his rent on time.
John, we've got nothing on him.
- Of course we have.
- That's how we got a warrant.
The search is turning up nothing.
His landlady's got nothing but nice things to say about him.
There's nothing on his computer.
- 'Cause he wiped it.
- That's evidence right there.
- It is not.
- Our fucking informant in the States ID'd him as al-Qaeda.
He just got back from Nairobi by way of Dubai.
He said he went for a wedding.
And the night I met my wife, I told her I owned a beach house.
There is overwhelming circumstantial evidence.
- Figure out a charge! - Listen to me, there are laws in this country, and I believe in yours too, yes? Laws about not detaining people without evidence.
And sometimes, it's frustrating.
Barry, don't talk to me like I'm fucking two years old.
And I'm not about to start breaking rules and making things up because you're not getting what you want, because that's how the system falls apart.
Now, be you never so high, the law is above you.
The fuck is that? A fridge magnet? No, no, no, don't answer it.
No - What do you need, boss? - I need that hard drive the sisters picked up last month from Azerbaijan.
- Yeah - I want you to run a name through it: Anas al-Liby.
Don't write it down.
Anas al-Liby.
- What is wrong with you? - Hey, listen, uh, they've got that vault walled off for me.
Well, I need you to figure it out, okay? He walks unless you find something.
Okay, boss.
Those motherfuckers really don't get that we're all on the same team, do they? How are you, Martin? Catch those Redskins tonight? You're not supposed to be in here.
No one told me that.
I mean, the door isn't locked.
What are you doing? Couldn't sleep.
Figured I may as well work.
Fucking Amy's fucking snoring.
It's distracting.
Figured I'd work in here.
Is that not okay? Fine, it's not okay.
It's not a big deal.
Hey, Vincent I know you need O'Neill to hold you close and call you sonny boy to make up for how Pops went away to Atlantic City one weekend and never came back, but if you think that you can walk into my house and steal my information and walk it over to the other side, then you really do have the IQ of a of a baby.
You're a paranoid man.
That's okay.
I get it.
Means you're the right man for the job.
You know what the technical term is for stealing our shit without asking? Rude.
Treason.
You don't know what's on that hard drive.
You don't know how many people might be in danger by being privy to information that you, specifically you, are not cleared for.
And if that hard drive leaves this room, you leave this building.
And I wouldn't be surprised if you aren't allowed back into any government building ever Except maybe prison.
You know they're winning, right? And you know that's not beer, right? It's water mixed with a little bit of Mr.
Budweiser's piss.
This is exactly what I'm saying.
You're not taking the situation seriously.
There's a time to work, and there's a time to play.
You have to make sure your superiors - My what now? - Your superiors understand how organized these guys are, how passionate.
They're serious, they're monied, - and they're international.
- Yeah, listen to the man, for he knows of what he speaks.
You will remember him as a prophet.
Come on Eileen Oh I swear to Eileen At this moment You guys should be setting up a dedicated task force like we have in the States, okay? We have a Bin Laden department.
- CIA, FBI, White House.
- The kid's right.
Talk to the Queen, make it so.
Listen, Soufan, this is not the first time England's ever encountered a terrorist now, is it? I don't know why you're giving me the lecture, you arrogant little fucker.
I worked IRA cases through the 70s - Ah, jeez.
- And all through the 80s, so let me explain something to you about the nature of a battle.
It's a mind game.
They want you to think that they're an all-powerful force, that they can they can vaporize you with their eyeballs, but it's not that.
They're a rag-tag bunch of misfits and trouble makers that can't get a girlfriend, so they're getting their dicks hard by playing with guns.
And that's all they are.
And that is how you treat them.
You're underestimating them.
And you're feeding their illusions.
A Bin Laden unit? Jesus Christ, you I mean, you might as well pin a medal on the man.
It took you 70 years to beat the IRA, and that's if the peace holds.
We don't have that sort of time.
I swear to God, if I was a Muslim, I'd have five wives.
He dances like his mother.
Not much.
Are you married? No.
I've been married for 23 years.
Find the right woman, you can be out and about, having more fun than you ever had in your life, and suddenly, you'll wanna come home.
That must be the worst feeling in the world, huh? Not wanting to go home? Hello? Bad line.
Say it again? This is Ayman al Zawahiri.
Zawahiri.
Hello, doctor.
How are you? This is what I want you to print.
Tell the Americans we can take on the United States.
We aren't afraid of acts of aggression.
We suffered and survived the Soviet bombings for ten years in Afghanistan.
We are ready for more sacrifices.
The war has only just begun.
Everybody got that? Bin Laden just used his satellite phone.
He's at the training camp.
You wanna get him, we go now.
Now.
I know you want me to just push a button under my desk and blow shit up, but no such button was provided to me.
First, I talk to your boss, then I talk to my boss, the President, who may or may not give the order.
Tell George I'm coming over Now.
Yes, sir.
Elliot, the President's almost certainly gonna have to come back from the Vineyard.
Shave your beard, did ya? Felt like a change? So, what are you doing in Nairobi? You're a Saudi, aren't you? How'd you hurt your hand? Looks pretty nasty.
Now, that's not true.
You checked into the hotel in English.
Your English is great.
You were born in England.
We have friends of yours back in the States, who have sat in rooms very much like this one.
Slightly fresher paint, maybe.
They've told us all about you.
I don't like this one.
Think you can get her out of here? - Get out of here.
- But we're doing Out! Sorry about that.
Have you got a chance to pray today? - Yeah, thanks.
- Good.
No, but thank you.
So, you got the money from the bank? And then, that same day, you walked by the embassy when the bomb blew up.
Yeah.
I think it was an accident or something.
At the embassy? Maybe a gas leak.
No, I doubt it.
But let's not worry about that right now.
I just wanna get my facts straight.
So, you went to the bank the same day as the explosion or a different day? Same day.
You got knocked down by the blast.
- You went to the hospital? - Mm-hmm.
And that's where you discovered that you'd lost all your identification documents in the explosion? Yes.
And you're here exploring business opportunities? - You're a nut merchant.
- Mm-hmm.
- What kinda nuts? - All of them.
So, someone at the bank gave you $800, and you're walking, boom, your ID flies away, disappears, but the money is okay.
Help me understand that.
- The money was in my jacket.
- That jacket? In here.
Oh, so, right now, you're wearing what you wore that day? Exactly.
See I had a suitcase.
Inside was my wallet and my other clothes.
I was going away for for a couple days.
Okay.
I get it.
I had a suitcase in this hand, and it was blasted away.
When I woke up, it was gone.
When I got up, I was in Quite shocking.
It was shocking.
So many people got hurt.
We're guessing there's more than 4,000 people wounded, at least 200 people dead.
Only 12 Americans, then just other people.
All sorts of other people from all over: Muslims, Christians, black, white, brown, and Why do innocent people have to suffer? That's a question I ask myself all the time.
I pray about it too.
Why? What do you think? We don't know who's innocent.
Only Allah knows.
He judges, he punishes.
He's in control.
There's no need for you to worry about who's innocent and who's not.
Thank you for saying that, because sometimes, you know, these last few days, I I've seen those crushed bodies Those families grieving, and it's just horrible.
You know, back in the day, I was in the army And I don't know what basic training's like in the KSA, but in the States, it's pretty intense.
I mean, fun too.
You make friends.
Like like, I never knew what true friendship was, until I was running, climbing, shooting, shitting, praying with a bunch of 20 other guys that I never met before in my life, and I had nothing in common with, except we're all going on no sleep and crap food, we hate and love our C.
O.
, and we are all willing to die in the mud for what we believe in.
Anyway, I was pretty good, and I wound up doing some advanced training in counter-interrogation techniques.
- You ever did that? - Mm-hmm.
- You ever serve? - Yeah, of course.
Right, so you know the whole thing, right? They beat you up, scream at you, try to get you to answer their questions, and the whole thing is, you gotta stick to your cover story, and if you do that, you pass, and you, sir, you did very, very well.
You got a great cover story.
But you made two mistakes.
What mistakes? First, you got blood all over your hands, but there's no blood on your clothes.
And you're wearing the same clothes you wore that day? No way.
No way, man.
I washed my clothes at the hotel.
You see, Arab men are a lot cleaner than American men.
See, the first thing we do when we get something on our clothes is - wash it off.
- Okay.
That's true.
I know a lot of American men that live like pigs.
You ever see a fat man eat at McDonald's? Always gets ketchup on his shirt.
Always.
You did say two mistakes.
Hey, look at your belt, man.
It's all spiffy.
It's got no dust in the creases.
I'm a clean Arab man.
No Look down.
It's got no creases.
It looks new.
I think you fucked up.
Unbuckle the belt.
- Excuse me? - No, no, no, it's okay.
Just unbuckle the belt.
Yeah, I think you fucked up your cover story.
And I'm guessing you've got spiffy new shoes on your feet, nice new clothes on your back, brand new belt.
You gotta be kidding me.
You forgot to take the price tag off.
It's all right.
It's okay.
You're young.
Rookie mistake, my friend.
Write it down.
- Write what down - Write it down! Write it down! Write down the number you called after the bomb went off! Write down the number! What is the number? Number he called after the bombing.
How did you get this? I asked.
You guys checked out this pharmaceutical plant? You read the report? I was right in the middle, when Eager Beaver burst in.
Ah.
Soil samples show high concentrations of EMPTA.
Only reason anybody uses that is to make nerve gas.
It's a fucking chemical weapons factory, Dick.
Now, I'm not saying that we're lucky that they bombed the embassies, because God bless, but it is definitely a silver lining, in that we get to dismantle their Khartoum operation, because as we both know, if ever there were a chemical attack, it would make the East Africa situation look like a fucking walk in the park.
I know.
This motherfucker Bin Laden isn't kidding around.
That is correct.
That's why we have to act now.
He's there right now.
Have a cigar there, Eager Beaver.
We are gonna act now, right? President's traveling.
We can brief him while he's in the air.
Sounds good.
Let's do it.
Monica Lewinsky will now testify before a Grand Jury about the details of her alleged involvement with President Clinton, and possible conversations with Mr.
Clinton about concealing evidence.
Miss Lewinsky will break seven months of silence as the first of two key witnesses.
The other witness, of course, is the President himself.
So they're in the air? Still spinning in their tubes on our ships in the Red and Arabian Seas.
Do you think we were right to wait for nightfall? Obviously, a night attack limits collateral damage.
It is more tasteful.
But the risk, the considerable risk in attempting to fight a war without real bloodshed, is that you won't strike the definitive blow and the fight will go on and on and on.
- I agree.
- Harder on our troops.
And harder on our enemies.
I mean, which would you prefer? Death by 1,000 cuts? Or a quick, clean decapitation? Well the latter would be less painful - Mm-hm.
- But with the former, I might have a chance.
I could fight back.
Very good.
Yes, you could.
There's very few women not frightened by war.
We're always at war.
I learned that on the Russia desk.
Every single day is a real live battle between our country and her many devious and far less tasteful enemies.
And we all have a choice.
You can pretend it isn't happening, like my mother, and make chit-chat about dog shelters and pizza toppings, or you can accept the world as it really is, and do whatever you can to make sure your side isn't the one that gets annihilated.
Hmm.
Mothers.
Hey, you hear about this fucking bullshit? Your boss hear about it? Director Freeh hears about everything.
- He been over here? - No.
Well, tell him to get his fucking ass - back over here - Director Freeh stops listening the second arrogant assholes start raising their voices.
- Why wasn't I told? - About? Dropping bombs while I got agents on the ground.
You have agents in Kenya.
They're in hostile territory, wearing fucking jackets with FBI stenciled all over the back of 'em, and you just turned the heat up to 100 degrees.
As much as I appreciate you weighing in on White House foreign policy, it is not your purview It is when I got men on the ground! Has someone warned my guys? - Not yet.
- They need to know.
We need to get extra security over there.
There's not enough security over there as it is.
No one can know about this till it's done.
Okay.
You ever met Kathy Shaughnessy's dad? Real nice guy.
He's a firefighter.
Pulled more people out of the Bronx when it was burning than almost anyone else in the city.
- That right? - Yeah.
You get to tell him.
If something happens to her, okay, you get to say, "I'm sorry", stupid decisions were made.
" How was England? He slipped right through our fingers.
Trying to get these guys, it's like chasing ghosts.
We'll get them.
I was gone, and you got talked into bullshit by Tenet and Schmidt, who don't give a shit about my people and what we're doing over there.
It wasn't their call.
It was the President's call.
Well, here's what you should've told the President: "Bin Laden's laid a trap, and we're walking right in it and nibbling the cheese.
" - He wants to go to war.
- John the United States military is the United States military.
This is not a war al-Qaeda can win.
Well I'll tell you the first thing that'll happen after the bombs fall and the dead get cleared away.
They'll get a ton of new recruits.
You don't care what happens to the people who are targeted? That is correct.
And what about those who are clearly determined to be innocent? Mistakes are made.
Mistakes are made? If you can prove that there was not due diligence in designing the target package and assembling the information that caused the operation to go forward, then you have a case against someone.
If not, it's just a mistake.
And if they're not Americans, I really don't care.
Excuse me? I don't get paid, sir, to be a citizen of the world.
Maybe you do.
Mohamed? Mohamed? Mohamed?
Oh Hi.
You come find me when you're done.
I'm one floor up.
Less than 36 hours ago, some number of Americans and scores of Kenyans were murdered.
Has there been any word on an American woman, Deborah Fletcher? Our estimates give us a 75, 80% chance of killing UBL if we wipe out all the targets.
How much collateral damage are we talking about? Find him, arrest him, put him on trial, then in jail.
Treat him like a criminal, not a hero.
The day before, an Arab man walked up to the guard house.
He wanted to know how I operated the metal bar.
I believe he lives up in Manchester.
All right, I'm coming to England.
Ali, Barry, I'll see you tomorrow morning in Manchester.
The President agreed today to testify in the Monica Lewinsky case.
The White House will be desperate to turn people's attention away from the story.
We're gonna finally get Clinton to pull the fucking trigger on al-Qaeda.
Oh After the embassy bombings in East Africa, the United States engaged in two retaliatory strikes, did it not? I'm sorry, was that not rhetorical? No, we ask real questions here.
Yes.
Let the records show actually, I believe it already does that there were two retaliatory strikes.
Thank you.
And how much thought went into - the American military response? - How much thought? I don't understand the question.
- How much thought? - The American government had two paths open, following the embassy bombings.
We could've treated the bombings as crimes, and used the FBI to hunt down the criminals, and prosecute them under American law.
The other option was to treat the hostile individuals Hostile is perhaps an understatement.
As we would treat a hostile nation, and respond to their bombings with bombs of our own.
We chose the second path with Operation Infinite Reach, did we not? - Surely rhetorical.
- So, what I am asking is, how much thought went into the decision to treat the bombings of the embassies as though they were an act of war? Well, what do you think qualifies as an act of war? Hm? We go forward now.
You should all know that our teams are on the ground in Africa.
We will do whatever we can to bring the murderers to justice.
There has never been a time in human history when we have been free of the organized forces of destruction.
And the more open the world becomes, the more vulnerable people become to those who are organized and have weapons, technology, and the ability to move.
Hey, how are you? Good.
How are you? I'm fine.
- What was that? - What? Was that a zip? Oh, yes, my boot, it has a zip.
- Going out? - Yeah.
Where are you? I I can't tell you.
Is it nice? Is it warm? I, uh I can't tell you.
You can't tell me if it's warm? Yeah, and you can't ask me to tell you things I shouldn't tell you.
Okay.
I won't ask you if it's warm again.
Um listen very, very closely.
Is that rain? Okay, so where does it rain in August? - Brazil? - So I've heard.
- Okay - so not Brazil.
Well, that's about half of South America, which is one of six inhabitable continents, so I've narrowed it down to about 92% of the world.
Hmm where's Waldo? And when is he coming back? I don't know for sure.
What's happening over there? No, I do not want this all to be one-sided.
I'll tell you something if you tell me one thing, one actual thing.
I can't tell you this.
It's too cheesy.
How can a thing be too cheesy? Your eyes are blue, and just around the pupil, turquoise.
Look, uh I gotta go.
- I'll call you soon, yeah? - I look forward to it.
Okay.
Transport's leaving at 11:00 tonight, and you're on it, taking all of this with you, so everything here needs to be bagged and tagged.
You're the engineer.
- I have the blueprints.
- Great.
Chuck! You need Chuck.
He's running forensics.
Toyota sent their best man.
- Chuck Esposito.
- We talked on the phone - What's up? - I got a tip I want you to check out.
Come here.
Guy calls in, anonymous.
Said someone's staying in a hotel over in the Somali quarter, and they don't fit in.
- They don't fit in? - What's that mean? Got no clue.
Why don't you check it out? They didn't ask for some specifics or something? Hey, we follow every fucking lead, big or small.
If there's other business you banana heads would rather be doing, - I can take this elsewhere.
- No, no, we we got it.
Thank you.
The general feeling among my people is that an appropriate military response means two for two.
They hit two of our targets, so we get to hit them where it hurts the most.
- Twice.
- And this is? - Uh, a tannery, sir.
- A what? - Uh, it's a tannery.
- It's in the Sudan.
Look, Bin Laden owns it.
We take it out, we're taking out one of his income streams.
Half the fighters in al-Qaeda are doing it for the money.
We have to disrupt that cash flow.
And the other target? One of the training camps.
Is Bin Laden going to be there? Our intelligence confirms he's often there.
Will he be there when the missiles strike? I can't make that promise.
Solution is to hit all the camps, but you don't wanna do that.
Fine with the camp, not with, uh Uh, tannery, sir, where you make leather.
We've got to hit him financially.
Are you seriously telling me a tannery? A fucking tannery is a significant source of funding for al-Qaeda? I know you're in a rush, boys, but do your fucking homework.
So you'll prep the President on the two-for-two strategy? I don't prep the President, I advise him, and I can tell you right now, - he's not gonna like it.
- Well, that's good, sir.
No one should like going to war.
He starts throwing bombs, and the press will say he's spilling blood to distract everyone from Monica Lewinsky.
That's what they'll say.
Dick, advise the President that some of us aren't into it for the politics.
We're into it for America.
I won't be passing that on, but thank you.
We have been attacked.
This is combat.
Clinton needs to nut up, do his job, and prioritize national security over what the bobbleheads are saying on the nightly fucking news.
Is that not correct, Dick? Find me another target.
Al-Liby has just got back from Nairobi.
He's al-Qaeda.
We can assume he's dangerous.
Feel safe now? Your toys didn't get broken on the drive over or anything? Now, if this guy today pulls a weapon on you, - and I'm somewhere else - Like where? - Like chasing his accomplice.
- Oh, I see.
Oh, you're getting chased, just like in the films? I'm chasing one guy, you're talking to another, he pulls a gun, what would you do? Pull your weapon, and I'll show ya.
How about not playing with guns in this very small car? - Ah, your friend is no fun.
- Ah, he's fun.
- He's fun.
- Hm.
Shall we? When did he get back from Kenya? A few days ago.
- Uh, can I help ya? - How are ya? I'm Chief Superintendent James from Scotland Yard.
These two gentlemen are from the FBI.
You're joking with me.
No, ma'am.
Oh, you're from America.
Now, what are you doing in Manchester? We're looking for a guy.
Oh are you? Called Anas al-Liby.
- Yes.
- Well, he lives here.
Fantastic.
We need to have a little chat with him.
Yeah, okay then.
Come in.
Wipe your feet.
Mostly Somalis around here, huh? A lot of refugees, from the civil war.
This it? Let me go in first, see what they know.
They may not cooperate with Americans.
Black Hawk Down.
No, no, no, no, no.
Wrong hotel.
Wrong hotel.
Down the street.
Down the street.
What did he say? He said it's the wrong hotel.
I rent that place as a guest house.
Anas has been staying there awhile.
Thanks very much.
Come in.
You are welcome.
- Oh, thanks a bunch.
- Don't mind if I do.
I have nothing to hide.
You were just in Kenya.
Weren't ya? Bring back any souvenirs or anything? My niece was there, backpacking.
She brought back an insanely large wooden giraffe, practically life size.
Can't believe they let her on the plane with it.
Get yourself anything like that? I assume you have a warrant? See for yourself.
Turn on that computer.
It's on.
He wiped it.
He said, "Winds don't always blow" in the direction that ships desire.
" What'd you say? I said, "Shut the fuck up.
" Quickly.
Come on, move.
Move! Stop! Back the fuck up! Stay back! Stay back! I said stay back! Stay back! Get in, get in, get in, get in, get in.
He was very polite.
Very proper.
Almost never came in the house.
Uh, one time, he did, uh, 'cause there were a leak, and I had the builder out there, getting it fixed.
So I said to Anas, "Don't be daft.
" "Just come inside while Roy's working.
Sit in kitchen, keep me company.
" And I offered him a sausage, and it were pork, and I didn't know they didn't eat pork.
Uh, I thought that was just Jewish people, so I thought I'd got confused, and that he were Jewish, and he said he weren't, and We laughed a little bit.
He were dead quiet, very clean.
Always paid his rent on time.
John, we've got nothing on him.
- Of course we have.
- That's how we got a warrant.
The search is turning up nothing.
His landlady's got nothing but nice things to say about him.
There's nothing on his computer.
- 'Cause he wiped it.
- That's evidence right there.
- It is not.
- Our fucking informant in the States ID'd him as al-Qaeda.
He just got back from Nairobi by way of Dubai.
He said he went for a wedding.
And the night I met my wife, I told her I owned a beach house.
There is overwhelming circumstantial evidence.
- Figure out a charge! - Listen to me, there are laws in this country, and I believe in yours too, yes? Laws about not detaining people without evidence.
And sometimes, it's frustrating.
Barry, don't talk to me like I'm fucking two years old.
And I'm not about to start breaking rules and making things up because you're not getting what you want, because that's how the system falls apart.
Now, be you never so high, the law is above you.
The fuck is that? A fridge magnet? No, no, no, don't answer it.
No - What do you need, boss? - I need that hard drive the sisters picked up last month from Azerbaijan.
- Yeah - I want you to run a name through it: Anas al-Liby.
Don't write it down.
Anas al-Liby.
- What is wrong with you? - Hey, listen, uh, they've got that vault walled off for me.
Well, I need you to figure it out, okay? He walks unless you find something.
Okay, boss.
Those motherfuckers really don't get that we're all on the same team, do they? How are you, Martin? Catch those Redskins tonight? You're not supposed to be in here.
No one told me that.
I mean, the door isn't locked.
What are you doing? Couldn't sleep.
Figured I may as well work.
Fucking Amy's fucking snoring.
It's distracting.
Figured I'd work in here.
Is that not okay? Fine, it's not okay.
It's not a big deal.
Hey, Vincent I know you need O'Neill to hold you close and call you sonny boy to make up for how Pops went away to Atlantic City one weekend and never came back, but if you think that you can walk into my house and steal my information and walk it over to the other side, then you really do have the IQ of a of a baby.
You're a paranoid man.
That's okay.
I get it.
Means you're the right man for the job.
You know what the technical term is for stealing our shit without asking? Rude.
Treason.
You don't know what's on that hard drive.
You don't know how many people might be in danger by being privy to information that you, specifically you, are not cleared for.
And if that hard drive leaves this room, you leave this building.
And I wouldn't be surprised if you aren't allowed back into any government building ever Except maybe prison.
You know they're winning, right? And you know that's not beer, right? It's water mixed with a little bit of Mr.
Budweiser's piss.
This is exactly what I'm saying.
You're not taking the situation seriously.
There's a time to work, and there's a time to play.
You have to make sure your superiors - My what now? - Your superiors understand how organized these guys are, how passionate.
They're serious, they're monied, - and they're international.
- Yeah, listen to the man, for he knows of what he speaks.
You will remember him as a prophet.
Come on Eileen Oh I swear to Eileen At this moment You guys should be setting up a dedicated task force like we have in the States, okay? We have a Bin Laden department.
- CIA, FBI, White House.
- The kid's right.
Talk to the Queen, make it so.
Listen, Soufan, this is not the first time England's ever encountered a terrorist now, is it? I don't know why you're giving me the lecture, you arrogant little fucker.
I worked IRA cases through the 70s - Ah, jeez.
- And all through the 80s, so let me explain something to you about the nature of a battle.
It's a mind game.
They want you to think that they're an all-powerful force, that they can they can vaporize you with their eyeballs, but it's not that.
They're a rag-tag bunch of misfits and trouble makers that can't get a girlfriend, so they're getting their dicks hard by playing with guns.
And that's all they are.
And that is how you treat them.
You're underestimating them.
And you're feeding their illusions.
A Bin Laden unit? Jesus Christ, you I mean, you might as well pin a medal on the man.
It took you 70 years to beat the IRA, and that's if the peace holds.
We don't have that sort of time.
I swear to God, if I was a Muslim, I'd have five wives.
He dances like his mother.
Not much.
Are you married? No.
I've been married for 23 years.
Find the right woman, you can be out and about, having more fun than you ever had in your life, and suddenly, you'll wanna come home.
That must be the worst feeling in the world, huh? Not wanting to go home? Hello? Bad line.
Say it again? This is Ayman al Zawahiri.
Zawahiri.
Hello, doctor.
How are you? This is what I want you to print.
Tell the Americans we can take on the United States.
We aren't afraid of acts of aggression.
We suffered and survived the Soviet bombings for ten years in Afghanistan.
We are ready for more sacrifices.
The war has only just begun.
Everybody got that? Bin Laden just used his satellite phone.
He's at the training camp.
You wanna get him, we go now.
Now.
I know you want me to just push a button under my desk and blow shit up, but no such button was provided to me.
First, I talk to your boss, then I talk to my boss, the President, who may or may not give the order.
Tell George I'm coming over Now.
Yes, sir.
Elliot, the President's almost certainly gonna have to come back from the Vineyard.
Shave your beard, did ya? Felt like a change? So, what are you doing in Nairobi? You're a Saudi, aren't you? How'd you hurt your hand? Looks pretty nasty.
Now, that's not true.
You checked into the hotel in English.
Your English is great.
You were born in England.
We have friends of yours back in the States, who have sat in rooms very much like this one.
Slightly fresher paint, maybe.
They've told us all about you.
I don't like this one.
Think you can get her out of here? - Get out of here.
- But we're doing Out! Sorry about that.
Have you got a chance to pray today? - Yeah, thanks.
- Good.
No, but thank you.
So, you got the money from the bank? And then, that same day, you walked by the embassy when the bomb blew up.
Yeah.
I think it was an accident or something.
At the embassy? Maybe a gas leak.
No, I doubt it.
But let's not worry about that right now.
I just wanna get my facts straight.
So, you went to the bank the same day as the explosion or a different day? Same day.
You got knocked down by the blast.
- You went to the hospital? - Mm-hmm.
And that's where you discovered that you'd lost all your identification documents in the explosion? Yes.
And you're here exploring business opportunities? - You're a nut merchant.
- Mm-hmm.
- What kinda nuts? - All of them.
So, someone at the bank gave you $800, and you're walking, boom, your ID flies away, disappears, but the money is okay.
Help me understand that.
- The money was in my jacket.
- That jacket? In here.
Oh, so, right now, you're wearing what you wore that day? Exactly.
See I had a suitcase.
Inside was my wallet and my other clothes.
I was going away for for a couple days.
Okay.
I get it.
I had a suitcase in this hand, and it was blasted away.
When I woke up, it was gone.
When I got up, I was in Quite shocking.
It was shocking.
So many people got hurt.
We're guessing there's more than 4,000 people wounded, at least 200 people dead.
Only 12 Americans, then just other people.
All sorts of other people from all over: Muslims, Christians, black, white, brown, and Why do innocent people have to suffer? That's a question I ask myself all the time.
I pray about it too.
Why? What do you think? We don't know who's innocent.
Only Allah knows.
He judges, he punishes.
He's in control.
There's no need for you to worry about who's innocent and who's not.
Thank you for saying that, because sometimes, you know, these last few days, I I've seen those crushed bodies Those families grieving, and it's just horrible.
You know, back in the day, I was in the army And I don't know what basic training's like in the KSA, but in the States, it's pretty intense.
I mean, fun too.
You make friends.
Like like, I never knew what true friendship was, until I was running, climbing, shooting, shitting, praying with a bunch of 20 other guys that I never met before in my life, and I had nothing in common with, except we're all going on no sleep and crap food, we hate and love our C.
O.
, and we are all willing to die in the mud for what we believe in.
Anyway, I was pretty good, and I wound up doing some advanced training in counter-interrogation techniques.
- You ever did that? - Mm-hmm.
- You ever serve? - Yeah, of course.
Right, so you know the whole thing, right? They beat you up, scream at you, try to get you to answer their questions, and the whole thing is, you gotta stick to your cover story, and if you do that, you pass, and you, sir, you did very, very well.
You got a great cover story.
But you made two mistakes.
What mistakes? First, you got blood all over your hands, but there's no blood on your clothes.
And you're wearing the same clothes you wore that day? No way.
No way, man.
I washed my clothes at the hotel.
You see, Arab men are a lot cleaner than American men.
See, the first thing we do when we get something on our clothes is - wash it off.
- Okay.
That's true.
I know a lot of American men that live like pigs.
You ever see a fat man eat at McDonald's? Always gets ketchup on his shirt.
Always.
You did say two mistakes.
Hey, look at your belt, man.
It's all spiffy.
It's got no dust in the creases.
I'm a clean Arab man.
No Look down.
It's got no creases.
It looks new.
I think you fucked up.
Unbuckle the belt.
- Excuse me? - No, no, no, it's okay.
Just unbuckle the belt.
Yeah, I think you fucked up your cover story.
And I'm guessing you've got spiffy new shoes on your feet, nice new clothes on your back, brand new belt.
You gotta be kidding me.
You forgot to take the price tag off.
It's all right.
It's okay.
You're young.
Rookie mistake, my friend.
Write it down.
- Write what down - Write it down! Write it down! Write down the number you called after the bomb went off! Write down the number! What is the number? Number he called after the bombing.
How did you get this? I asked.
You guys checked out this pharmaceutical plant? You read the report? I was right in the middle, when Eager Beaver burst in.
Ah.
Soil samples show high concentrations of EMPTA.
Only reason anybody uses that is to make nerve gas.
It's a fucking chemical weapons factory, Dick.
Now, I'm not saying that we're lucky that they bombed the embassies, because God bless, but it is definitely a silver lining, in that we get to dismantle their Khartoum operation, because as we both know, if ever there were a chemical attack, it would make the East Africa situation look like a fucking walk in the park.
I know.
This motherfucker Bin Laden isn't kidding around.
That is correct.
That's why we have to act now.
He's there right now.
Have a cigar there, Eager Beaver.
We are gonna act now, right? President's traveling.
We can brief him while he's in the air.
Sounds good.
Let's do it.
Monica Lewinsky will now testify before a Grand Jury about the details of her alleged involvement with President Clinton, and possible conversations with Mr.
Clinton about concealing evidence.
Miss Lewinsky will break seven months of silence as the first of two key witnesses.
The other witness, of course, is the President himself.
So they're in the air? Still spinning in their tubes on our ships in the Red and Arabian Seas.
Do you think we were right to wait for nightfall? Obviously, a night attack limits collateral damage.
It is more tasteful.
But the risk, the considerable risk in attempting to fight a war without real bloodshed, is that you won't strike the definitive blow and the fight will go on and on and on.
- I agree.
- Harder on our troops.
And harder on our enemies.
I mean, which would you prefer? Death by 1,000 cuts? Or a quick, clean decapitation? Well the latter would be less painful - Mm-hm.
- But with the former, I might have a chance.
I could fight back.
Very good.
Yes, you could.
There's very few women not frightened by war.
We're always at war.
I learned that on the Russia desk.
Every single day is a real live battle between our country and her many devious and far less tasteful enemies.
And we all have a choice.
You can pretend it isn't happening, like my mother, and make chit-chat about dog shelters and pizza toppings, or you can accept the world as it really is, and do whatever you can to make sure your side isn't the one that gets annihilated.
Hmm.
Mothers.
Hey, you hear about this fucking bullshit? Your boss hear about it? Director Freeh hears about everything.
- He been over here? - No.
Well, tell him to get his fucking ass - back over here - Director Freeh stops listening the second arrogant assholes start raising their voices.
- Why wasn't I told? - About? Dropping bombs while I got agents on the ground.
You have agents in Kenya.
They're in hostile territory, wearing fucking jackets with FBI stenciled all over the back of 'em, and you just turned the heat up to 100 degrees.
As much as I appreciate you weighing in on White House foreign policy, it is not your purview It is when I got men on the ground! Has someone warned my guys? - Not yet.
- They need to know.
We need to get extra security over there.
There's not enough security over there as it is.
No one can know about this till it's done.
Okay.
You ever met Kathy Shaughnessy's dad? Real nice guy.
He's a firefighter.
Pulled more people out of the Bronx when it was burning than almost anyone else in the city.
- That right? - Yeah.
You get to tell him.
If something happens to her, okay, you get to say, "I'm sorry", stupid decisions were made.
" How was England? He slipped right through our fingers.
Trying to get these guys, it's like chasing ghosts.
We'll get them.
I was gone, and you got talked into bullshit by Tenet and Schmidt, who don't give a shit about my people and what we're doing over there.
It wasn't their call.
It was the President's call.
Well, here's what you should've told the President: "Bin Laden's laid a trap, and we're walking right in it and nibbling the cheese.
" - He wants to go to war.
- John the United States military is the United States military.
This is not a war al-Qaeda can win.
Well I'll tell you the first thing that'll happen after the bombs fall and the dead get cleared away.
They'll get a ton of new recruits.
You don't care what happens to the people who are targeted? That is correct.
And what about those who are clearly determined to be innocent? Mistakes are made.
Mistakes are made? If you can prove that there was not due diligence in designing the target package and assembling the information that caused the operation to go forward, then you have a case against someone.
If not, it's just a mistake.
And if they're not Americans, I really don't care.
Excuse me? I don't get paid, sir, to be a citizen of the world.
Maybe you do.
Mohamed? Mohamed? Mohamed?