Madam Secretary (2014) s05e13 Episode Script
Proxy War
Have we confirmed the type of bomb? Preliminary forensics indicate a CBU-87 anti-personnel submunition dispenser.
Conventionally known as a cluster bomb.
Yeah, and the U.
S.
houses the only company in the world that manufactures it.
A weapon we provide only to Israel.
Which means our closest Mideast ally just implicated us in a massacre that took the lives of 29 innocent children, and if we provided the weapon, we're on the hook.
Call the Israeli Embassy.
Get Ambassador Dworsky in here.
Ma'am, we've been trying.
He's incommunicado.
Well, then we're gonna have to get him on the fly because, Jay, I got to brief POTUS.
Will you bring our congressional allies into the loop? - Yes, Madam Secretary.
- Okay.
Kat? - Yes.
- Yes.
And Blake.
Want you to reach out to the families of those children.
I mean, burial logistics, humanitarian relief, whatever we can do to show our solidarity.
- Yes, ma'am.
- Stay on point.
Acknowledge the tragedy, but no acceptance of responsibility until it has been thoroughly investigated, okay? Statement for your review to that very effect.
Okay.
Yeah, yeah.
Th-That's g-good.
Get that out.
Okay? Before you send it out Hey, listen, this is a priority, okay? Everything else - takes a back seat.
- Yes, ma'am.
American imperialism has to stop! We are the world's bully.
Wait! Hey! Hey, you work with the White House, right? I'm just a guy trying to meet his step quota.
Ladies and gentlemen, one of the architects of our immoral foreign policy.
If you'll excuse me No, I will not excuse you.
Neither will the children you bombed.
Oh, my God, you have no idea what you're talking about.
I have a right to my opinion.
I'm not saying you don't, but while you're out here smearing us, I'm in there 16 hours a day actually trying to fix some of the things you're raving about.
An American-made cluster bomb! This is your issue Du jour, right? Yesterday it was Social Security.
Last week, what, the vaccine conspiracy.
I'm holding government accountable.
Who's holding you accountable? Well, certainly not a government lackey.
Let me tell you a thing or two about this lackey.
Syria is a dumpster fire, Mr.
President.
You got the oppressive Nussir regime locked in a brutal civil war with rebel forces.
Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah supporting the government.
The opposition forces are backed by a U.
S.
-led Western coalition.
Meanwhile, Iran's smuggling arms to Israel's enemies through the country and Israel's bombing the convoys as fast as it can.
Syria and Israel are still technically in a state of war.
Russia is trying to expand its role in the region.
You got Shiites and Sunnis and a rising tide of Islamic terrorism.
I'd need a weekend retreat to talk about the human rights violations and Basically, U.
S.
and Russia are using client states to control an unstable region.
Danger is that the proxies drag us into a conflict with Russia.
Concise.
Here to help.
Russia's already using this incident as a pretext to expand military support to Syria.
If Russia gets more involved with Syria We have to back Israel, which increases the risk of an American conflict with Russia.
Which it's bedrock U.
S.
policy to avoid.
Dozens of dead children? There has to be accountability.
Bess, what do we hear from the Israelis? I've summoned Ambassador Dworsky.
I'll get his side.
Well, get it fast.
Henry, you familiar with the Convention on Cluster Munitions banning the use of this type of weapon? Yes, sir.
120 signatories around the world, excluding the United States and Russia.
Well, I'd like you to red team this, get with DNI.
I want to know how this happened.
Tragedy of this dimension means that we need to re-evaluate our stance here.
Mr.
President, not to minimize the human toll here, but this question has been asked and answered.
Resoundingly.
U.
S.
policy is not to limit the weapons at our disposal.
Folks, I value your input, but let's save it for your roundtable.
- Thank you.
- Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
I'll be rolling calls on this cluster bomb debacle, Adele, so no interruptions.
If it ain't DEFCON 1, - not a peep.
- Yes, sir.
That goes for all birds.
I have to show him, don't I? What did I just say? I know.
I'm sorry.
Nothing but crackpot notions.
Excuse me.
No, I'm not calling you a crackpot.
There's plenty of well-adjusted, sane individuals who set up tents around the White House.
I have a right to be here.
Yes, you do, where criticizing is easy.
Governing is hard.
Put that on your next sign and smoke it.
That that is taken completely out of context.
She accosted me.
Oh, my God, I look like I'm berating a homeless woman for having the nerve to talk to me.
You know what? I will handle this.
Please.
I don't have time for this nonsense.
Carol.
This is all over the Internet, isn't it? Hi, sweetheart.
What? No, I was drinking decaf.
Yes.
Of course I know that-that getting into shouting matches with strangers is bad for my blood pressure.
I do not have an anger management problem! The United States would like to extend our condolences for this tragedy.
Thank you.
Um, we would also like to connect the families who have lost children with NGOs who can provide support.
Yes.
They can defray funeral costs.
They can assist with asylum claims.
What about our children? We're expressing our deepest sympathies.
Sympathies.
For an American-made bomb that murdered our sons, that took the flowers from our garden, the light from our lives.
We don't want NGOs.
We want justice.
We want our children back.
Can you give us these things? Uh, ma'am, I have Alison for you.
Hey, kiddo, little busy here.
Mom, the Internet is slow, like Stone Age slow.
Well, call our provider.
They keep you on the phone forever, and my paper on Givenchy is due tomorrow.
Try the library.
They have Internet and helpful, smiling people who aren't trying to save the world order from crumbling.
Bye, Ali.
Jason, do you know how to fix the Internet? Well, the open-source culture generally doesn't mesh well with WPA supplicant configuration files.
So I'm not accusing you of anything, Ambassador Dworsky.
I'm asking for an explanation.
And I'm giving you one.
The IDF is not in the habit of bombing children.
I never said habit.
I'm hoping it was an accident.
The world will see it as a war crime.
Precipitated by a weapon we only provide to Israel.
Meaning the burden of proof is on your country to establish that it had no involvement in this bombing.
And if we can't prove a negative? First things first.
Syria is now an Israeli no-fly zone.
And all shipments of the CBU-87 will be suspended pending our investigation.
So now the U.
S.
is doing Iran's bidding.
- Ambassador Dworsky - If America handcuffs us, Iran will have carte Blanche to expand its military presence in Syria and continue arming our enemies.
United States won't let that happen, - Mr.
Ambassador.
- Let it happen? You're facilitating it by helping Iran scapegoat us.
We're simply asking for you to put a moratorium on IDF sorties until we can get to the bottom of this.
And will there be a moratorium on Iranian arms convoys? On the build-out of Iranian infrastructure just miles from Tel Aviv? If America's not willing to defend us, then we will defend ourselves.
Good day, Madam Secretary.
Cluster bombs have an important strategic role to play in U.
S.
military policy.
By dispersing multiple packets at once, they allow us to neutralize vehicles and enemy personnel in a single blast.
You know, and more to the point, Moscow uses them, so we have to.
Yeah, tell that to the parents of the 29 children.
It's about mutual deterrence, Henry.
Gifting the Russians a strategic advantage - risks asymmetric warfare.
- We're talking about an anti-personnel weapon whose sole purpose it is - to maximize carnage and death.
- Okay, come on, Henry, every weapon in creation has that goal.
- It's not the tool, it's how it's used.
- Okay.
So we should build in additional safeguards.
Yes.
Like imposing more stringent rules of engagement on Israel, which we can discuss.
I'm aware of the strategic and military concerns, but there are serious ethical considerations that we've got to take into account.
98% of submunition casualties around the globe are civilian.
- 98%.
- All right.
All valid points.
We need to find out what happened, move this conversation forward, and provide POTUS with a swift recommendation.
Russell, in terms of a timetable I'm not rushing you, Henry.
This should be done as quickly as possible, but not quicker.
This is SatNav footage taken nine hours ago of the Russian-operated Khmeimim Air Base in northwestern Syria.
What you see here is a Syrian MiG-29 taxiing on the runway.
It's hardly news that the Syrian Air Force - uses Russian air bases.
- Uh, yes, sir.
But the flight trajectory of this plane is telling.
What you see now is a payload being dropped at a ceiling of 15,000 feet.
Namely, a CBU-87.
Its laser-guided target is an abandoned lot.
This video is time-stamped 11 seconds before that cluster bomb detonated on those kids.
I'll spare you the visual of the impact.
So the cluster bomb was dropped from a Syrian plane that took off from a Russian base.
Meaning that Israel was right about being framed.
They just had the wrong culprit.
It wasn't Iran.
It was Russia and Syria.
Ephraim, I'd like to know how the hell Syria got ahold of one of our cluster bombs.
- We're still working that out, sir.
- Mr.
President, we have a more pressing problem now.
Russia.
It's one thing to coordinate with a proxy.
It's another to collaborate with them to frame our chief U.
S.
ally in the region.
And if Russia uses this incident to get more closely involved in the region, it could tip the balance of power.
I'm not gonna tolerate any more Russian expansionism.
It's time we had a tough discussion with Syria.
A country with whom we have no diplomatic relations.
No, but I can back channel.
- Now, Bess.
- Yep.
Because if Russia's making a power play, we have to respond.
- With force.
- Yes, sir.
I trust, as President Nussir's first cousin and a private citizen, you can pass on the administration's message.
Which is? This is footage of a Syrian jet dropping the cluster bomb.
No.
This is footage of a Syrian jet flying into dense cloud coverage.
Inconclusive at best.
I don't think that's how you want to play this.
Play what? Israeli fighter jets were in the vector at the same time.
Yet you prefer to slander our government by suggesting we would deliberately slaughter our own children? Rebel children living in Aleppo, a city under insurgent control.
The CBU-87 is American-made.
And you give it only to our sworn enemy, Israel.
Whom you'd be all too happy to scapegoat.
President Dalton is demanding Syria take public responsibility for this bombing.
And if we don't? Once we have conclusive proof Damascus is behind this, we will seek additional sanctions against your government, which is already on the brink of collapse.
This is an outrage.
The outrage is 29 dead children.
We still have our friends, Madam Secretary, even if your country isn't among them.
But I'll relay your message to President Nussir.
And he has one for you.
When we prove Israel and the United States were behind this, Syria won't be the one facing sanctions.
Dynametrics Munitions has never missed a delivery date, had a cost overrun, or been accused of misconduct.
And let me assure all of you that the chain of custody of every piece of ordinance that we manufacture, including the CBU-87s, can be accounted for.
We operate in strict accordance with DOD regulations.
One of these weapons fell into Russian or Syrian hands.
It had to have happened after delivery to the Israelis.
Leland, we appreciate the due diligence, but can you talk to us about collateral damage estimates? Mr.
President.
Sorry to interrupt, Henry.
Just want to say hi to an old golfing buddy.
How are you, Leland? Good to see you, Conrad.
When, uh, Dr.
McCord here is done examining you, come by for a Scotch.
As you were, everyone.
How come you're staring at everything tonight like it's cauliflower? Oh no appetite.
This cluster bomb thing.
- Feel like you're being played? - Like a banjo.
Turns out the CEO of the contractor who manufactures this bomb is one of the president's BFFs.
Where are you on the bomb's provenance? Well, forensics are ongoing.
Ephraim's team is trying to determine what batch the cluster bomb was from.
That way they can lock down the munitions delivery date to Israel.
Hopefully shed some light on how Syria got its hands on the bomb.
Yeah, it's gonna be weeks before they button that up.
Lean on Ephraim to share his preliminary results with you.
- Why would he do that? - Professional courtesy.
One intel pro to another.
Mm, yeah, I guess.
How are you doing? Flailing.
Israel and Syria are stirring the pot.
- The proxies are out of control.
- What about the principals? Avdonin told me to kiss off.
Unlike you, I eat my feelings.
Oh, Ali was right.
Our Internet is junky.
Hey, did you call the ISP guy? Oh, yeah, they said that there's nothing they can do.
They ran a diagnostic, and apparently our bandwidth is overloaded.
Seems like a lot of new devices have recently been added.
You know, when I took out the garbage, I saw a bunch of empty boxes with computer stuff, like graphics cards, external hard drives, CPUs.
I thought, I don't know, maybe it was you or Me? I don't even know what that stuff is.
Jason! SpectroCoin.
- Heard of it? - Nope.
It's a cryptocurrency, and I'm mining it, so I networked the house's iPads and laptops and desktops.
Meaning our computers are slow.
Because you turned them into your drone army.
I lost my financial aid.
You guys told me to be entrepreneurial.
We didn't tell you to play the lottery.
I'm not.
Look, when global instability leads to currency fluctuation, people turn to decentralized cryptocurrencies.
So, with the whole mess going on in Syria Oh.
So you're betting against me being good at my job.
No, no, it-it's arbitrage.
- Look, I made three grand this month.
- You did? Less the money that you blew - on all that computer stuff.
- Right.
Invest in infrastructure.
That's the first rule of financial success.
Will you guys please let me do this? Please? You release all of our devices from cyber bondage.
And limit your hijacking of the Internet to when we're asleep or at work.
Understood? Yes.
But I will need to buy some new equipment to optimize functionality.
The things is, I'm a little I'm a little strapped for cash.
Second rule of financial success: never ask your parents for money.
Her name is Maggie Stevie! Those tireless criticisms seem to have finally hit home.
Fresh off an awkward confrontation with the president's chief of staff.
Stevie! I thought you were gonna put a lid on this.
I'm trying.
I went to see her.
I-I offered her space in a shelter.
I told her I'd get her a meeting with Social Services.
I brought her coffee.
- What did she say? - "No.
" "Stuff it.
" And she only drinks oat milk lattes, extra hot.
She was yelling into the abyss.
Now she's got a megaphone? You had one task: keep the crazy lady at bay.
I know, I know.
I think I may have found something.
Years ago, Maggie was an up-and-coming scholar doing a dissertation with government funding, which she lost because of allegations of plagiarism.
Um, she was eventually cleared, but by that time she'd been drummed out of academia.
- And that began her descent.
- Why is this interesting to me? Because I have an idea.
Something that may help defuse the situation.
Now, please.
I don't want - to hear about this again.
- Okay.
- Hi.
- Dr.
McCord to see you.
Home and abroad, the world's coming apart, Henry.
Seems like it's down to the McCords to save it.
Well, I don't think this McCord is coming to the rescue quite yet.
Per Ephraim, preliminary analysis of the bomb fragments confirms the alloy was Russian in origin.
Are you saying the cluster bomb was a Russian knockoff? Yep.
So, if this was all just Russia and Syria trying to set us up, we're off the hook.
Uh, slow down, Russell.
The metallurgical analysis doesn't exonerate us.
It points to a bigger problem.
For Russia to have replicated the CBU-87, they would've needed the weapon schematics.
Someone at Dynametrics Munitions could be dirty.
Which means America could still have blood on its hands.
All right, stay on it.
I want to know the extent of Dynametrics' culpability.
Will do.
20 minutes ago, a Russian troop transport was shot down over Aleppo; 43 soldiers dead.
Have we heard from the Israelis? The Israelis didn't destroy the plane, sir.
Syria did.
Friendly fire? It would appear so.
Well, I don't care if it was an act of God.
Russian soldiers dead, Moscow will respond.
Meaning the situation is deteriorating fast.
If proxies are blowing their principals' planes out of the sky, the situation's untenable for everyone.
Which could give us an opening.
Get with Avdonin, Bess, before that opening closes.
Yes, sir.
Thank you for meeting with me, Mr.
Foreign Minister.
I was stateside to tour consulates when you reached out.
I thought a sit-down would be fruitful.
I thought so, too.
This friendly fire incident underscores the peril we now find ourselves in, and how easily the chaos could draw our two countries - into direct conflict.
- I agree.
Especially since it wasn't friendly fire.
Intel on the flight path of an Israeli F-16 jet, which establishes it deliberately flew behind our transport plane the moment a Syrian battery locked onto the Israeli intruder.
Israel murdered our soldiers.
We followed the protocols.
Moscow was given a 60-second warning before we entered Syrian air space.
Was apprised of our flight pattern, - our mission objective.
- Oh, I think we both know what Israel's true intentions were, Mr.
Ambassador.
Given the lengths Russia and Syria went to frame Israel for that cluster bomb, it seems like poetic justice to see Moscow's client state shoot down a Russian plane.
This treachery was precipitated at the direction of the United States.
That's a fabrication.
And you want to talk about treachery? How about Russia forging a U.
S.
bomb, and giving it to Syria to murder children? And doing it all to frame the U.
S.
? Even if that fantasy were true, it hardly justifies a conspiracy to kill Russian soldiers.
We need to De-escalate.
Israel has to issue a statement acknowledging its role in this crisis.
What role? The role of defending our tiny country against a swarm of enemies backed by Moscow? In light of this aggression, Russia will be supplying Syria with an upgraded air defense system.
If Russia is augmenting Syria's military capabilities, we demand the latest in U.
S.
technology So you want us to put you on a war footing with Syria.
We won't sanction an arms race.
The U.
S.
has always used Israel as a pawn for America's agenda.
You give us weapons, then handcuff us when we try to use them.
Give us money, but tell us how to spend it.
Thank you very much, but we are the ones at risk.
And we know how to protect ourselves.
Russia will not tolerate the murder of its citizens.
An immediate response will be forthcoming.
So we're sure Russia wasn't given the schematics for the CBU-87? Yes.
According to our investigation, there was no malfeasance, just negligence.
More like gross negligence, behind DOD's back.
Dynametrics gutted their cyber security budget so they could undercut competitors on government bids.
In the process, creating vulnerabilities Russia exploited by hacking the company's database.
Thanks, Ephraim.
Well, thank God we're not looking at treason here.
Well, cutting corners is no cause for celebration.
Dynametrics's digital infrastructure is woefully underfunded and just this side of legal.
Agreed, but as long as they played by the rules You can technically play by the rules and still be at fault.
That's what ethics are all about.
Well, you can put it all in your report.
Speaking of which, how's it coming? It-it's evolving.
Evolving.
Right.
You know, there's a lot at stake here.
After having refused to sign on to the cluster bomb ban, an about-face in the wake of a single tragedy could be seen as an admission of wrongdoing.
Or as an assumption of moral responsibility.
Moral responsibility has its costs.
One of which will be to tar the president.
And the Secretary of State.
New proposals to help the relatives of the dead children.
I tried to get creative.
Uh-huh, by reallocating some of our UNHCR funds for housing allowances to the affected families.
Exactly.
Except this isn't a refugee crisis.
Homes weren't destroyed; Foreign Affairs won't sign off.
Okay.
What about relocating the bereaved out of the war zone? How do we justify preferential treatment when thousands of civilians have already perished? It's not preferential treatment.
It's a mission of mercy.
Driven by American guilt over the use of a cluster bomb we didn't even manufacture, meaning it's back - to the drawing board.
- Back to the drawing board.
This is your carrel.
It's got a nameplate.
It says "Maggie Brixton.
" You got me a desk? Yes.
And the administration has received assurances that you can do as much reading and writing here as you want, undisturbed.
And you think this trivial gesture will buy my silence? There's there's no quid pro quo here.
You bet there's not.
Because I am only getting started.
The Dalton administration will not silence me.
Yeah, one sign a day, - that's too much for you? How about ten? - Uh, Stevie You will be held to account for every transgression.
Every moral failing, every act of greed, because this - Stevie, now.
- Just wait.
Wait.
t-this this is, t-the type of control mechanism that every government, every despot Okay.
We can go now.
You okay? Yeah, I'm just t-trying to wrap my head around normalizing an acceptable level of dead children.
Well, you're no stranger to collateral damage.
You were a fighter pilot.
Yes, and I knew that innocents would inevitably be caught in the crossfire that's something I'm still trying to reconcile but it's one thing to follow orders, it's another to sanction weapons that you know will result in the death of civilians.
Cluster bombs indiscriminately kill people.
That's kind of what they're all about.
Which is why we need diplomacy.
Yeah, well, diplomacy's not working right now.
Syria's about to open up a front against Israel and Iran is stepping up arms shipments to Hezbollah and it's just Sorry.
W-Where are you with Russia? A whole bunch of nyet.
I'm meeting with the president, joint chiefs first thing in the morning, but You have got to be kidding me.
- What? - Our electric bill.
It's, like, 800 last month to 2,000? - Jason? - Jason? Come here.
Hi.
See, this is why we should all be using solar power.
Oh, yes, well, until that time, your little cryptocurrency escapade is gonna drive us into bankruptcy.
Meaning that you're gonna pay us the difference between this and last month's bill.
- 1,200 bucks.
- Fine.
I will wire you the equivalent in SpectroCoin.
- No, no.
Uhp.
- No, no.
Cash on the barrel.
How about you cover the power bill, and I will cut you in on my profits? And you can think of that as an investment.
We've already invested in you for 17 years, sport.
And it's about to pay off.
SpectroCoin is up 300% - this week alone.
- Oh, that's great.
Then you can sell some of your booty and fork over the dough.
This is not how the Zuckerbergs supported their kid.
Ay Russell, hi.
Russia is sending their Northern Fleet to Latakia, Syria's most important harbor.
What? It's one big setup.
The cluster bomb, Moscow's response to Syria's destruction of their plane It's all to create leverage.
They want a Mediterranean port.
Yeah, and the president's not gonna allow that, no matter what.
I'm on my way.
How bad? Don't wait on me for breakfast.
- It's an armada.
- Yes, sir.
And once their Northern Fleet is in position, we won't be able to dislodge it without a war.
Bess, what do we hear from your counterpart? Avdonin insists that an increased naval presence is necessary to counter American and Israeli aggressions.
It's a pretext.
Russia has a small naval facility in Tartus that whet their appetite for regional domination.
- And this fleet will give it to them.
- Yes, sir.
And if we don't push Russia back now, they will have a port that puts them a stone's throw from vital NATO bases in Turkey.
I recommend that we send a fleet to intercept Russia's advance.
Which will put us on the verge of direct military conflict.
Only if Russia doesn't blink.
We have to hope they do.
Gordon's right.
We have very little choice here.
How far out is the Northern Fleet? About 26 hours.
Our Eighth Fleet needs about eight hours' advance notice to intercept them.
We've got 18 hours to get Russia to stand down.
Have you informed the president about Dynametrics's negligence in this? Uh, not yet.
But you should include it in your report.
A report that you're going to deliver to the president, who needs to know his friend was at fault.
He will be so apprised.
Correct, because I'm gonna tell him myself.
Respectfully, Henry, that's not SOP.
Yeah, let's talk about SOP, because you've been speeding the plough on my work since the beginning.
Weighing in on the importance of not embarrassing the administration, tacitly backing military prerogatives over ethical ones.
You're not suggesting I wouldn't provide the president an accurate summary of your conclusions? It's not just what you say, it's how you say it.
Tone is substantive.
Which is why I can't allow you to mediate my advice, whitewash things.
I know you think I'm working against you, Henry, but I'm not.
I'm working for the president.
And it's my job to protect him and the administration.
And it's my job not to care about your job.
You can't varnish my advice, Russell.
Not if I'm gonna keep working here.
I'll set up a one-on-one.
Thank you.
Thank you both for coming on such short notice.
You can dispense with the courtesy, Madam Secretary.
It was less an invitation than a summons.
Well, that's fine.
Neither of you need to talk.
Effective immediately, the Israeli government will cease all sorties into Syrian airspace.
You must be joking.
And Syria will freeze all Iranian arms shipments through its territory.
Iran is an ally.
Syria will do no such thing.
You will do it, Adnan, or I will instigate an emergency session of the U.
N.
Security Council, and present evidence of Syria's collusion with Russia to murder children for political gain.
Your regime will have to answer to its own people for the slaughter.
You wouldn't dare.
At that same U.
N.
Security Council session, I will also present evidence that Israel had a direct involvement in the destruction of a Russian jet, and without plausible deniability, you'll have to face - Moscow's wrath.
- You must be mad.
More like furious.
Furious enough to throw you both to the wolves by publicly exposing you.
But there are bigger imperatives as stake, so the both of you are going to stand down for the next 24 hours, which I hope is enough time to avert a war with Russia, a war the actions of your countries put us on the brink of.
- Yes.
- Yes.
That'll be all.
Nina.
- Yes.
- Get me Henry.
I need to talk to him before he talks to the president.
Right away, Madam Secretary.
You're recommending we sign on to - the ban on cluster bombs.
- Yeah, over the objection of Secretary Becker and Ellen Hill.
Strenuous objection, I see.
Conrad, it comes down to this.
How can we claim moral leadership w-when we employ a weapon that the rest of civilization has deemed too barbaric to use? The benefits of having this tool in our arsenal are too small to offset the risk of misuse and collateral damage, the death of almost 30 children being a prime example.
A powerful moral argument.
But Henry, when I asked you to take this on, I didn't realize the scope of Russia's involvement in this mess.
As long as Moscow has the bomb, they have a strategic advantage.
Particularly if they're willing to use it.
And given current events, - I won't cede an inch to them.
- I understand.
But what if Moscow was willing to sign on to the ban? And how precisely are we going to get them to do that? Elizabeth has a plan.
Which she's willing to explore with your permission.
Well, if Russia signs on, I will too.
I'll tell her.
Thanks, Henry.
And there is something else.
It has to do with my role here.
I sometimes feel pressured to rubberstamp policies the administration is inclined to pursue.
Henry you're an academic trapped in a political world.
I never said your job was going to be easy.
But I have to be able to push back when my mandate - is being compromised.
- And I expect nothing less.
Giving it to me straight is what I hired you to do.
Good.
Because we need to talk about Leland Grafton.
Well, his company's security lapses are reckless.
And troubling.
But they're not criminal.
No, sir.
But I don't think someone who avails himself of every conceivable loophole should be awarded government contracts.
You know I can't interfere in the bidding process.
No, but what you can do is tell your old friend that it's time for him to step down.
Moral suasion.
There's no one in the world who's in a better position to exert it than you.
My friend, we have had a difficult year together.
So let's talk common ground, then.
Because in the past year, we've also found that.
Nuclear De-escalation.
No one ever thought it could be done.
But we agreed to take our intercontinental ballistic missiles off the hair-trigger alert system.
- And the world is safer.
- It is.
And yet here we are, Konstantin.
Hours away from a showdown between our two fleets.
And if somebody fires a shot, if intentions are slightly misread What do you propose? That we set an example for our proxies.
Instead of them provoking us, we provoke them.
You want us to join you in signing on to the cluster bomb ban? A public display of cooperation.
A gesture that sets the stage for us to jointly pull back our fleets.
That's the first domino.
What's the second? Moscow uses its influence to roll back Iran's footprint in Syria.
And what about your proxy? No, Israel will stay out of Syria.
And then Russia and the U.
S.
will hold talks about limiting our involvement in the Syrian civil war.
And if we refuse these terms? Then even if we dodge this bullet, it's a temporary reprieve.
We have this illusion that our proxies are our buffers.
We can offload our conflicts.
But we are our proxies.
We hold each other accountable for what they do.
Meaning, if we don't reign them in, our client states will ultimately drag us into war.
And we can stop that from happening by setting an example, taking cluster bombs off the table reducing our involvement in Syria.
So if the principals behave - the proxies will follow.
- Yes.
We have to lead here, Konstantin.
Together.
There is no other choice.
Educational grants for Syrian refugees and the names of each of the dead children.
- Blake.
- I know no admissions of guilt.
So we can De-link the grants from policy issues.
You're trying to ease suffering with grand gestures, - which is statecraft.
- Exactly.
Yeah, but this is different.
This is soulcraft.
And soulcraft you can't assuage a loss by giving someone something.
You can only do it by preventing something from being taken away.
- I'm sorry, I don't follow.
- It's okay.
Come on, let's go.
I'll explain on the way.
- Hi.
Thank you so much for talking to us again.
- Hi.
What is it you want? We have searched in vain for ways to compensate you for the death of your sons.
We realize the futility of our efforts.
Um, nothing we say or do can can ease your pain.
But m-maybe there's something else we can do.
Uh, in your son's memory.
In memory of all your boys.
This is a letter of intent signed by both the U.
S.
and Russia in which both countries agree to join the ban on cluster bombs.
So no more cluster bombs? No, ma'am.
And the children who live because of this ban will have your children to thank.
Thank you.
Global warming.
The destruction of the rain forest.
- President Dalton is condemning us all.
- Yeah! I'm being punked, right? I tried, sir.
I swear.
What about her carrel? Maggie loves it; she's using it to do research for her protests.
Knock, knock.
Oat milk latte.
Extra hot.
Consider this a peace offering.
You can't buy my silence.
I'm going to speak truth to power.
And now that power is finally listening, - I am just getting started.
- Look.
Bringing you to heel, that's not why I'm here.
I mean, candidly, that's why I came, but on the way over - I got to thinking.
- Thinking? That's a new trick for folks in your building.
How long have you been here now? 18 years.
Well, I've been here six.
Which makes me the new guy.
And where I come from, you introduce yourself to your neighbors.
I'm Russell.
Is that all, Russell? Look.
I just wanted to say democracy's messy.
But rule one is every voice should be heard.
And yours has been on the front lines for a very long time.
And I wanted to thank you for playing your part in this this pageant we call the American experiment.
Because you matter.
Truly.
If there's ever anything I can do for you Thank you.
Excuse me, I have to finish this sign before the tour buses come.
Been ages since we've been on a proper date.
Well, let's calendar one.
In between international crises, commissions, all-nighters.
Oh, God, it turns me on when you talk shop.
I'm broke.
What? SpectroCoin went down to zero.
There was a, uh, massive sell-off as soon as the Syrian crisis died down.
Oh, well, gee, if I'd known I was hurting your bottom line, I would have reevaluated my position - on preventing World War Three.
- Yeah.
I'm done speculating.
- Hmm.
- Allow me to speculate.
Someone still owes us $1,200, and if he doesn't - find a way to pay us back - I already have.
I got a job as a busboy at Frankie's, so Steady income and all the pizza I can eat.
Good.
We'll put you on a payment plan.
I trust you've learned a valuable lesson - about shortcuts, right? - Yes.
Always take the ones that don't depend on your mom playing ball.
- Hey.
- I'm kidding.
I'm rolling OG now, so brick and mortar.
- All the way.
- Good.
Then, uh, grab a sponge and come over here, we'll train you up - for your next gig, there, Snoop.
- Yeah.
You know, there is this one currency.
It's called AnarCoin.
Kind of a sure bet.
I mean, I could get us in on the ground floor if you Hey, where's the soap?
Conventionally known as a cluster bomb.
Yeah, and the U.
S.
houses the only company in the world that manufactures it.
A weapon we provide only to Israel.
Which means our closest Mideast ally just implicated us in a massacre that took the lives of 29 innocent children, and if we provided the weapon, we're on the hook.
Call the Israeli Embassy.
Get Ambassador Dworsky in here.
Ma'am, we've been trying.
He's incommunicado.
Well, then we're gonna have to get him on the fly because, Jay, I got to brief POTUS.
Will you bring our congressional allies into the loop? - Yes, Madam Secretary.
- Okay.
Kat? - Yes.
- Yes.
And Blake.
Want you to reach out to the families of those children.
I mean, burial logistics, humanitarian relief, whatever we can do to show our solidarity.
- Yes, ma'am.
- Stay on point.
Acknowledge the tragedy, but no acceptance of responsibility until it has been thoroughly investigated, okay? Statement for your review to that very effect.
Okay.
Yeah, yeah.
Th-That's g-good.
Get that out.
Okay? Before you send it out Hey, listen, this is a priority, okay? Everything else - takes a back seat.
- Yes, ma'am.
American imperialism has to stop! We are the world's bully.
Wait! Hey! Hey, you work with the White House, right? I'm just a guy trying to meet his step quota.
Ladies and gentlemen, one of the architects of our immoral foreign policy.
If you'll excuse me No, I will not excuse you.
Neither will the children you bombed.
Oh, my God, you have no idea what you're talking about.
I have a right to my opinion.
I'm not saying you don't, but while you're out here smearing us, I'm in there 16 hours a day actually trying to fix some of the things you're raving about.
An American-made cluster bomb! This is your issue Du jour, right? Yesterday it was Social Security.
Last week, what, the vaccine conspiracy.
I'm holding government accountable.
Who's holding you accountable? Well, certainly not a government lackey.
Let me tell you a thing or two about this lackey.
Syria is a dumpster fire, Mr.
President.
You got the oppressive Nussir regime locked in a brutal civil war with rebel forces.
Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah supporting the government.
The opposition forces are backed by a U.
S.
-led Western coalition.
Meanwhile, Iran's smuggling arms to Israel's enemies through the country and Israel's bombing the convoys as fast as it can.
Syria and Israel are still technically in a state of war.
Russia is trying to expand its role in the region.
You got Shiites and Sunnis and a rising tide of Islamic terrorism.
I'd need a weekend retreat to talk about the human rights violations and Basically, U.
S.
and Russia are using client states to control an unstable region.
Danger is that the proxies drag us into a conflict with Russia.
Concise.
Here to help.
Russia's already using this incident as a pretext to expand military support to Syria.
If Russia gets more involved with Syria We have to back Israel, which increases the risk of an American conflict with Russia.
Which it's bedrock U.
S.
policy to avoid.
Dozens of dead children? There has to be accountability.
Bess, what do we hear from the Israelis? I've summoned Ambassador Dworsky.
I'll get his side.
Well, get it fast.
Henry, you familiar with the Convention on Cluster Munitions banning the use of this type of weapon? Yes, sir.
120 signatories around the world, excluding the United States and Russia.
Well, I'd like you to red team this, get with DNI.
I want to know how this happened.
Tragedy of this dimension means that we need to re-evaluate our stance here.
Mr.
President, not to minimize the human toll here, but this question has been asked and answered.
Resoundingly.
U.
S.
policy is not to limit the weapons at our disposal.
Folks, I value your input, but let's save it for your roundtable.
- Thank you.
- Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
I'll be rolling calls on this cluster bomb debacle, Adele, so no interruptions.
If it ain't DEFCON 1, - not a peep.
- Yes, sir.
That goes for all birds.
I have to show him, don't I? What did I just say? I know.
I'm sorry.
Nothing but crackpot notions.
Excuse me.
No, I'm not calling you a crackpot.
There's plenty of well-adjusted, sane individuals who set up tents around the White House.
I have a right to be here.
Yes, you do, where criticizing is easy.
Governing is hard.
Put that on your next sign and smoke it.
That that is taken completely out of context.
She accosted me.
Oh, my God, I look like I'm berating a homeless woman for having the nerve to talk to me.
You know what? I will handle this.
Please.
I don't have time for this nonsense.
Carol.
This is all over the Internet, isn't it? Hi, sweetheart.
What? No, I was drinking decaf.
Yes.
Of course I know that-that getting into shouting matches with strangers is bad for my blood pressure.
I do not have an anger management problem! The United States would like to extend our condolences for this tragedy.
Thank you.
Um, we would also like to connect the families who have lost children with NGOs who can provide support.
Yes.
They can defray funeral costs.
They can assist with asylum claims.
What about our children? We're expressing our deepest sympathies.
Sympathies.
For an American-made bomb that murdered our sons, that took the flowers from our garden, the light from our lives.
We don't want NGOs.
We want justice.
We want our children back.
Can you give us these things? Uh, ma'am, I have Alison for you.
Hey, kiddo, little busy here.
Mom, the Internet is slow, like Stone Age slow.
Well, call our provider.
They keep you on the phone forever, and my paper on Givenchy is due tomorrow.
Try the library.
They have Internet and helpful, smiling people who aren't trying to save the world order from crumbling.
Bye, Ali.
Jason, do you know how to fix the Internet? Well, the open-source culture generally doesn't mesh well with WPA supplicant configuration files.
So I'm not accusing you of anything, Ambassador Dworsky.
I'm asking for an explanation.
And I'm giving you one.
The IDF is not in the habit of bombing children.
I never said habit.
I'm hoping it was an accident.
The world will see it as a war crime.
Precipitated by a weapon we only provide to Israel.
Meaning the burden of proof is on your country to establish that it had no involvement in this bombing.
And if we can't prove a negative? First things first.
Syria is now an Israeli no-fly zone.
And all shipments of the CBU-87 will be suspended pending our investigation.
So now the U.
S.
is doing Iran's bidding.
- Ambassador Dworsky - If America handcuffs us, Iran will have carte Blanche to expand its military presence in Syria and continue arming our enemies.
United States won't let that happen, - Mr.
Ambassador.
- Let it happen? You're facilitating it by helping Iran scapegoat us.
We're simply asking for you to put a moratorium on IDF sorties until we can get to the bottom of this.
And will there be a moratorium on Iranian arms convoys? On the build-out of Iranian infrastructure just miles from Tel Aviv? If America's not willing to defend us, then we will defend ourselves.
Good day, Madam Secretary.
Cluster bombs have an important strategic role to play in U.
S.
military policy.
By dispersing multiple packets at once, they allow us to neutralize vehicles and enemy personnel in a single blast.
You know, and more to the point, Moscow uses them, so we have to.
Yeah, tell that to the parents of the 29 children.
It's about mutual deterrence, Henry.
Gifting the Russians a strategic advantage - risks asymmetric warfare.
- We're talking about an anti-personnel weapon whose sole purpose it is - to maximize carnage and death.
- Okay, come on, Henry, every weapon in creation has that goal.
- It's not the tool, it's how it's used.
- Okay.
So we should build in additional safeguards.
Yes.
Like imposing more stringent rules of engagement on Israel, which we can discuss.
I'm aware of the strategic and military concerns, but there are serious ethical considerations that we've got to take into account.
98% of submunition casualties around the globe are civilian.
- 98%.
- All right.
All valid points.
We need to find out what happened, move this conversation forward, and provide POTUS with a swift recommendation.
Russell, in terms of a timetable I'm not rushing you, Henry.
This should be done as quickly as possible, but not quicker.
This is SatNav footage taken nine hours ago of the Russian-operated Khmeimim Air Base in northwestern Syria.
What you see here is a Syrian MiG-29 taxiing on the runway.
It's hardly news that the Syrian Air Force - uses Russian air bases.
- Uh, yes, sir.
But the flight trajectory of this plane is telling.
What you see now is a payload being dropped at a ceiling of 15,000 feet.
Namely, a CBU-87.
Its laser-guided target is an abandoned lot.
This video is time-stamped 11 seconds before that cluster bomb detonated on those kids.
I'll spare you the visual of the impact.
So the cluster bomb was dropped from a Syrian plane that took off from a Russian base.
Meaning that Israel was right about being framed.
They just had the wrong culprit.
It wasn't Iran.
It was Russia and Syria.
Ephraim, I'd like to know how the hell Syria got ahold of one of our cluster bombs.
- We're still working that out, sir.
- Mr.
President, we have a more pressing problem now.
Russia.
It's one thing to coordinate with a proxy.
It's another to collaborate with them to frame our chief U.
S.
ally in the region.
And if Russia uses this incident to get more closely involved in the region, it could tip the balance of power.
I'm not gonna tolerate any more Russian expansionism.
It's time we had a tough discussion with Syria.
A country with whom we have no diplomatic relations.
No, but I can back channel.
- Now, Bess.
- Yep.
Because if Russia's making a power play, we have to respond.
- With force.
- Yes, sir.
I trust, as President Nussir's first cousin and a private citizen, you can pass on the administration's message.
Which is? This is footage of a Syrian jet dropping the cluster bomb.
No.
This is footage of a Syrian jet flying into dense cloud coverage.
Inconclusive at best.
I don't think that's how you want to play this.
Play what? Israeli fighter jets were in the vector at the same time.
Yet you prefer to slander our government by suggesting we would deliberately slaughter our own children? Rebel children living in Aleppo, a city under insurgent control.
The CBU-87 is American-made.
And you give it only to our sworn enemy, Israel.
Whom you'd be all too happy to scapegoat.
President Dalton is demanding Syria take public responsibility for this bombing.
And if we don't? Once we have conclusive proof Damascus is behind this, we will seek additional sanctions against your government, which is already on the brink of collapse.
This is an outrage.
The outrage is 29 dead children.
We still have our friends, Madam Secretary, even if your country isn't among them.
But I'll relay your message to President Nussir.
And he has one for you.
When we prove Israel and the United States were behind this, Syria won't be the one facing sanctions.
Dynametrics Munitions has never missed a delivery date, had a cost overrun, or been accused of misconduct.
And let me assure all of you that the chain of custody of every piece of ordinance that we manufacture, including the CBU-87s, can be accounted for.
We operate in strict accordance with DOD regulations.
One of these weapons fell into Russian or Syrian hands.
It had to have happened after delivery to the Israelis.
Leland, we appreciate the due diligence, but can you talk to us about collateral damage estimates? Mr.
President.
Sorry to interrupt, Henry.
Just want to say hi to an old golfing buddy.
How are you, Leland? Good to see you, Conrad.
When, uh, Dr.
McCord here is done examining you, come by for a Scotch.
As you were, everyone.
How come you're staring at everything tonight like it's cauliflower? Oh no appetite.
This cluster bomb thing.
- Feel like you're being played? - Like a banjo.
Turns out the CEO of the contractor who manufactures this bomb is one of the president's BFFs.
Where are you on the bomb's provenance? Well, forensics are ongoing.
Ephraim's team is trying to determine what batch the cluster bomb was from.
That way they can lock down the munitions delivery date to Israel.
Hopefully shed some light on how Syria got its hands on the bomb.
Yeah, it's gonna be weeks before they button that up.
Lean on Ephraim to share his preliminary results with you.
- Why would he do that? - Professional courtesy.
One intel pro to another.
Mm, yeah, I guess.
How are you doing? Flailing.
Israel and Syria are stirring the pot.
- The proxies are out of control.
- What about the principals? Avdonin told me to kiss off.
Unlike you, I eat my feelings.
Oh, Ali was right.
Our Internet is junky.
Hey, did you call the ISP guy? Oh, yeah, they said that there's nothing they can do.
They ran a diagnostic, and apparently our bandwidth is overloaded.
Seems like a lot of new devices have recently been added.
You know, when I took out the garbage, I saw a bunch of empty boxes with computer stuff, like graphics cards, external hard drives, CPUs.
I thought, I don't know, maybe it was you or Me? I don't even know what that stuff is.
Jason! SpectroCoin.
- Heard of it? - Nope.
It's a cryptocurrency, and I'm mining it, so I networked the house's iPads and laptops and desktops.
Meaning our computers are slow.
Because you turned them into your drone army.
I lost my financial aid.
You guys told me to be entrepreneurial.
We didn't tell you to play the lottery.
I'm not.
Look, when global instability leads to currency fluctuation, people turn to decentralized cryptocurrencies.
So, with the whole mess going on in Syria Oh.
So you're betting against me being good at my job.
No, no, it-it's arbitrage.
- Look, I made three grand this month.
- You did? Less the money that you blew - on all that computer stuff.
- Right.
Invest in infrastructure.
That's the first rule of financial success.
Will you guys please let me do this? Please? You release all of our devices from cyber bondage.
And limit your hijacking of the Internet to when we're asleep or at work.
Understood? Yes.
But I will need to buy some new equipment to optimize functionality.
The things is, I'm a little I'm a little strapped for cash.
Second rule of financial success: never ask your parents for money.
Her name is Maggie Stevie! Those tireless criticisms seem to have finally hit home.
Fresh off an awkward confrontation with the president's chief of staff.
Stevie! I thought you were gonna put a lid on this.
I'm trying.
I went to see her.
I-I offered her space in a shelter.
I told her I'd get her a meeting with Social Services.
I brought her coffee.
- What did she say? - "No.
" "Stuff it.
" And she only drinks oat milk lattes, extra hot.
She was yelling into the abyss.
Now she's got a megaphone? You had one task: keep the crazy lady at bay.
I know, I know.
I think I may have found something.
Years ago, Maggie was an up-and-coming scholar doing a dissertation with government funding, which she lost because of allegations of plagiarism.
Um, she was eventually cleared, but by that time she'd been drummed out of academia.
- And that began her descent.
- Why is this interesting to me? Because I have an idea.
Something that may help defuse the situation.
Now, please.
I don't want - to hear about this again.
- Okay.
- Hi.
- Dr.
McCord to see you.
Home and abroad, the world's coming apart, Henry.
Seems like it's down to the McCords to save it.
Well, I don't think this McCord is coming to the rescue quite yet.
Per Ephraim, preliminary analysis of the bomb fragments confirms the alloy was Russian in origin.
Are you saying the cluster bomb was a Russian knockoff? Yep.
So, if this was all just Russia and Syria trying to set us up, we're off the hook.
Uh, slow down, Russell.
The metallurgical analysis doesn't exonerate us.
It points to a bigger problem.
For Russia to have replicated the CBU-87, they would've needed the weapon schematics.
Someone at Dynametrics Munitions could be dirty.
Which means America could still have blood on its hands.
All right, stay on it.
I want to know the extent of Dynametrics' culpability.
Will do.
20 minutes ago, a Russian troop transport was shot down over Aleppo; 43 soldiers dead.
Have we heard from the Israelis? The Israelis didn't destroy the plane, sir.
Syria did.
Friendly fire? It would appear so.
Well, I don't care if it was an act of God.
Russian soldiers dead, Moscow will respond.
Meaning the situation is deteriorating fast.
If proxies are blowing their principals' planes out of the sky, the situation's untenable for everyone.
Which could give us an opening.
Get with Avdonin, Bess, before that opening closes.
Yes, sir.
Thank you for meeting with me, Mr.
Foreign Minister.
I was stateside to tour consulates when you reached out.
I thought a sit-down would be fruitful.
I thought so, too.
This friendly fire incident underscores the peril we now find ourselves in, and how easily the chaos could draw our two countries - into direct conflict.
- I agree.
Especially since it wasn't friendly fire.
Intel on the flight path of an Israeli F-16 jet, which establishes it deliberately flew behind our transport plane the moment a Syrian battery locked onto the Israeli intruder.
Israel murdered our soldiers.
We followed the protocols.
Moscow was given a 60-second warning before we entered Syrian air space.
Was apprised of our flight pattern, - our mission objective.
- Oh, I think we both know what Israel's true intentions were, Mr.
Ambassador.
Given the lengths Russia and Syria went to frame Israel for that cluster bomb, it seems like poetic justice to see Moscow's client state shoot down a Russian plane.
This treachery was precipitated at the direction of the United States.
That's a fabrication.
And you want to talk about treachery? How about Russia forging a U.
S.
bomb, and giving it to Syria to murder children? And doing it all to frame the U.
S.
? Even if that fantasy were true, it hardly justifies a conspiracy to kill Russian soldiers.
We need to De-escalate.
Israel has to issue a statement acknowledging its role in this crisis.
What role? The role of defending our tiny country against a swarm of enemies backed by Moscow? In light of this aggression, Russia will be supplying Syria with an upgraded air defense system.
If Russia is augmenting Syria's military capabilities, we demand the latest in U.
S.
technology So you want us to put you on a war footing with Syria.
We won't sanction an arms race.
The U.
S.
has always used Israel as a pawn for America's agenda.
You give us weapons, then handcuff us when we try to use them.
Give us money, but tell us how to spend it.
Thank you very much, but we are the ones at risk.
And we know how to protect ourselves.
Russia will not tolerate the murder of its citizens.
An immediate response will be forthcoming.
So we're sure Russia wasn't given the schematics for the CBU-87? Yes.
According to our investigation, there was no malfeasance, just negligence.
More like gross negligence, behind DOD's back.
Dynametrics gutted their cyber security budget so they could undercut competitors on government bids.
In the process, creating vulnerabilities Russia exploited by hacking the company's database.
Thanks, Ephraim.
Well, thank God we're not looking at treason here.
Well, cutting corners is no cause for celebration.
Dynametrics's digital infrastructure is woefully underfunded and just this side of legal.
Agreed, but as long as they played by the rules You can technically play by the rules and still be at fault.
That's what ethics are all about.
Well, you can put it all in your report.
Speaking of which, how's it coming? It-it's evolving.
Evolving.
Right.
You know, there's a lot at stake here.
After having refused to sign on to the cluster bomb ban, an about-face in the wake of a single tragedy could be seen as an admission of wrongdoing.
Or as an assumption of moral responsibility.
Moral responsibility has its costs.
One of which will be to tar the president.
And the Secretary of State.
New proposals to help the relatives of the dead children.
I tried to get creative.
Uh-huh, by reallocating some of our UNHCR funds for housing allowances to the affected families.
Exactly.
Except this isn't a refugee crisis.
Homes weren't destroyed; Foreign Affairs won't sign off.
Okay.
What about relocating the bereaved out of the war zone? How do we justify preferential treatment when thousands of civilians have already perished? It's not preferential treatment.
It's a mission of mercy.
Driven by American guilt over the use of a cluster bomb we didn't even manufacture, meaning it's back - to the drawing board.
- Back to the drawing board.
This is your carrel.
It's got a nameplate.
It says "Maggie Brixton.
" You got me a desk? Yes.
And the administration has received assurances that you can do as much reading and writing here as you want, undisturbed.
And you think this trivial gesture will buy my silence? There's there's no quid pro quo here.
You bet there's not.
Because I am only getting started.
The Dalton administration will not silence me.
Yeah, one sign a day, - that's too much for you? How about ten? - Uh, Stevie You will be held to account for every transgression.
Every moral failing, every act of greed, because this - Stevie, now.
- Just wait.
Wait.
t-this this is, t-the type of control mechanism that every government, every despot Okay.
We can go now.
You okay? Yeah, I'm just t-trying to wrap my head around normalizing an acceptable level of dead children.
Well, you're no stranger to collateral damage.
You were a fighter pilot.
Yes, and I knew that innocents would inevitably be caught in the crossfire that's something I'm still trying to reconcile but it's one thing to follow orders, it's another to sanction weapons that you know will result in the death of civilians.
Cluster bombs indiscriminately kill people.
That's kind of what they're all about.
Which is why we need diplomacy.
Yeah, well, diplomacy's not working right now.
Syria's about to open up a front against Israel and Iran is stepping up arms shipments to Hezbollah and it's just Sorry.
W-Where are you with Russia? A whole bunch of nyet.
I'm meeting with the president, joint chiefs first thing in the morning, but You have got to be kidding me.
- What? - Our electric bill.
It's, like, 800 last month to 2,000? - Jason? - Jason? Come here.
Hi.
See, this is why we should all be using solar power.
Oh, yes, well, until that time, your little cryptocurrency escapade is gonna drive us into bankruptcy.
Meaning that you're gonna pay us the difference between this and last month's bill.
- 1,200 bucks.
- Fine.
I will wire you the equivalent in SpectroCoin.
- No, no.
Uhp.
- No, no.
Cash on the barrel.
How about you cover the power bill, and I will cut you in on my profits? And you can think of that as an investment.
We've already invested in you for 17 years, sport.
And it's about to pay off.
SpectroCoin is up 300% - this week alone.
- Oh, that's great.
Then you can sell some of your booty and fork over the dough.
This is not how the Zuckerbergs supported their kid.
Ay Russell, hi.
Russia is sending their Northern Fleet to Latakia, Syria's most important harbor.
What? It's one big setup.
The cluster bomb, Moscow's response to Syria's destruction of their plane It's all to create leverage.
They want a Mediterranean port.
Yeah, and the president's not gonna allow that, no matter what.
I'm on my way.
How bad? Don't wait on me for breakfast.
- It's an armada.
- Yes, sir.
And once their Northern Fleet is in position, we won't be able to dislodge it without a war.
Bess, what do we hear from your counterpart? Avdonin insists that an increased naval presence is necessary to counter American and Israeli aggressions.
It's a pretext.
Russia has a small naval facility in Tartus that whet their appetite for regional domination.
- And this fleet will give it to them.
- Yes, sir.
And if we don't push Russia back now, they will have a port that puts them a stone's throw from vital NATO bases in Turkey.
I recommend that we send a fleet to intercept Russia's advance.
Which will put us on the verge of direct military conflict.
Only if Russia doesn't blink.
We have to hope they do.
Gordon's right.
We have very little choice here.
How far out is the Northern Fleet? About 26 hours.
Our Eighth Fleet needs about eight hours' advance notice to intercept them.
We've got 18 hours to get Russia to stand down.
Have you informed the president about Dynametrics's negligence in this? Uh, not yet.
But you should include it in your report.
A report that you're going to deliver to the president, who needs to know his friend was at fault.
He will be so apprised.
Correct, because I'm gonna tell him myself.
Respectfully, Henry, that's not SOP.
Yeah, let's talk about SOP, because you've been speeding the plough on my work since the beginning.
Weighing in on the importance of not embarrassing the administration, tacitly backing military prerogatives over ethical ones.
You're not suggesting I wouldn't provide the president an accurate summary of your conclusions? It's not just what you say, it's how you say it.
Tone is substantive.
Which is why I can't allow you to mediate my advice, whitewash things.
I know you think I'm working against you, Henry, but I'm not.
I'm working for the president.
And it's my job to protect him and the administration.
And it's my job not to care about your job.
You can't varnish my advice, Russell.
Not if I'm gonna keep working here.
I'll set up a one-on-one.
Thank you.
Thank you both for coming on such short notice.
You can dispense with the courtesy, Madam Secretary.
It was less an invitation than a summons.
Well, that's fine.
Neither of you need to talk.
Effective immediately, the Israeli government will cease all sorties into Syrian airspace.
You must be joking.
And Syria will freeze all Iranian arms shipments through its territory.
Iran is an ally.
Syria will do no such thing.
You will do it, Adnan, or I will instigate an emergency session of the U.
N.
Security Council, and present evidence of Syria's collusion with Russia to murder children for political gain.
Your regime will have to answer to its own people for the slaughter.
You wouldn't dare.
At that same U.
N.
Security Council session, I will also present evidence that Israel had a direct involvement in the destruction of a Russian jet, and without plausible deniability, you'll have to face - Moscow's wrath.
- You must be mad.
More like furious.
Furious enough to throw you both to the wolves by publicly exposing you.
But there are bigger imperatives as stake, so the both of you are going to stand down for the next 24 hours, which I hope is enough time to avert a war with Russia, a war the actions of your countries put us on the brink of.
- Yes.
- Yes.
That'll be all.
Nina.
- Yes.
- Get me Henry.
I need to talk to him before he talks to the president.
Right away, Madam Secretary.
You're recommending we sign on to - the ban on cluster bombs.
- Yeah, over the objection of Secretary Becker and Ellen Hill.
Strenuous objection, I see.
Conrad, it comes down to this.
How can we claim moral leadership w-when we employ a weapon that the rest of civilization has deemed too barbaric to use? The benefits of having this tool in our arsenal are too small to offset the risk of misuse and collateral damage, the death of almost 30 children being a prime example.
A powerful moral argument.
But Henry, when I asked you to take this on, I didn't realize the scope of Russia's involvement in this mess.
As long as Moscow has the bomb, they have a strategic advantage.
Particularly if they're willing to use it.
And given current events, - I won't cede an inch to them.
- I understand.
But what if Moscow was willing to sign on to the ban? And how precisely are we going to get them to do that? Elizabeth has a plan.
Which she's willing to explore with your permission.
Well, if Russia signs on, I will too.
I'll tell her.
Thanks, Henry.
And there is something else.
It has to do with my role here.
I sometimes feel pressured to rubberstamp policies the administration is inclined to pursue.
Henry you're an academic trapped in a political world.
I never said your job was going to be easy.
But I have to be able to push back when my mandate - is being compromised.
- And I expect nothing less.
Giving it to me straight is what I hired you to do.
Good.
Because we need to talk about Leland Grafton.
Well, his company's security lapses are reckless.
And troubling.
But they're not criminal.
No, sir.
But I don't think someone who avails himself of every conceivable loophole should be awarded government contracts.
You know I can't interfere in the bidding process.
No, but what you can do is tell your old friend that it's time for him to step down.
Moral suasion.
There's no one in the world who's in a better position to exert it than you.
My friend, we have had a difficult year together.
So let's talk common ground, then.
Because in the past year, we've also found that.
Nuclear De-escalation.
No one ever thought it could be done.
But we agreed to take our intercontinental ballistic missiles off the hair-trigger alert system.
- And the world is safer.
- It is.
And yet here we are, Konstantin.
Hours away from a showdown between our two fleets.
And if somebody fires a shot, if intentions are slightly misread What do you propose? That we set an example for our proxies.
Instead of them provoking us, we provoke them.
You want us to join you in signing on to the cluster bomb ban? A public display of cooperation.
A gesture that sets the stage for us to jointly pull back our fleets.
That's the first domino.
What's the second? Moscow uses its influence to roll back Iran's footprint in Syria.
And what about your proxy? No, Israel will stay out of Syria.
And then Russia and the U.
S.
will hold talks about limiting our involvement in the Syrian civil war.
And if we refuse these terms? Then even if we dodge this bullet, it's a temporary reprieve.
We have this illusion that our proxies are our buffers.
We can offload our conflicts.
But we are our proxies.
We hold each other accountable for what they do.
Meaning, if we don't reign them in, our client states will ultimately drag us into war.
And we can stop that from happening by setting an example, taking cluster bombs off the table reducing our involvement in Syria.
So if the principals behave - the proxies will follow.
- Yes.
We have to lead here, Konstantin.
Together.
There is no other choice.
Educational grants for Syrian refugees and the names of each of the dead children.
- Blake.
- I know no admissions of guilt.
So we can De-link the grants from policy issues.
You're trying to ease suffering with grand gestures, - which is statecraft.
- Exactly.
Yeah, but this is different.
This is soulcraft.
And soulcraft you can't assuage a loss by giving someone something.
You can only do it by preventing something from being taken away.
- I'm sorry, I don't follow.
- It's okay.
Come on, let's go.
I'll explain on the way.
- Hi.
Thank you so much for talking to us again.
- Hi.
What is it you want? We have searched in vain for ways to compensate you for the death of your sons.
We realize the futility of our efforts.
Um, nothing we say or do can can ease your pain.
But m-maybe there's something else we can do.
Uh, in your son's memory.
In memory of all your boys.
This is a letter of intent signed by both the U.
S.
and Russia in which both countries agree to join the ban on cluster bombs.
So no more cluster bombs? No, ma'am.
And the children who live because of this ban will have your children to thank.
Thank you.
Global warming.
The destruction of the rain forest.
- President Dalton is condemning us all.
- Yeah! I'm being punked, right? I tried, sir.
I swear.
What about her carrel? Maggie loves it; she's using it to do research for her protests.
Knock, knock.
Oat milk latte.
Extra hot.
Consider this a peace offering.
You can't buy my silence.
I'm going to speak truth to power.
And now that power is finally listening, - I am just getting started.
- Look.
Bringing you to heel, that's not why I'm here.
I mean, candidly, that's why I came, but on the way over - I got to thinking.
- Thinking? That's a new trick for folks in your building.
How long have you been here now? 18 years.
Well, I've been here six.
Which makes me the new guy.
And where I come from, you introduce yourself to your neighbors.
I'm Russell.
Is that all, Russell? Look.
I just wanted to say democracy's messy.
But rule one is every voice should be heard.
And yours has been on the front lines for a very long time.
And I wanted to thank you for playing your part in this this pageant we call the American experiment.
Because you matter.
Truly.
If there's ever anything I can do for you Thank you.
Excuse me, I have to finish this sign before the tour buses come.
Been ages since we've been on a proper date.
Well, let's calendar one.
In between international crises, commissions, all-nighters.
Oh, God, it turns me on when you talk shop.
I'm broke.
What? SpectroCoin went down to zero.
There was a, uh, massive sell-off as soon as the Syrian crisis died down.
Oh, well, gee, if I'd known I was hurting your bottom line, I would have reevaluated my position - on preventing World War Three.
- Yeah.
I'm done speculating.
- Hmm.
- Allow me to speculate.
Someone still owes us $1,200, and if he doesn't - find a way to pay us back - I already have.
I got a job as a busboy at Frankie's, so Steady income and all the pizza I can eat.
Good.
We'll put you on a payment plan.
I trust you've learned a valuable lesson - about shortcuts, right? - Yes.
Always take the ones that don't depend on your mom playing ball.
- Hey.
- I'm kidding.
I'm rolling OG now, so brick and mortar.
- All the way.
- Good.
Then, uh, grab a sponge and come over here, we'll train you up - for your next gig, there, Snoop.
- Yeah.
You know, there is this one currency.
It's called AnarCoin.
Kind of a sure bet.
I mean, I could get us in on the ground floor if you Hey, where's the soap?