High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam (2026) s01e06 Episode Script
The Devil You Know
1
[ Theme music plays ]
♪
[ Suspenseful music plays ]
♪
[ Horn honks ]
- You getting back
is a bigger miracle
than the 1980
U.S. Olympic hockey gold medal.
- Divine intervention.
- Yeah.
Well, now I got to thank God.
And I hate owing him.
- If Moqtada al-Sadr
is such a threat,
then why isn't he on
the agency's radar?
- He is. Angela teed him up
months ago.
It's just we haven't been paying
attention.
Samir,
you got some coffee there?
- Yeah.
- It's gonna be a late night.
- Hey, look at this.
A report comparing Moqtada
to Hassan Nasrallah.
- Hezbollah's leader?
- Yeah, but this
concludes
that he's not a threat.
Their assessment
was that he lacks
the necessary communication
and leadership skills.
- Meaning?
- Well, they think
he's a thuggish killer
who spends his time
playing video games.
- That's not the guy
I saw in Najaf.
L-Let me see that.
An army of followers.
Yeah, this is five months old.
Written by McNulty.
This guy's a junior analyst.
Doesn't know shit.
It's garbage.
- Well, this is interesting.
Uh, Sadr's son,
Mohammad Sadiq al-Sadr.
He was a--
He was a big player.
Saddam had him arrested
and executed in 1999.
- According to this, the riots
that were caused by his death
was the biggest threat
to Saddam's rule
since the Gulf War.
- And this gets juicier.
Look.
Grand Ayatollah Baqir al-Sadr--
that's Moqtada father-in-law--
he openly supported
Iranian revolution.
- Saddam arrested
and tortured Bakr.
Bakr, right?
- Yeah.
- Bakr and his sister just when
he came into power in 1980.
- Yeah, I remember this.
Yeah.
The story is that Saddam
had an iron nail hammered
into the forehead of al-Sadr
and then they burned the body.
And there's several accounts
saying Saddam did it himself.
- He killed
both of Moqtada's fathers,
his birth father
and his father-in-law.
- So he's using the memory
of his father
and his father-in-law
to raise his Mahdi army.
- Good old revenge.
- Yeah, well, Iraq is a family
patriarchy, so that makes sense.
- Old sins got long shadows.
- And this gives him the motive.
- Yeah. It gives him a network
and the authority to lead it.
- So, then what?
- Is Saddam trying to warn us
not to make the same
mistake he did?
Or does he know
that we won't listen
and wants to sit back
and be right
while we get
what's coming to us?
[ Suspenseful music plays ]
He's trying to warn us
not to make the same mistake
that he did.
Can you get this?
How did that develop?
I want Stilwell to see this.
- I still don't trust the devil.
Okay. See you soon.
- Yeah.
♪
- Seeing al-Sadr with his
Mahdi army reshaping Najaf
made it clear
that he's not chasing Paradise.
He's chasing power.
[ All chanting in Arabic ]
With Saddam's fall,
this is al-Sadr's chance
to build a Shia state
of their own,
which conveniently aligns
with Iran's ambitions.
Ayatollah Khamenei has been
dreaming of this since 1979.
Ironic that after
his eight-year war with Iraq,
hundreds of thousands of dead,
and cities destroyed,
he's got us to thank
for getting rid of Saddam.
♪
[ All chanting in Arabic ]
[ Cellphone rings ]
[ Cellphone beeps ]
- [ Sighs ]
- Bloodlust?
- What?
- The link
between sex and violence.
Natural response to trauma.
Nothing to feel guilty about.
- I have so much
to feel guilty about.
[ Dog barking ]
[ Soft piano music plays ]
[ Flames crackling ]
- [ Yawns ]
- Hmm.
- Charles,
when did you start dieting?
- Rebecca, I'm just not hungry.
That's all.
- You've been moping around
for days.
You don't have to keep
everything locked inside.
Sometimes it's good
to let it out.
- Rebecca, what is the point
of burdening civilians
with combat horror stories?
- It's not a burden.
It's a-- it's a relief.
- You know, they call us
the Greatest Generation,
but I think
we're the silent generation.
- You missed the chance
with Charlie. Uh
I don't want you to make
the same mistake with John.
You fought in three wars.
You don't retire a full-bird
colonel without a story.
Talk.
♪
- In 1943, I was 17,
and I enlisted in the army.
I lied about my age.
They knew I was lying.
And, then,
I find myself at Normandy,
the D-Day invasion.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
Wake up on this big battle
cruiser off the coast of France,
rig myself up with all my
equipment and ammunition.
Probably 40 pounds or more.
I don't know.
Go over the side of the boat and
then go down the Jacob's ladder,
and I get in the landing craft.
[ Gunfire ]
♪
See and hear the German guns
firing from way up there
on the cliffs above the beach.
I'm so nervous.
I'm scared to death.
The German machine guns pinging
off the front of the steel doors
on the landing craft.
And, then, we get a little bit
closer to that.
We're almost there.
I see the dead,
some bloated bodies floating,
these guys hung up
on barbed wire
and those barriers
the Germans had built.
And-- And some poor
bastards, they even--
they jumped off the boat
too early, and they sunk
because of all the equipment
they were wearing.
They never had a chance.
We actually make it
to the beach.
[ Soldiers shouting ]
We fight our way
about halfway up
and then we're pinned down.
I don't know how long it was.
But I look, and I see this
officer crawling towards me.
And he says, "Hey, Sergeant."
"Sir."
"Every single officer
in your battalion is dead."
You are now in command
of second platoon."
"Sir, I'm not an officer.
I'm an NCO, a sergeant.
I work for a living."
"No. You are
a first lieutenant now.
Battlefield commission."
And that's how I became
an officer.
[ Indistinct radio chatter ]
- I got your pictures developed.
- Sadiq al-Sadr.
Come on.
- Murdered.
- Yes, we know.
Why?
- I ordered the special inquiry.
Mukhabarat reported, um,
this was fighting between
Shia clerics, no, Sistani.
- Ayatollah Sistani killed him?
- Sistani is being considered
for the Nobel Peace Prize.
- So was Hitler.
- But you met
with Sadiq al-Sadr.
immediately after
the Gulf War ended.
Why?
- Sadr came to see me
about his son.
- Moqtada.
- No, his brother Mustafa.
After Gulf war,
Mustafa supported
Iranian insurgents in Najaf.
- At the Shia uprising, right?
- Mm-hmm.
His father denied this and
begged me for my forgiveness
and his son's life.
I granted him both.
- So Sadiq al-Sadr
became your ally.
- Sadr condemned Shia clerics
to save his son.
I reward his loyalty.
I made him chief of, um
[ Speaking Arabic ]
- Endowments.
- Ah.
I made him chief
of religious endowments.
He made--
[ Blows, speaks Arabic ]
- But then he abused
that position
and started to speak
against you, right?
Do you know how he got killed?
- Did you kill him?
- Ask your, uh, Jack of Diamonds
if you can find him.
- Pass me those cards, please.
Thank you.
- Sadiq al-Sadr
- Who's Jack of Diamonds?
- Tahir Jalil Habbush.
- He's the head
of intelligence.
- A month before he died,
did he think
he had some kind of
premonition
that he was gonna get killed?
- Maybe a symbol.
He was ready to become a martyr.
[ Exhales sharply ]
Be careful who you martyr.
Iraqis never forget.
- Okay, so you killed
Sadr's father
because of his
religious convictions.
- Your first president,
uh, Washington,
he separate church and state.
- It's called
the establishment clause.
- I do same. I make same law.
You know, in Iraq, no one knows
if Saddam is Sunni or Shia.
- [ Laughing ] Come on.
The whole
[ Speaking Arabic ]
I mean, the whole thing
was based on a spoils system,
relying on the Sunni tribes.
- These men were punished
for breaking the law.
You do not mix religious turban
with politics.
♪
- Are you sure Johnny
wants to hear all this?
- I'm sure.
Can I get you a scotch?
- You better.
- [ Exhales sharply ]
Korea--
What I remember about Korea,
visibility was just terrible.
We just couldn't see anything.
So you had to depend on
listening.
Listening told you
where to duck,
where to hide, where to look.
Then we push
the Communist Chinese army
all the way back
to the Yalu River,
which was the border with China.
- Have a drink.
- So there we are,
sitting on this ridgeline
and, uh, looking at them.
It was the cold, winters.
And I remember
my favorite sergeant major,
his feet got frozen,
and he--
he had no nerve endings anymore
on the bottom of his feet.
- Oh, God.
- One night,
I hear bugles
playing over loudspeakers.
It was-- It was the eeriest,
weirdest thing.
It was spooky.
[ Bugles playing ]
Then they just attacked--
you know, surprise attack?
Oh, no.
They wanted us to know
they were coming.
[ Soldiers shouting ]
The human wave
of screaming Chinese.
We fought them
with everything we had--
rifles, bayonets, mortars,
machine guns, bazookas,
ka-bar knives, our hands even.
- It's hard to imagine.
- So we began
huge fighting retreat
over past the famous
frozen Chosin Reservoir.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Flames crackling ]
Yeah.
[ Sighs ]
- John is gonna love
to hear this.
[ Suspenseful music plays ]
♪
♪
- You sent me to Najaf
to see Moqtada al-Sadr.
As you can see, it's clear
he's taking his father's place.
His father was your ally.
Do you think we could make
Moqtada al-Sadr our ally?
♪
It would change the game.
We could stabilize Iraq.
♪
- [ Sighs ] Americans.
Americans are black-and-white.
Friend or enemy.
In Iraq, it is never simple.
Just think.
Once
even CIA and Saddam
were friends.
[ Engine revving ]
[ Indistinct conversations ]
[ Knock on door ]
[ Telephone rings ]
- Not you.
And close the door.
Look. As a husband
and a father, sure.
I'm used to being ignored.
It's par for the course.
But as your boss,
it makes me look ridiculous.
- I understand, sir.
And-- And, you know,
I came back.
- I knew you'd be back,
though I expected
in a body bag, John.
- Polly had nothing
to do with this.
- This is all on me.
- Polly used her authorization
to defy my orders.
- I took her pass.
- You're correct. But right now,
you got to listen
to what we have to say.
- She's right.
If you need to fire me,
go ahead.
But you--
you got to hear us out.
- Saddam's trying to help us.
- Why?
- So
So, Saddam knows he up
when he killed Sadiq al-Sadr,
the former Shia leader.
He made him a martyr.
He caused
the whole Shia uprising
that really threatened
Saddam's regime.
And we think
that he's trying to warn us
from doing the same mistake
with the son, Moqtada al-Sadr,
who's now the de facto
Shia leader in Iraq.
- That's pure speculation, John.
- Sir, that's what you pay us
to do.
We've been focusing too much
on just Saddam,
and we've been ignoring
all the other leaders
that are coming up in his wake.
When we removed Saddam,
we created a vacuum.
And someone's gonna fill it.
And the White House,
the CPA, the military--
everyone's just focused on
the present.
- The point is, we need
to be cultivating future leaders
sympathetic and loyal to us.
- That's what the Ayatollah
is doing.
He knows that if he controls
the new Iraqi leader,
Iran will become the dominant
force in the Middle East.
- Yeah.
[ Suspenseful music plays ]
- Thoughts?
- Well, first,
we establish a fusion cell
between CPA and the military
command regarding al-Sadr.
- It's-- It's prudent move.
I was there.
- Yeah, I don't need reminding.
Okay.
Okay. I'll consider it.
- Yes, sir.
- But I'm downgrading
your security clearance.
Hand me your pass.
Disobey me again,
you'll be pulling archive duty
at Langley.
♪
[ Knock on door, door opens ]
- We have a situation.
Turn on the TV, please.
- It's been a deadly day
in Iraq.
Four U.S. civilians
were killed in an ambush.
their burned and mangled bodies
were then dragged through
the streets of Fallujah.
[ Crowd chanting in Arabic ]
And in another incident,
five American soldiers
were killed.
To get more
on these latest attacks,
FOX's Steve Centanni
is live in Baghdad right now.
[ Vacuum cleaner running ]
Steve, we know
the people who bore that attack
were civilians
who I believe
were American engineers.
- [ Breathes shakily ]
- Yeah. These were
American contractors
working for a security company
based in North Carolina
[ Vacuum cleaner stops,
telephone ringing ]
the four men who were
the victims of this attack.
As to who carried out
these attacks,
it's anybody's guess.
- [ Exhales sharply ]
- Becks.
- Why haven't you called?
- Listen, I-I tried.
- Why haven't you called, John?!
It's been days!
They're--
They're burning civilians.
How do I know you're okay?
- Look. I'm sorry, honey, okay?
- Keep your sorries!
- I don't know what you've
been doing, but I am
fed up with you lying to me.
- I'm not lying, okay?
You have to understand
what I'm--
what I'm going through here, okay?
- You promised
you would stay in touch.
- I know I did,
but it's-- it's--
- What are you still doing
there?!
You caught Saddam!
And you swore
you'd be home for Christmas!
I dread turning on the news,
afraid
I'll see you hanging on TV.
Jerry is dead!
I went to his funeral
yesterday!
I-I can't take it anymore!
- Baby, listen.
The FBI is bringing in
a replacement soon.
- I don't believe you.
[ Telephone beeps ]
[ Sniffles ] Oh!
[ Dial tone plays ]
[ Vehicle passing by ]
[ Receiver slams ]
[ Birds chirping ]
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Sobs ]
[ Dog whining ]
[ Sobbing ]
♪
♪
[ Indistinct conversations ]
[ Rock music plays on stereo ]
♪
- Watch me.
[ Music playing in distance ]
♪
[ Engine revving in distance ]
♪
- At least you picked
a beautiful spot to sulk.
It's a pretty disgusting beer.
I'm not gonna lie.
- [ Chuckles ] Yeah.
- You want another one?
I'm buying.
- [ Mutters ]
- Cheer up, man.
You're the one
who gets to go home.
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- Let's go.
♪
- [ Groans ]
♪
What are you
still doing here, man?
♪
- I like the shawarma.
Yeah.
- Especially on the way out, right?
- [ Chuckles ]
I, uh
I need to see him hang.
♪
- Here's the thing--
no WMD
means the whole justification
for the war is bullshit.
So Bush needs another trophy
on his wall.
Hanging Saddam--
that's his only chance
to control the narrative.
- So the battle is in D.C.,
convincing the war hawks
Saddam's a resource,
not a relic.
- [ Groans ] Politics.
And we have to keep
playing along
with this political charade.
♪
How is Iraq so cold?
- If I lose again,
I'm out of here.
It's getting late.
- Well, that was easy.
- What is your best shot?
- Let's play some pool.
- Alright.
- Hey, Amira,
can you believe this guy?
Look at him.
- What's wrong with your face?
- [ Chuckles ]
- I think you need a beer.
- Let me get you some.
- Thanks, Amira.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
- Hi. 20 bucks says you miss.
- Hmm!
- What?!
- Easy money walks in.
- [ Chuckles ]
- This very shot?
- Yeah, yeah. This shot.
- 20 bucks?
- Yeah.
20 bucks,
and-- and we get the table.
- Deal?
- Hold on.
Put the money on the table
and don't miss.
- Save your money, man.
- Prepare to buy me my next beer.
- Okay. Let's go.
- It's gonna be an easy 20 bucks.
- [ Whistles ] Yo!
Everyone! Sandra!
- Come on.
- Come here.
- James, Tiny.
- He likes a crowd.
- He's about to choke.
20 bucks.
Alright? Enjoy the show.
- Enjoy the show.
- Get the shot.
- Deal.
- Put your hand closer
so you can hit the ball.
- Oh!
[ Laughter ]
- How-- How did you miss that?
He chokes on the easiest setup.
- That was horrible.
- Hey, man.
- [ Sighs ]
- Keep your money.
- It's okay, bro.
- Nah, keep it.
I just wanted the table.
I'm sorry.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- You see it?
- Oh, thank you.
- How'd you know?
- That's my money.
- Well, you know, some people
just can't handle the pressure.
First time I met you,
I thought, how did I get stuck
with this guy
who can't even hold his gun?
But when the shooting started
you didn't run.
- I did shit myself, though.
- And you caught the guy--
you.
You break.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
[ Rock music plays on stereo ]
- John Nixon?
- Yeah.
- Nigel Holmes.
- Hey.
- Bureau sent me
to take your place.
- Right, right.
This is Samir.
He'll be your translator.
- No need.
- Oh, wow. French, too, huh?
- So, you got any pointers?
- On the French? Yeah, I thought
it was a little
It sounded a little--
- Insights.
You think it will help?
- Uh, it's gonna be tough
building trust.
I bet if you were able
to establish
some kind of rapport
- I'm not interested
in being his friend.
Bureau's concern is exclusively
his links
with domestic terrorism--
9/11, al Qaeda,
and the plot to assassinate
Bush's daughters.
- [ Scoffs ] Excuse me.
- [ Laughs ]
- In retaliation for the deaths
of Uday and Qusay.
- The agency investigated
that claim.
- It's total horseshit.
- Yes, well
it's my understanding
there's credible evidence.
And if so, I intend to give
the President what he wants.
♪
- Wow.
It seems like they got
the right guy for the job.
Welcome to the Green Zone.
♪
[ Dramatic music plays ]
♪
[ Birds chirping ]
- Time to go.
[ Chains rattle, engine idling ]
- [ Gasps ]
- Who is he?
- Your friend's Arabic is shit.
- [ Laughing ]
[ Laughing continues ]
- Get him out of there, sir.
- You, um,
interrupt my breakfast.
I am bored.
I do not have time for boredom.
My name is Saddam Hussein
al-Majid al Tikriti,
President of Iraq.
Who are you?
Uh accountant?
Hairdresser?
- I'm your lifeline.
The Coalition
Provisional Authority
sent me here to help you.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Indistinct conversations,
horns honking ]
♪
[ Woman singing in Arabic
on radio ]
♪
- [ Speaking Arabic ]
- I need you to get out
and get your people out.
- No, Officer.
You cannot come in here.
We don't recognize
your authority here.
- This is not a discussion.
Clear your people out of here
now for their own safety.
- You can't do this.
This is freedom of speech.
- This is an order!
Get your workers out now!
- No, but--
We're peaceful, okay?
We're peaceful.
- We're peaceful.
- No! No!
- Take a look at this.
- Al-Hawza.
That's al-Sadr's newspaper.
- Yeah. And they just compared
Bremer to Saddam.
- I mean, if he gained 40 pounds
and grew a mustache.
- Ha ha.
The CPA is interpreting this
as a call to violence
against Americans.
- [ Sighs ]
Richard, I'm telling you,
we have to rebuild a bridge
with these people,
not blow it up.
- It's too late for that.
The CPA has already decided on
a response-- Bremer's.
al-Sadr's paper's dead.
- We're shutting it down?
- The Army's there as we speak.
- [ Grunts ]
[ Door crashes ]
- Burn the papers.
Burn all of them.
- [ Speaking in Arabic ]
- Get out!
[ Indistinct radio chatter ]
Get out!
Get out!
- [ Speaks Arabic ]
[ Crowd chanting
"Allahu Akbar!" ]
[ Horns honking ]
[ Dramatic music plays ]
♪
- This aligns perfectly with
the freedom-of-the-press thing
we've been preaching.
- [ Scoffs ]
- Bremer doesn't give a shit.
He's exercising
his civil authority.
- Let's utilize the fusion cell
as a--
- There isn't gonna be
a damn fusion cell, okay?
- What do you mean?
- It's not gonna happen.
- We just had a conversation
about it.
- Yeah. It is what it is.
[ Crowd chanting
"Allahu Akbar!" ]
[ Horns honking ]
♪
[ Chanting stops ]
- Hold your fire.
Hold fire.
[ Crowd chanting
"Allahu Akbar!" ]
♪
[ Gun cocks ]
Stay back. Stay back.
Stay back. Do not shoot!
[ Crowd chanting
"Allahu Akbar!" ]
- You know your army
used dogs.
For Arabs, it is a big insult.
When they capture me,
they use dogs, I laugh.
- He's talking in circles.
This is a waste of your time, sir.
- If you'd like to file
a complaint
- You know when I know
you invade my country?
- Saddam, I'm here to discuss
your weapons program.
- When Blair visit America,
I know what's going to happen.
With international hate
against Iraq,
aggression was coming,
worse than 1991.
- Saddam.
[ Speaks Arabic ]
- Hey, Kim, I need this report
done and sent to D.C.
- Stevens.
- Make sure I'm updated.
[ Telephone rings ]
- Sir.
- What is it?
- It's Najaf.
[ Indistinct shouting ]
- Get back!
Hands off!
[ Crowd chanting
"Allahu Akbar!" ]
- Move!
We will shoot you!
- Don't move!
- Hey, stay back!
- You remind me of, uh, ants.
You know,
ants have no lungs or heart.
Yes, this is you.
Like one ant of thousands
running around on hill.
- Thank you.
- No, no. Not ant.
Ants serve a purpose.
- Your guy's no help.
He's getting devoured.
- Not my guy.
He was assigned by D.C.
If you'll permit me, Admiral.
I do have a suggestion.
[ Indistinct shouting ]
- Back up!
[ Gunfire ]
- Light it up!
- Go, go!
- Keep moving, keep moving!
[ Indistinct shouting ]
- You, move!
- Move your ass!
[ Indistinct conversations ]
- Can I help you?
- Shutting down that newspaper's
a big mistake.
- CPA is trying
to establish a price
for anti-West propaganda, John.
- Yeah, but they're punishing
the wrong people.
The violence spreads
from the Sunni Triangle
to the Shia population,
it's gonna start a civil war.
You got to convince Dowell.
- That's easy for you to say.
You're out of here.
- Nixon.
Stilwell's looking for you.
- Yeah?
I was about to get
on my flight home, sir.
W-What do you need?
- Your flight can wait.
- Sorry?
- Is this about Najaf?
- What we're doing in Najaf
is very foolish, sir.
The Mahdi Army has zero links
to those Blackwater deaths.
- Yes. It's al Qaeda,
maybe Zarqawi.
- And al Qaeda wants to kill Shia
almost as much
as he wants to kill Americans.
- Yeah. Their goal is to turn an
insurgency into a civil war.
- This could be the opportunity
to make al-Sadr an ally.
- Shut up.
That's not why I called you
in here.
- So why am I missing my flight?
[ Door opens ]
- Admiral Kimball,
I'd like you to meet
Agents John Nixon
and Polly Stevens.
- Admiral, sir. It's an honor.
- It's good to meet you,
John, Polly.
- Nice to meet you.
- Forgive me, Admiral.
I was under the impression
this was, uh, strictly
an interagency matter.
I wasn't aware of the military
was playing a role.
- Oh, we don't.
Not in the handoff.
- Okay.
- The situation on the ground
is deteriorating rapidly.
- We're well-aware.
- Winthrop says
that you're the man
to help us out.
- Well
- We need you at BIFF, now.
- Uh, sir,
it's almost evening prayers.
He won't talk to anyone
after evening prayers.
- Then we'll try
in the morning.
- This calls on
all Iraqi insurgents
to lay down their arms.
- We need Saddam to sign it.
- Sir, I'm not sure what you're
expecting from me.
- John,
you've built the social capital,
the trust to get his name
on that paper.
- And that paper
could end this war.
- Admiral, I've studied Saddam
for almost a decade.
I don't want to disappoint you,
but there's no way
you're getting Saddam
to sign this.
- You might.
[ Plane flying overhead ]
[ Telephone ringing,
door opens ]
- Hello?
- Hey, Dad. Listen.
I need your help.
I'm stuck here
for a couple more days.
- Huh?
- Please tell Becks.
I got to go.
- Oh, God. She's not gonna
be happy about this.
- Listen. You got to cover me,
Dad. Tell her
the flight's delayed
or, you know, tell her
You come up with something.
You're good at this stuff.
Look, she's gonna rip my head
off. You don't even know.
- Look, I will cover your ass
for this, okay?
Lying to the wife
is, uh, my forte now.
- Yeah, I know.
- Bye.
[ Telephone beeps ]
- Was that John?
- Huh?
- Was that John?
- No.
[ Birds chirping ]
[ Indistinct conversations ]
[ Helicopter blades whirring ]
- Why are we waiting?
- Admirals run on Admiral's time.
- I should be in there,
wearing him down.
Admiral,
what exactly is going on here?
- Stand down, Holmes.
I need to try
a different tactic.
- You're back.
- Miss me already?
[ Door creaks ]
- At ease.
- Leave us.
- Yes, sir.
- [ Sighs ]
I will not answer
same questions.
- My replacement
has the transcript,
so he'll continue
from where we left off.
- [ Speaks Arabic ]
- He's an idiot.
- Yeah, uh,
I guess a learning disability.
- Nixon didn't break him.
That's the problem.
He still thinks he's in charge.
- In many ways, he is.
- It's not FBI's party yet.
- Saddam, this will be
our final meeting.
But there's an opportunity here
to move forward together.
- Opportunity?
Opportunity between enemies?
- Friend and enemy in Iraq--
it's never simple.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
♪
[ Dramatic music plays ]
- This is Admiral Kimball,
the commander
of Joint Special Forces.
- I know.
- I've come here today
to speak to you
as one senior military
commander to another.
We've suffered a great deal
of bloodshed--
thousands
of coalition casualties
tens of thousands of Iraqis.
You alone have the power
to end the violence.
♪
♪
It is our hope
that you will restore the peace.
[ Suspenseful music plays ]
♪
- [ Exhales sharply ]
[ Bangs table ]
[ Clears throat ]
[ Speaking Arabic ]
- My dignity
won't allow me to sign this.
- Saddam,
it's a question of legacy.
- Mine
or yours?
- Do you want to be
a Napoleon or a Mussolini?
Mussolini fought the allies
till the bitter end,
until his own starving people
executed him.
And history remembers him
as a villain, a fool, coward.
Whereas Napoleon--
he knew he'd lost his war
after Waterloo.
And he wrote
to the British Crown
and sued for peace.
History remembers him
as an empire builder, a hero.
His monuments still stand
in Paris.
How do you want
to be remembered?
- [ Breathes deeply ]
You do not understand Iraq,
or Saddam Hussein.
You disappoint me.
These men from the West--
their story is not my story.
- But, Saddam,
when you sent me to Najaf,
you wanted me to learn
from the mistakes of the past.
- Speak to me no more of history,
John Nixon!
- We're speaking about
the future here.
- Future is in Allah's hands.
- Allah has given you the power
to help your people.
- I see a war
that will never end.
An ocean of blood
will consume
generation after generation,
10, 20 years from now,
forever,
America will regret
what they have done.
[ Bangs desk ]
Whether my people love me
or hate me,
I am their president!
When you crossed Tigris
as occupier
and took me by force,
you humiliated them!
They will never stop
fighting you.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
♪
You want to end bloodshed?!
Leave!
You lose nothing by leaving.
If we stop fighting,
we lose everything!
[ Exhales sharply ]
- Saddam, they're gonna execute
you if you don't sign that.
- That was our first mistake--
thinking he had a conscience.
- They will execute me anyway.
♪
My choice
is not to die or to live.
It is to die with honor
or without.
- Damn it.
♪
[ Man chanting ]
♪
♪
♪
[ Door creaks ]
[ Lock clicks ]
[ Dramatic music plays ]
♪
♪
♪
[ Theme music plays ]
♪
[ Suspenseful music plays ]
♪
[ Horn honks ]
- You getting back
is a bigger miracle
than the 1980
U.S. Olympic hockey gold medal.
- Divine intervention.
- Yeah.
Well, now I got to thank God.
And I hate owing him.
- If Moqtada al-Sadr
is such a threat,
then why isn't he on
the agency's radar?
- He is. Angela teed him up
months ago.
It's just we haven't been paying
attention.
Samir,
you got some coffee there?
- Yeah.
- It's gonna be a late night.
- Hey, look at this.
A report comparing Moqtada
to Hassan Nasrallah.
- Hezbollah's leader?
- Yeah, but this
concludes
that he's not a threat.
Their assessment
was that he lacks
the necessary communication
and leadership skills.
- Meaning?
- Well, they think
he's a thuggish killer
who spends his time
playing video games.
- That's not the guy
I saw in Najaf.
L-Let me see that.
An army of followers.
Yeah, this is five months old.
Written by McNulty.
This guy's a junior analyst.
Doesn't know shit.
It's garbage.
- Well, this is interesting.
Uh, Sadr's son,
Mohammad Sadiq al-Sadr.
He was a--
He was a big player.
Saddam had him arrested
and executed in 1999.
- According to this, the riots
that were caused by his death
was the biggest threat
to Saddam's rule
since the Gulf War.
- And this gets juicier.
Look.
Grand Ayatollah Baqir al-Sadr--
that's Moqtada father-in-law--
he openly supported
Iranian revolution.
- Saddam arrested
and tortured Bakr.
Bakr, right?
- Yeah.
- Bakr and his sister just when
he came into power in 1980.
- Yeah, I remember this.
Yeah.
The story is that Saddam
had an iron nail hammered
into the forehead of al-Sadr
and then they burned the body.
And there's several accounts
saying Saddam did it himself.
- He killed
both of Moqtada's fathers,
his birth father
and his father-in-law.
- So he's using the memory
of his father
and his father-in-law
to raise his Mahdi army.
- Good old revenge.
- Yeah, well, Iraq is a family
patriarchy, so that makes sense.
- Old sins got long shadows.
- And this gives him the motive.
- Yeah. It gives him a network
and the authority to lead it.
- So, then what?
- Is Saddam trying to warn us
not to make the same
mistake he did?
Or does he know
that we won't listen
and wants to sit back
and be right
while we get
what's coming to us?
[ Suspenseful music plays ]
He's trying to warn us
not to make the same mistake
that he did.
Can you get this?
How did that develop?
I want Stilwell to see this.
- I still don't trust the devil.
Okay. See you soon.
- Yeah.
♪
- Seeing al-Sadr with his
Mahdi army reshaping Najaf
made it clear
that he's not chasing Paradise.
He's chasing power.
[ All chanting in Arabic ]
With Saddam's fall,
this is al-Sadr's chance
to build a Shia state
of their own,
which conveniently aligns
with Iran's ambitions.
Ayatollah Khamenei has been
dreaming of this since 1979.
Ironic that after
his eight-year war with Iraq,
hundreds of thousands of dead,
and cities destroyed,
he's got us to thank
for getting rid of Saddam.
♪
[ All chanting in Arabic ]
[ Cellphone rings ]
[ Cellphone beeps ]
- [ Sighs ]
- Bloodlust?
- What?
- The link
between sex and violence.
Natural response to trauma.
Nothing to feel guilty about.
- I have so much
to feel guilty about.
[ Dog barking ]
[ Soft piano music plays ]
[ Flames crackling ]
- [ Yawns ]
- Hmm.
- Charles,
when did you start dieting?
- Rebecca, I'm just not hungry.
That's all.
- You've been moping around
for days.
You don't have to keep
everything locked inside.
Sometimes it's good
to let it out.
- Rebecca, what is the point
of burdening civilians
with combat horror stories?
- It's not a burden.
It's a-- it's a relief.
- You know, they call us
the Greatest Generation,
but I think
we're the silent generation.
- You missed the chance
with Charlie. Uh
I don't want you to make
the same mistake with John.
You fought in three wars.
You don't retire a full-bird
colonel without a story.
Talk.
♪
- In 1943, I was 17,
and I enlisted in the army.
I lied about my age.
They knew I was lying.
And, then,
I find myself at Normandy,
the D-Day invasion.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
Wake up on this big battle
cruiser off the coast of France,
rig myself up with all my
equipment and ammunition.
Probably 40 pounds or more.
I don't know.
Go over the side of the boat and
then go down the Jacob's ladder,
and I get in the landing craft.
[ Gunfire ]
♪
See and hear the German guns
firing from way up there
on the cliffs above the beach.
I'm so nervous.
I'm scared to death.
The German machine guns pinging
off the front of the steel doors
on the landing craft.
And, then, we get a little bit
closer to that.
We're almost there.
I see the dead,
some bloated bodies floating,
these guys hung up
on barbed wire
and those barriers
the Germans had built.
And-- And some poor
bastards, they even--
they jumped off the boat
too early, and they sunk
because of all the equipment
they were wearing.
They never had a chance.
We actually make it
to the beach.
[ Soldiers shouting ]
We fight our way
about halfway up
and then we're pinned down.
I don't know how long it was.
But I look, and I see this
officer crawling towards me.
And he says, "Hey, Sergeant."
"Sir."
"Every single officer
in your battalion is dead."
You are now in command
of second platoon."
"Sir, I'm not an officer.
I'm an NCO, a sergeant.
I work for a living."
"No. You are
a first lieutenant now.
Battlefield commission."
And that's how I became
an officer.
[ Indistinct radio chatter ]
- I got your pictures developed.
- Sadiq al-Sadr.
Come on.
- Murdered.
- Yes, we know.
Why?
- I ordered the special inquiry.
Mukhabarat reported, um,
this was fighting between
Shia clerics, no, Sistani.
- Ayatollah Sistani killed him?
- Sistani is being considered
for the Nobel Peace Prize.
- So was Hitler.
- But you met
with Sadiq al-Sadr.
immediately after
the Gulf War ended.
Why?
- Sadr came to see me
about his son.
- Moqtada.
- No, his brother Mustafa.
After Gulf war,
Mustafa supported
Iranian insurgents in Najaf.
- At the Shia uprising, right?
- Mm-hmm.
His father denied this and
begged me for my forgiveness
and his son's life.
I granted him both.
- So Sadiq al-Sadr
became your ally.
- Sadr condemned Shia clerics
to save his son.
I reward his loyalty.
I made him chief of, um
[ Speaking Arabic ]
- Endowments.
- Ah.
I made him chief
of religious endowments.
He made--
[ Blows, speaks Arabic ]
- But then he abused
that position
and started to speak
against you, right?
Do you know how he got killed?
- Did you kill him?
- Ask your, uh, Jack of Diamonds
if you can find him.
- Pass me those cards, please.
Thank you.
- Sadiq al-Sadr
- Who's Jack of Diamonds?
- Tahir Jalil Habbush.
- He's the head
of intelligence.
- A month before he died,
did he think
he had some kind of
premonition
that he was gonna get killed?
- Maybe a symbol.
He was ready to become a martyr.
[ Exhales sharply ]
Be careful who you martyr.
Iraqis never forget.
- Okay, so you killed
Sadr's father
because of his
religious convictions.
- Your first president,
uh, Washington,
he separate church and state.
- It's called
the establishment clause.
- I do same. I make same law.
You know, in Iraq, no one knows
if Saddam is Sunni or Shia.
- [ Laughing ] Come on.
The whole
[ Speaking Arabic ]
I mean, the whole thing
was based on a spoils system,
relying on the Sunni tribes.
- These men were punished
for breaking the law.
You do not mix religious turban
with politics.
♪
- Are you sure Johnny
wants to hear all this?
- I'm sure.
Can I get you a scotch?
- You better.
- [ Exhales sharply ]
Korea--
What I remember about Korea,
visibility was just terrible.
We just couldn't see anything.
So you had to depend on
listening.
Listening told you
where to duck,
where to hide, where to look.
Then we push
the Communist Chinese army
all the way back
to the Yalu River,
which was the border with China.
- Have a drink.
- So there we are,
sitting on this ridgeline
and, uh, looking at them.
It was the cold, winters.
And I remember
my favorite sergeant major,
his feet got frozen,
and he--
he had no nerve endings anymore
on the bottom of his feet.
- Oh, God.
- One night,
I hear bugles
playing over loudspeakers.
It was-- It was the eeriest,
weirdest thing.
It was spooky.
[ Bugles playing ]
Then they just attacked--
you know, surprise attack?
Oh, no.
They wanted us to know
they were coming.
[ Soldiers shouting ]
The human wave
of screaming Chinese.
We fought them
with everything we had--
rifles, bayonets, mortars,
machine guns, bazookas,
ka-bar knives, our hands even.
- It's hard to imagine.
- So we began
huge fighting retreat
over past the famous
frozen Chosin Reservoir.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Flames crackling ]
Yeah.
[ Sighs ]
- John is gonna love
to hear this.
[ Suspenseful music plays ]
♪
♪
- You sent me to Najaf
to see Moqtada al-Sadr.
As you can see, it's clear
he's taking his father's place.
His father was your ally.
Do you think we could make
Moqtada al-Sadr our ally?
♪
It would change the game.
We could stabilize Iraq.
♪
- [ Sighs ] Americans.
Americans are black-and-white.
Friend or enemy.
In Iraq, it is never simple.
Just think.
Once
even CIA and Saddam
were friends.
[ Engine revving ]
[ Indistinct conversations ]
[ Knock on door ]
[ Telephone rings ]
- Not you.
And close the door.
Look. As a husband
and a father, sure.
I'm used to being ignored.
It's par for the course.
But as your boss,
it makes me look ridiculous.
- I understand, sir.
And-- And, you know,
I came back.
- I knew you'd be back,
though I expected
in a body bag, John.
- Polly had nothing
to do with this.
- This is all on me.
- Polly used her authorization
to defy my orders.
- I took her pass.
- You're correct. But right now,
you got to listen
to what we have to say.
- She's right.
If you need to fire me,
go ahead.
But you--
you got to hear us out.
- Saddam's trying to help us.
- Why?
- So
So, Saddam knows he up
when he killed Sadiq al-Sadr,
the former Shia leader.
He made him a martyr.
He caused
the whole Shia uprising
that really threatened
Saddam's regime.
And we think
that he's trying to warn us
from doing the same mistake
with the son, Moqtada al-Sadr,
who's now the de facto
Shia leader in Iraq.
- That's pure speculation, John.
- Sir, that's what you pay us
to do.
We've been focusing too much
on just Saddam,
and we've been ignoring
all the other leaders
that are coming up in his wake.
When we removed Saddam,
we created a vacuum.
And someone's gonna fill it.
And the White House,
the CPA, the military--
everyone's just focused on
the present.
- The point is, we need
to be cultivating future leaders
sympathetic and loyal to us.
- That's what the Ayatollah
is doing.
He knows that if he controls
the new Iraqi leader,
Iran will become the dominant
force in the Middle East.
- Yeah.
[ Suspenseful music plays ]
- Thoughts?
- Well, first,
we establish a fusion cell
between CPA and the military
command regarding al-Sadr.
- It's-- It's prudent move.
I was there.
- Yeah, I don't need reminding.
Okay.
Okay. I'll consider it.
- Yes, sir.
- But I'm downgrading
your security clearance.
Hand me your pass.
Disobey me again,
you'll be pulling archive duty
at Langley.
♪
[ Knock on door, door opens ]
- We have a situation.
Turn on the TV, please.
- It's been a deadly day
in Iraq.
Four U.S. civilians
were killed in an ambush.
their burned and mangled bodies
were then dragged through
the streets of Fallujah.
[ Crowd chanting in Arabic ]
And in another incident,
five American soldiers
were killed.
To get more
on these latest attacks,
FOX's Steve Centanni
is live in Baghdad right now.
[ Vacuum cleaner running ]
Steve, we know
the people who bore that attack
were civilians
who I believe
were American engineers.
- [ Breathes shakily ]
- Yeah. These were
American contractors
working for a security company
based in North Carolina
[ Vacuum cleaner stops,
telephone ringing ]
the four men who were
the victims of this attack.
As to who carried out
these attacks,
it's anybody's guess.
- [ Exhales sharply ]
- Becks.
- Why haven't you called?
- Listen, I-I tried.
- Why haven't you called, John?!
It's been days!
They're--
They're burning civilians.
How do I know you're okay?
- Look. I'm sorry, honey, okay?
- Keep your sorries!
- I don't know what you've
been doing, but I am
fed up with you lying to me.
- I'm not lying, okay?
You have to understand
what I'm--
what I'm going through here, okay?
- You promised
you would stay in touch.
- I know I did,
but it's-- it's--
- What are you still doing
there?!
You caught Saddam!
And you swore
you'd be home for Christmas!
I dread turning on the news,
afraid
I'll see you hanging on TV.
Jerry is dead!
I went to his funeral
yesterday!
I-I can't take it anymore!
- Baby, listen.
The FBI is bringing in
a replacement soon.
- I don't believe you.
[ Telephone beeps ]
[ Sniffles ] Oh!
[ Dial tone plays ]
[ Vehicle passing by ]
[ Receiver slams ]
[ Birds chirping ]
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Sobs ]
[ Dog whining ]
[ Sobbing ]
♪
♪
[ Indistinct conversations ]
[ Rock music plays on stereo ]
♪
- Watch me.
[ Music playing in distance ]
♪
[ Engine revving in distance ]
♪
- At least you picked
a beautiful spot to sulk.
It's a pretty disgusting beer.
I'm not gonna lie.
- [ Chuckles ] Yeah.
- You want another one?
I'm buying.
- [ Mutters ]
- Cheer up, man.
You're the one
who gets to go home.
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- Let's go.
♪
- [ Groans ]
♪
What are you
still doing here, man?
♪
- I like the shawarma.
Yeah.
- Especially on the way out, right?
- [ Chuckles ]
I, uh
I need to see him hang.
♪
- Here's the thing--
no WMD
means the whole justification
for the war is bullshit.
So Bush needs another trophy
on his wall.
Hanging Saddam--
that's his only chance
to control the narrative.
- So the battle is in D.C.,
convincing the war hawks
Saddam's a resource,
not a relic.
- [ Groans ] Politics.
And we have to keep
playing along
with this political charade.
♪
How is Iraq so cold?
- If I lose again,
I'm out of here.
It's getting late.
- Well, that was easy.
- What is your best shot?
- Let's play some pool.
- Alright.
- Hey, Amira,
can you believe this guy?
Look at him.
- What's wrong with your face?
- [ Chuckles ]
- I think you need a beer.
- Let me get you some.
- Thanks, Amira.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
- Hi. 20 bucks says you miss.
- Hmm!
- What?!
- Easy money walks in.
- [ Chuckles ]
- This very shot?
- Yeah, yeah. This shot.
- 20 bucks?
- Yeah.
20 bucks,
and-- and we get the table.
- Deal?
- Hold on.
Put the money on the table
and don't miss.
- Save your money, man.
- Prepare to buy me my next beer.
- Okay. Let's go.
- It's gonna be an easy 20 bucks.
- [ Whistles ] Yo!
Everyone! Sandra!
- Come on.
- Come here.
- James, Tiny.
- He likes a crowd.
- He's about to choke.
20 bucks.
Alright? Enjoy the show.
- Enjoy the show.
- Get the shot.
- Deal.
- Put your hand closer
so you can hit the ball.
- Oh!
[ Laughter ]
- How-- How did you miss that?
He chokes on the easiest setup.
- That was horrible.
- Hey, man.
- [ Sighs ]
- Keep your money.
- It's okay, bro.
- Nah, keep it.
I just wanted the table.
I'm sorry.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- You see it?
- Oh, thank you.
- How'd you know?
- That's my money.
- Well, you know, some people
just can't handle the pressure.
First time I met you,
I thought, how did I get stuck
with this guy
who can't even hold his gun?
But when the shooting started
you didn't run.
- I did shit myself, though.
- And you caught the guy--
you.
You break.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
[ Rock music plays on stereo ]
- John Nixon?
- Yeah.
- Nigel Holmes.
- Hey.
- Bureau sent me
to take your place.
- Right, right.
This is Samir.
He'll be your translator.
- No need.
- Oh, wow. French, too, huh?
- So, you got any pointers?
- On the French? Yeah, I thought
it was a little
It sounded a little--
- Insights.
You think it will help?
- Uh, it's gonna be tough
building trust.
I bet if you were able
to establish
some kind of rapport
- I'm not interested
in being his friend.
Bureau's concern is exclusively
his links
with domestic terrorism--
9/11, al Qaeda,
and the plot to assassinate
Bush's daughters.
- [ Scoffs ] Excuse me.
- [ Laughs ]
- In retaliation for the deaths
of Uday and Qusay.
- The agency investigated
that claim.
- It's total horseshit.
- Yes, well
it's my understanding
there's credible evidence.
And if so, I intend to give
the President what he wants.
♪
- Wow.
It seems like they got
the right guy for the job.
Welcome to the Green Zone.
♪
[ Dramatic music plays ]
♪
[ Birds chirping ]
- Time to go.
[ Chains rattle, engine idling ]
- [ Gasps ]
- Who is he?
- Your friend's Arabic is shit.
- [ Laughing ]
[ Laughing continues ]
- Get him out of there, sir.
- You, um,
interrupt my breakfast.
I am bored.
I do not have time for boredom.
My name is Saddam Hussein
al-Majid al Tikriti,
President of Iraq.
Who are you?
Uh accountant?
Hairdresser?
- I'm your lifeline.
The Coalition
Provisional Authority
sent me here to help you.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Indistinct conversations,
horns honking ]
♪
[ Woman singing in Arabic
on radio ]
♪
- [ Speaking Arabic ]
- I need you to get out
and get your people out.
- No, Officer.
You cannot come in here.
We don't recognize
your authority here.
- This is not a discussion.
Clear your people out of here
now for their own safety.
- You can't do this.
This is freedom of speech.
- This is an order!
Get your workers out now!
- No, but--
We're peaceful, okay?
We're peaceful.
- We're peaceful.
- No! No!
- Take a look at this.
- Al-Hawza.
That's al-Sadr's newspaper.
- Yeah. And they just compared
Bremer to Saddam.
- I mean, if he gained 40 pounds
and grew a mustache.
- Ha ha.
The CPA is interpreting this
as a call to violence
against Americans.
- [ Sighs ]
Richard, I'm telling you,
we have to rebuild a bridge
with these people,
not blow it up.
- It's too late for that.
The CPA has already decided on
a response-- Bremer's.
al-Sadr's paper's dead.
- We're shutting it down?
- The Army's there as we speak.
- [ Grunts ]
[ Door crashes ]
- Burn the papers.
Burn all of them.
- [ Speaking in Arabic ]
- Get out!
[ Indistinct radio chatter ]
Get out!
Get out!
- [ Speaks Arabic ]
[ Crowd chanting
"Allahu Akbar!" ]
[ Horns honking ]
[ Dramatic music plays ]
♪
- This aligns perfectly with
the freedom-of-the-press thing
we've been preaching.
- [ Scoffs ]
- Bremer doesn't give a shit.
He's exercising
his civil authority.
- Let's utilize the fusion cell
as a--
- There isn't gonna be
a damn fusion cell, okay?
- What do you mean?
- It's not gonna happen.
- We just had a conversation
about it.
- Yeah. It is what it is.
[ Crowd chanting
"Allahu Akbar!" ]
[ Horns honking ]
♪
[ Chanting stops ]
- Hold your fire.
Hold fire.
[ Crowd chanting
"Allahu Akbar!" ]
♪
[ Gun cocks ]
Stay back. Stay back.
Stay back. Do not shoot!
[ Crowd chanting
"Allahu Akbar!" ]
- You know your army
used dogs.
For Arabs, it is a big insult.
When they capture me,
they use dogs, I laugh.
- He's talking in circles.
This is a waste of your time, sir.
- If you'd like to file
a complaint
- You know when I know
you invade my country?
- Saddam, I'm here to discuss
your weapons program.
- When Blair visit America,
I know what's going to happen.
With international hate
against Iraq,
aggression was coming,
worse than 1991.
- Saddam.
[ Speaks Arabic ]
- Hey, Kim, I need this report
done and sent to D.C.
- Stevens.
- Make sure I'm updated.
[ Telephone rings ]
- Sir.
- What is it?
- It's Najaf.
[ Indistinct shouting ]
- Get back!
Hands off!
[ Crowd chanting
"Allahu Akbar!" ]
- Move!
We will shoot you!
- Don't move!
- Hey, stay back!
- You remind me of, uh, ants.
You know,
ants have no lungs or heart.
Yes, this is you.
Like one ant of thousands
running around on hill.
- Thank you.
- No, no. Not ant.
Ants serve a purpose.
- Your guy's no help.
He's getting devoured.
- Not my guy.
He was assigned by D.C.
If you'll permit me, Admiral.
I do have a suggestion.
[ Indistinct shouting ]
- Back up!
[ Gunfire ]
- Light it up!
- Go, go!
- Keep moving, keep moving!
[ Indistinct shouting ]
- You, move!
- Move your ass!
[ Indistinct conversations ]
- Can I help you?
- Shutting down that newspaper's
a big mistake.
- CPA is trying
to establish a price
for anti-West propaganda, John.
- Yeah, but they're punishing
the wrong people.
The violence spreads
from the Sunni Triangle
to the Shia population,
it's gonna start a civil war.
You got to convince Dowell.
- That's easy for you to say.
You're out of here.
- Nixon.
Stilwell's looking for you.
- Yeah?
I was about to get
on my flight home, sir.
W-What do you need?
- Your flight can wait.
- Sorry?
- Is this about Najaf?
- What we're doing in Najaf
is very foolish, sir.
The Mahdi Army has zero links
to those Blackwater deaths.
- Yes. It's al Qaeda,
maybe Zarqawi.
- And al Qaeda wants to kill Shia
almost as much
as he wants to kill Americans.
- Yeah. Their goal is to turn an
insurgency into a civil war.
- This could be the opportunity
to make al-Sadr an ally.
- Shut up.
That's not why I called you
in here.
- So why am I missing my flight?
[ Door opens ]
- Admiral Kimball,
I'd like you to meet
Agents John Nixon
and Polly Stevens.
- Admiral, sir. It's an honor.
- It's good to meet you,
John, Polly.
- Nice to meet you.
- Forgive me, Admiral.
I was under the impression
this was, uh, strictly
an interagency matter.
I wasn't aware of the military
was playing a role.
- Oh, we don't.
Not in the handoff.
- Okay.
- The situation on the ground
is deteriorating rapidly.
- We're well-aware.
- Winthrop says
that you're the man
to help us out.
- Well
- We need you at BIFF, now.
- Uh, sir,
it's almost evening prayers.
He won't talk to anyone
after evening prayers.
- Then we'll try
in the morning.
- This calls on
all Iraqi insurgents
to lay down their arms.
- We need Saddam to sign it.
- Sir, I'm not sure what you're
expecting from me.
- John,
you've built the social capital,
the trust to get his name
on that paper.
- And that paper
could end this war.
- Admiral, I've studied Saddam
for almost a decade.
I don't want to disappoint you,
but there's no way
you're getting Saddam
to sign this.
- You might.
[ Plane flying overhead ]
[ Telephone ringing,
door opens ]
- Hello?
- Hey, Dad. Listen.
I need your help.
I'm stuck here
for a couple more days.
- Huh?
- Please tell Becks.
I got to go.
- Oh, God. She's not gonna
be happy about this.
- Listen. You got to cover me,
Dad. Tell her
the flight's delayed
or, you know, tell her
You come up with something.
You're good at this stuff.
Look, she's gonna rip my head
off. You don't even know.
- Look, I will cover your ass
for this, okay?
Lying to the wife
is, uh, my forte now.
- Yeah, I know.
- Bye.
[ Telephone beeps ]
- Was that John?
- Huh?
- Was that John?
- No.
[ Birds chirping ]
[ Indistinct conversations ]
[ Helicopter blades whirring ]
- Why are we waiting?
- Admirals run on Admiral's time.
- I should be in there,
wearing him down.
Admiral,
what exactly is going on here?
- Stand down, Holmes.
I need to try
a different tactic.
- You're back.
- Miss me already?
[ Door creaks ]
- At ease.
- Leave us.
- Yes, sir.
- [ Sighs ]
I will not answer
same questions.
- My replacement
has the transcript,
so he'll continue
from where we left off.
- [ Speaks Arabic ]
- He's an idiot.
- Yeah, uh,
I guess a learning disability.
- Nixon didn't break him.
That's the problem.
He still thinks he's in charge.
- In many ways, he is.
- It's not FBI's party yet.
- Saddam, this will be
our final meeting.
But there's an opportunity here
to move forward together.
- Opportunity?
Opportunity between enemies?
- Friend and enemy in Iraq--
it's never simple.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
♪
[ Dramatic music plays ]
- This is Admiral Kimball,
the commander
of Joint Special Forces.
- I know.
- I've come here today
to speak to you
as one senior military
commander to another.
We've suffered a great deal
of bloodshed--
thousands
of coalition casualties
tens of thousands of Iraqis.
You alone have the power
to end the violence.
♪
♪
It is our hope
that you will restore the peace.
[ Suspenseful music plays ]
♪
- [ Exhales sharply ]
[ Bangs table ]
[ Clears throat ]
[ Speaking Arabic ]
- My dignity
won't allow me to sign this.
- Saddam,
it's a question of legacy.
- Mine
or yours?
- Do you want to be
a Napoleon or a Mussolini?
Mussolini fought the allies
till the bitter end,
until his own starving people
executed him.
And history remembers him
as a villain, a fool, coward.
Whereas Napoleon--
he knew he'd lost his war
after Waterloo.
And he wrote
to the British Crown
and sued for peace.
History remembers him
as an empire builder, a hero.
His monuments still stand
in Paris.
How do you want
to be remembered?
- [ Breathes deeply ]
You do not understand Iraq,
or Saddam Hussein.
You disappoint me.
These men from the West--
their story is not my story.
- But, Saddam,
when you sent me to Najaf,
you wanted me to learn
from the mistakes of the past.
- Speak to me no more of history,
John Nixon!
- We're speaking about
the future here.
- Future is in Allah's hands.
- Allah has given you the power
to help your people.
- I see a war
that will never end.
An ocean of blood
will consume
generation after generation,
10, 20 years from now,
forever,
America will regret
what they have done.
[ Bangs desk ]
Whether my people love me
or hate me,
I am their president!
When you crossed Tigris
as occupier
and took me by force,
you humiliated them!
They will never stop
fighting you.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
♪
You want to end bloodshed?!
Leave!
You lose nothing by leaving.
If we stop fighting,
we lose everything!
[ Exhales sharply ]
- Saddam, they're gonna execute
you if you don't sign that.
- That was our first mistake--
thinking he had a conscience.
- They will execute me anyway.
♪
My choice
is not to die or to live.
It is to die with honor
or without.
- Damn it.
♪
[ Man chanting ]
♪
♪
♪
[ Door creaks ]
[ Lock clicks ]
[ Dramatic music plays ]
♪
♪
♪