High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam (2026) s01e05 Episode Script

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- My final interrogation
left me with a feeling
that we entered this war with
very little understanding of
how Saddam looked at
the outside world
and how sophisticated he was
in keeping absolute power
in Iraq.
How did this man rule a nation
with so many different factions,
religions, and power centers
for so long?
I didn't think he was
just a monster,
even though he could be
at times.
[ Horn honks ]
He was calm, controlled,
sometimes charming.
A picture of him and what he
built was so incomplete,
we never understood the system
holding Iraq together.
Still, we thought we could
rebuild it in our image.
Of course, if the foundation
of your plan is wrong,
then everything built on top
of it is wrong, too.
The Iraq we thought
we were building
is in a state of total collapse,
just death everywhere.
Even in the Green Zone,
you never know who you'd see
next on the news.
Maybe it'll be me.
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- [ Muttering in Arabic ]
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- We'll figure it out.
[ Shouting, gunfire ]
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[ Music on radio ]
- [ Speaking Arabic ]
- [ Muttering in Arabic ]
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[ Horn honks ]
- Hey.
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- [ Shouting in Arabic ]
[ Screaming ]
- [ Grunts ]
- [ Breathing heavily ]
- Holy shit.
- Okay. Hold on tight.
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[ Gunfire ]
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What the hell is this?
[ Radio chatter ]
- Go. Go. Go, go!
- Oh, God!
[ Gunfire ]
- Go, go, go!
Oh
RPG!
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- Covering fire!
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- [ Screaming ]
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[ Tires squeal ]
- Covering fire!
[ Horn honking ]
- Hit him! Hit him!
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- Go, go, go!
- Faster, faster!
Open the gate! Open the gate!
- Go, go, go!
- We have visual on target.
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- Cal! Cal!
- Coming through!
- Cal! Cal!
- Excuse me. Cal!
- Cal, hey!
- Cal!
- He's in shock.
- Where's Jerry? Cal.
- You're gonna be okay.
- Where's Jerry? Huh?
- Excuse me.
- Jerry.
- Stay with me, buddy.
You're gonna be okay.
- Hurry up, please.
[ Indistinct shouting ]
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- Hey, hey, hey. Hey.
You okay? You hear me?
Hey.
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- Four soldiers from
the same unit
were killed by a suicide bomber
at a checkpoint.
- In Iraq, US soldiers are
being killed almost daily.
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[ Siren wailing ]
- Baghdad, a city once again
in flames.
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[ Siren wailing ]
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[ Helicopter blades whirring ]
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[ Door opens, closes ]
- Open the door.
- It's too late.
- I said, open the door.
It's on my authority.
I won't be long.
- Leave.
- Why are you still here?
Everyone knows you're here.
Rumsfeld told the world.
The city is swarming
with terrorists,
loyalists, insurgents.
It's easier to buy Kalashnikov
than a egg.
But nobody's trying to save you.
And I figured out why.
It's because you don't have
any power anymore.
And all those Iraqis
out there fighting,
nobody's fighting for you.
- It's past hours, sir.
- Nixon, stand down.
- Code six said before--
- You get your ass out of here.
God damn it.
[ Radio chatter ]
[ Bell tolling ]
- Oh, he's just a little
excited.
I know, I know.
I'm gonna use good judgment.
I haven't lost my temper
in 40 years.
But, Pilgrim, you caused a lot
of trouble this morning.
- Might've got somebody killed.
- [ Phone ringing ]
And somebody ought to belt you
in the mouth, but I won't.
I won't.
[ Dialogue, music
continue on TV ]
- [ Phone beeps ]
- [ Sighs ]
Hello?
Hello?
Is this Johnny? You okay?
- Jerry's dead.
- Are you hurt?
Johnny?
Are you hurt?
- What's the point?
What was the point of all this?
- I know it's hard
to lose a buddy.
- You know, I close my eyes,
you know what I see?
I see
I see Becks lying in bed
laughing at some old
"Frasier" reruns
while we're dying over here.
- You're in shock, son.
- You're damn right
I'm in shock.
Everything back home is just
carrying on as normal.
People are doing Pilates,
bitching about work,
and arguing about who's going to
win the Rose Bowl
and shoving their faces full
of French fries.
Everything but worrying about
what's going on over here.
- We all care.
- Dad, when you-- when you
fought in Korea
and Vietnam, I mean, America
was watching.
People were protesting.
When the Gulf War was happening,
I mean, the whole world
was riveted.
Now, people, they're not even
paying attention
because what we're doing here
doesn't matter.
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[ Sighing ]
It doesn't matter.
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Do you remember Cal?
Charlie's friend?
- Yeah. Cal.
He was the one that was out in
the garage smoking my cigars.
- Yeah.
I blew him up.
- Listen to me, son.
Keep your shit together.
- What?
- You are in one piece.
That's what matters.
We can cry over Macallan
later when you get here.
No. Focus on the job and
get your ass home.
- I'm not Charlie.
I shouldn't even have come here.
- You are nothing like Charlie.
And I don't want to hear
that anymore.
Get your head out of your ass.
You are the guy that caught
Saddam Hussein.
Understand?
[ Phone beeps ]
[ Dial tone ]
- Hello?
Asshole.
- Oh, Jerry.
[ Piano playing ]
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- I didn't know you played,
Nixon.
- When I was 9 years old,
I was the 1978 Long Island
Roller Disco Champion.
- [ Chuckles ]
- My younger brother was earning
merit badges
and Little League trophies.
I was roller dancing and reading
the Britannica.
- [ Chuckles ]
I don't know what's nerdier,
roller dancing or Britannica.
- That's what my dad said.
He was afraid I was a little
So, um
I stopped dancing.
- I'm sure you did.
What are you going to say
to Jerry's family?
- I don't know.
- Family men,
fathers waiting for them
to see you
for who you really are
over the person
they want you to be
your whole life,
just to realize that's
unattainable,
and it will end up
destroying you.
- Yeah.
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[ Birds cawing ]
- [ Groaning ]
- Coffee?
I guess fathers are never easy,
but mine was a monster.
Everything had to be perfect.
He wouldn't have it
any other way.
And I was perfect.
Perfect student,
athlete, daughter.
Until one morning,
I told him I hated him,
and he threw me into a pot
of boiling water.
- He still alive?
- Dead to me.
Questions for Saddam.
- We've gone through this
already.
- Before the FBI gets here,
you need to be on record that
you've covered everything.
- Why?
- You like your job at Langley?
- What they're looking for
doesn't exist.
- It doesn't matter.
What did Jerry used to say?
If you can't give 'em what they
want, give 'em possibilities.
- Using Jerry as a pep talk?
- I'll see you soon, yeah?
- Yeah.
[ Door opens, closes ]
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- Nixon's late.
Well
- He says he, uh, doesn't
want to talk to you.
- I don't care.
You ask him.
[ Radio chatter ]
[ Speaking Arabic ]
- Okay.
He doesn't want to answer.
- Your friend is dead.
- [ Bangs on table ]
- I know this pain.
- It binds us.
- Who are you, Mr. Steve?
- Tell me.
So we trust each other.
Tell me.
- My name is John Nixon.
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- Shit.
- I have a master's degree
in history
and national security.
And I've been studying you
for years.
- I work for the Central
Intelligence Agency.
- Oh, my God.
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- John Nixon.
Why are you here?
- To find some truth.
- Truth?
- What the is this?
- How circumstances
change destiny.
In 1960,
your government wanted me
to overthrow our prime minister.
- Abdul Karim Qasim?
- Abdul Karim Qasim.
In 1980, President Carter wanted
assistance with Khomeini.
If not for Iraq, Iranian occupy
all the Arab world.
2001-- Twin Towers fall.
America brought to knees
by Wahhabi extremists.
- How did that make you feel?
- Relief.
- Relief.
- I thought, at last, America
would remember
we are friends.
I wrote your government twice
with my condolence.
No response.
I sent my UN ambassador
to memorial service.
They tried to have him banned.
- You've been threatening us
publicly
and antagonizing
the whole world.
- I ended my nuclear and
biological programs
in 1991.
1995, UN reported
95% of all
my weapons destroyed.
Why was not end of it?
- You were obstructing
UN inspectors
and you were still purchasing
chemicals.
- How far Baghdad from Jerusalem?
- W-Why is that relevant?
- 500 miles.
How far from Tehran? 432.
Your enemies must cross
an ocean.
Every year, I reduced
my capabilities.
Iran expanded theirs.
- You needed Iran to believe
that you had the weapons,
because if they didn't,
they would attack.
- I need America to know I did
not have the weapons
because they would attack me
if I did.
Tell me, what would you do
in my place?
You begin a war you do not know
how to fight against enemy
you do not know how to find.
Opened the region to Iran,
backed by the Kremlin.
Your enemies are my enemies.
The one man who understands,
an ally you will hang.
Bush thinks game over
when you take the king.
Mission accomplished.
[ Scoffs ]
But your enemies,
our enemies,
[speaks Arabic] the turbans,
they are resetting the board.
- Provisional government
is going to make sure
that that doesn't happen.
- [ Laughs ]
Do you believe that?
You are a seeker of truth?
Then seek it. Go to Najaf.
- Interview's over.
- What's in Najaf?
Wait, wh-what the hell
are you doing?
Get out of here!
We're not done here.
- Take the prisoner to his cell.
- What are you doing?
Saddam, Saddam, what's in Najaf?
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The hell was that?
- Sir, s-sir. We got intelligence
from Saddam.
- WMD?
- No, sir.
- Then what?
- We need travel clearance
to go to Najaf.
- Why? What's in Najaf?
- We don't know yet.
- [ Scoffs ] I'm not following.
- Look, what's-- what's
the point of asking
all these questions if we're not
listening to the answers?
- What answers, John?
What are you talking about?
- Sir, Saddam told me
to go to Najaf.
- You're an analyst, John.
Your job is to question,
analyze, evaluate.
- Sir.
- God damn it, Nixon.
You're not field agents, okay.
Denied. Clear enough?
[ Engine turns over ]
- Alright, listen.
That guy's an asshole.
But he's right.
The job is deadly.
- I'm going.
What's the point of doing
all this
if we're not actually trying to
figure out what's going on?
- How do you know Saddam
isn't just setting you up?
- I don't. But, look, my gut's
telling me to go.
- I'm not coming.
- Look, I'm not asking
you guys to come.
- Okay, I'll go.
I'll go.
[ Radio chatter ]
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- Sir.
- I need to hitch a ride
to Najaf.
- No room.
Besides, without authorization,
you're wasting my time.
- Here's his authorization.
- There's room for one of you.
Sergeant, we're going
to need a seat.
- Try to blend in, okay?
Be safe.
- Get what you need, Nixon.
- You're holding us up.
- Be careful.
You have a family
to go home to.
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- 6 million graves.
A necropolis, city of the dead.
They believe the closer you are
to the Imam Ali Shrine,
the more likely you'll get
into heaven.
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[ Chanting in Arabic ]
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What does Saddam want me
to find here?
Is it worth risking my life?
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[ Gunfire ]
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- Mr. Nixon, Mr. Nixon.
I'm Captain Ghalib.
- Hi.
- Najaf is honored to have an
esteemed member of the CPA, sir.
Should have given us
some warning.
At least we could have prepared
a more formal welcome for you.
- It was a last-minute thing.
- No problem.
We are rebuilding Najaf.
Under Saddam Hussein,
it was an embarrassment,
but now it is the pride
of all Iraq.
Oh, no. This is nothing.
He keeps popping up like this
from time to time.
- Nice watch.
- [ Chuckles ]
A lot of men are eager
to meet you.
- I only have time
to see the city.
- This is our brand-new clinic
and hospital.
President Bush is a great man.
He talks about a new Iraq.
He's a man of honor.
Najaf is the new Iraq.
Clean, safe, prosperous.
We have electricity
nine hours a day.
Everybody love America.
People on the street sing,
"We love America.
We love America."
- So you're not worried
about violence?
- What violence?
There's no violence here.
- Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim
got assassinated
like two miles from here.
Didn't over 100 people die
in that blast?
- And who incites
these terrible acts?
Foreign fighters-- Saudis,
Kuwaitis, Jordanians--
all in protest of the dictator
Saddam Hussein.
No one knows more than us
how fortunate Iraq is
to get rid of this dictator.
- More than who?
- Elections.
It's the only way to secure
the peace now.
And don't be afraid.
Iraq is a Shia majority country,
and as Shia,
we know very well
and understand
it's our sacred duty to involve
ourselves in politics.
- Is that right?
- [ Horn honks ]
- Only through the people's voice
will Allah's will be known.
- Who's that?
- A cleric. Muqtada al-Sadr.
[ Camera shutter clicking ]
- Isn't that the guy who said
9/11 was a miracle from God
and that he would fight
the occupation
until liberation or martyrdom?
- Under Saddam, there was
zero freedom of speech.
- Wait, wait, wait.
Slow down.
What's that?
- This is old Najaf.
It's out of our route.
- Okay. Yeah. Pull over.
- It's out of our route.
- Pull over.
Stop the car.
I want to go down there.
Pull over.
[ Muezzin calling Adhan ]
[ Praying in Arabic ]
- Allah.
[ Horn honks ]
- Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Stop here! Here, here, here!
Stop!
- Mr. Nixon, this is
out of our route.
- Yeah. No, I need to see this.
I need to go.
- I'll have to accompany you.
- No, no, no.
I'm going on my own.
- Wait.
Take this.
Put this on.
I will be waiting for you
at the north gate.
[ Camera shutter clicks ]
- [ Speaking Arabic ]
[ Camera shutter clicking ]
[ Camera shutter clicking ]
[ Camera shutter clicking ]
- Hey. No, no.
P-Press, press.
L-Listen. No, no. Press.
Calm down.
- Leave him alone!
[ Speaks Arabic ]
- Y-You speak English?
- Journalist?
- Help us!
- W-What happened here?
- Men come at night.
- W-What men?
- Militia?
- Mahdy?
Is this the first time
it happened?
It happened before?
- Before, not know who Sunni,
who Shia.
[ Indistinct chanting ]
[ Camera shutter clicks ]
[ Chanting in Arabic ]
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- [ Speaking Arabic ]
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[ Dog barking ]
- [ Shouting in Arabic ]
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[ Horn honking ]
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- Shit.
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[ Dogs barking ]
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Okay.
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Move, move, move!
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[ Horn honking ]
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- John!
John! John!
[ Men shouting in Arabic ]
- Go, go!
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