High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam (2026) s01e07 Episode Script
The Reckoning
1
[ Protestors chanting ]
♪
- What's your plan, Nixon?
You're the Saddam whisperer.
- He seemed to have accepted
his death.
- [Exhales] Then we have nothing
to threaten him with.
- The goal isn't to threaten him.
It's to convince him that this
is his best course of action.
- The best course for who, sir?
- We've offered him everything.
- And that's the problem.
You know, we've got to stop
pandering to him.
Our only chance is to make him
feel like he's forgotten.
Saddam needs to feel in charge,
but if we can make him feel like
we don't care about him
anymore, then--
maybe we have a chance.
Maybe then we can turn him.
- So how do we do that?
- It's just time.
- [ Scoffs ] Time is something
we don't have.
- You expect DC to just
to hurry up and wait?
- Look, that's the best analysis
I got.
You do with it what you want.
Sir, if there's not
anything else,
I'd like to go see
my family now.
♪
♪
[ Kids chatter ]
- I hope you use it ♪
You got a season ticket
to my heart ♪
Don't you refuse it ♪
You got a season ticket
to my love ♪
'Cause you're the
only one ♪
[ Telephone ringing ]
- Hello?
- Becca?
- Hi, Johnny.
- Dad?
Is everything okay?
- Yeah, yeah. Everything's okay.
Don't start getting prickly
on me.
- Is Becca okay?
- Yeah, of course she is.
She's fine.
Uh, she's-- she's relaxing.
- What are you doing there?
- Well, I'm helping her out,
you know,
trying to get everything done
while you're not around.
It's old Dad to the rescue.
Do you want to leave her
a message?
- Tell her I'm sorry.
- Okay. Alright, I guess, uh,
she'll be happy to hear that.
Tell her I'm coming home.
- When?
- I'm flying out tomorrow night.
- Oh, good.
- I'll see you then.
- Good.
♪
- My last night in Iraq.
I can't sleep.
Almost a year after
the invasion,
nothing is holding together.
Bush stopped saying "weapon
of mass destruction."
Now it's "eliminating a
potential threat."
What a joke.
We're ruled by cretins.
♪
[ Protestors chanting ]
♪
I keep starting wars.
We never finish.
We burn it down and then
walk away.
♪
Insurgency is growing.
[ Protestors chanting ]
Al-Sadr and al-Zarqawi
aren't hiding anymore.
They're on the street and
they're dragging Iraq
into a full blown civil war.
What's going to happen to the
Iraqis who believed in us,
the translators, the fixers,
the ones who stepped
into the light
because we promised them
a future?
We leave and we leave them
for dead.
♪
If we're to have any chance
to stabilize Iraq,
we need Saddam alive.
[ Protestors chanting
in distance ]
♪
[ Chanting continues ]
- No goodbyes.
- There's not much good
with any of this.
- Well, you're going home.
Alive.
Caught Saddam Hussein.
- I feel like we made things
worse.
- Sometimes it gets worse
before it gets better.
- These people are coming
for their revenge.
- Yeah.
[ Protestors shouting ]
- Thank you.
- Ah, thank you.
I'll see you down the road.
- Absolutely.
- Bye.
- Yeah.
- Hey.
When I get back, I wanna see
one of those
famous John Nixon
roller disco moves.
- Yeah.
[ Engine starts ]
♪
[ Horn honks ]
♪
♪
[ Protestors shouting ]
♪
[ Protestors chanting ]
♪
[ Glass bottles thudding,
shattering ]
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
[ Helicopter blades whirring ]
♪
[ Metal door opens ]
[ Indistinct radio chatter ]
[ Metal door closes ]
- Mr. President, I just
wanted to tell you, I wish we
could have had these
conversations under different
circumstances.
I feel like I understand you
and your country
so much better now, and
I'd like to thank you
for that.
- There are two qualities
that are more important
than anything else.
To be just and fair.
So when you go home,
I want you to be that.
[ Metal door opens ]
♪
♪
♪
[ "Dreams Come Around" by
Bob Bradley, Steve Dymond,
and Nick McEnally plays ]
♪
- Nobody's standing in my way ♪
♪
Don't give a damn
what people say ♪
♪
You got your goals,
you got your dreams ♪
♪
And you won't stop
till you succeed ♪
♪
When your dreams come around ♪
♪
- Right here, please.
- Okay, sir. Good day.
- Thanks.
♪
- When your dreams
come around ♪
♪
They never let you down ♪
♪
- [ Chuckles ]
- When your dreams
come around ♪
- Oh, my God.
- They never let you down ♪
- I didn't know you'd come
I missed you so much.
- Are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm-- I'm
[ Dog barking ]
- Zoe! Zoe, come here.
- Daddy's home.
Look who's here.
- Hello.
- Well, I didn't drop the
[ Laughter ]
- [ Relieved sigh ] Surprise.
[ Johnny Cash's "Hey Porter"
playing ]
- Hey, porter, hey, porter,
would you tell me the time? ♪
How much longer will it be
'til we cross ♪
That Mason-Dixon line? ♪
At daylight would you tell
that engineer to slow it down? ♪
Or better still, just stop
the train ♪
'Cause I want to look around ♪
- Mom's meatballs?
- Your dad made me beg him
to get your mom's secret recipe.
- Mm, nice!
- She stole that recipe from "The
Galloping Gourmet" TV show,
but I acted like
I didn't know about it.
- Yeah.
- I made Bolognese sauce.
- Mm! That's his favorite.
- And ask everybody
that ain't asleep ♪
- Hey! [Laughs]
- It's a little spicy.
You're doing great.
- [ Rebecca laughs ]
♪
- Hey, easy there, Pops.
♪
- Oh! [ Chuckles ]
- You okay?
- Yeah.
- Alright.
- Easy there, Daddy-O.
- Yeah.
Yeah. Calm down.
[ Clears throat ]
- Hey, porter, hey, porter ♪
- You okay?
- Yeah, good.
- It's getting light outside,
this old train is ♪
- Oh, my God, there's too much
food on this table.
- Hey, hey. Here, I got it.
- Alright. Thank you.
- If he will blow his
whistle please ♪
[ Relaxed sigh ]
- So-- big hands or small hands?
- What's that?
- Saddam.
- Oh. Uh
- Well, yeah,
I mean, you know, were they
bony, meaty, uh, manicured?
You can tell a lot about people
by their hands.
- Please, can we just enjoy
a family meal together?
- Becca went to her first
professional baseball game,
and she had a blast.
- I loved it.
I am so sorry, because so many
times you've said, "Let's go."
And I've been like, "No,
I don't like baseball."
But I do.
♪
♪
[ Birdsong ]
[ Loud thump ]
[ Yawns ]
- Good smells.
- [ John chuckles ]
- Exciting, isn't it?
- What?
- It's like your first day
at work.
- It feels like I've been in that
office for 120 years.
- John the Analyst worked there
for 240 years.
But this is day one for
John the Conqueror.
John the Captor.
John the Hero of the
Western World.
- [ Laughing ] "Hero of
the Western World."
Very funny.
- [ Rebecca laughs ]
- You know what now might be
a good time for?
- No.
- It's a good time to ask
for a raise.
[ Both laugh ]
Okay?
- Okay.
You got me there.
- [ Both laugh ]
♪
♪
♪
[ Man speaking global language
nearby ]
♪
- Before I take your questions,
let me speak with the
American people
about the situation in Iraq.
This has been tough weeks
in that country.
In the south of Iraq,
coalition forces
face riots and attacks
that are being incited
by a radical cleric
named al-Sadr.
He has assembled some
of his supporters
into an illegal militia
and publicly supported
the terrorist groups
Hamas and Hezbollah.
Al-Sadr's methods of violence
and intimidation
are widely repudiated
by other Iraqi Shia.
He's been indicted by
Iraqi authorities
for the murder of a prominent
Shia cleric.
They want to run us out of Iraq
and destroy the democratic
hopes of the Iraqi people.
[ Speaking global language ]
- By helping to secure
a free Iraq,
Americans serving
in that country
are protecting their
fellow citizens.
As I've said to those who
have lost loved ones,
we will finish the work
of the fallen.
America's armed forces are
performing brilliantly
with all the skill and honor
we expect of them.
- Welcome back. Good job.
- Thank you.
- We're constantly reviewing
their needs.
Troop strength now
and in the future
is determined by the situation
on the ground.
If additional forces are
needed, I will send them.
If additional resources are
needed, we will provide them.
The people of our country
are united
behind our men and women
in uniform,
and this government will do all
that is necessary
to assure the success of
their historic mission.
- John?
They're waiting for you
upstairs.
- Oh, okay.
[ John exhales ]
- Hi.
- There he is!
The man who got Hussein.
[ Clapping ]
Pleasure to meet you, John.
- Pleasure.
- Director Gabe Varticus.
You can call me Buddy.
- Buddy it is. Uh
where is Angela?
- She retired. This is her
replacement, Janie.
- Jane Cassidy. Welcome home.
- She retired?
- What'd you wear?
- Sorry?
- When you met him.
What'd you wear?
- Just some cargo pants
and a shirt.
- Oh, I woulda confronted
that bastard
in a three piece Brioni.
- I'm sure you would have, Buddy,
but
in the BIF, we were up to
our asses in mud, so--
alert anyone of Saddam's
presence.
You know, there was always
a risk of someone trying
to assassinate him
or escape attempt.
- What, uh, nuggets did Saddam
give you?
- Nuggets. I mean,
nothing of substance, really.
- You gleaned nothing of note
in all those interviews?
- Well, yeah, we should--
we should use him.
You know, help us understand
the region, the players--
- That'd be pretty hard for him
to do from his grave.
[ Laughter ]
- Yeah, no, Saddam should hang, definitely.
But, uh, you know, in the
interest of mitigating
the risk of operational
regional instability,
the agency would be better
served keeping him alive.
- Appreciate the perspective,
John, but really not necessary.
- I've prepared a brief
for you, sir, I--
- John--
- I'd love for you--
- We've assigned you
to North Korea.
- [ Scoffs ] What?
- We've uncovered a secret
uranium enrichment program.
Bush wants the agency to take
a hard look at Pyongyang.
- It's an important desk
at an important time.
- But more important than this?
Kim Jong-il? I mean--
we're at a critical
inflection point
in the Middle East right now.
Is-- is this a joke?
Are you kidding me?
♪
♪
[ Door opens, closes ]
- He took it well.
♪
♪
- Are you moving in?
- In case you didn't notice,
she's not doing very well
and somebody had to do
something about it.
- Yeah, well, you should have
told me she was getting worse.
- What? And have you worry?
Just worry you with everything
you had on your mind?
- Yeah, but--
- But what?
We're soldiers.
We have to stick to the mission.
We gotta stay on point.
What are you doing home now?
- It's not a good day.
- Oh, I can see that.
Wouldn't take Colombo
to figure it out.
- You know why we couldn't find
any sources
to tell us about Saddam's
escape plans?
'Cause he didn't have any.
He was busy sending out his
book for publication.
- He's a goddamn butcher,
that's what he is.
- Well, he's not that same guy
anymore.
- Oh?
- Yeah.
- Hey, is this because you two
are having tea together now?
Let me tell you something.
Because of that prick
you don't have a brother
and I don't have a son!
- I'm just saying, it's not that
cut and dry.
- Oh, no, don't--
don't you go there.
Don't you play that game.
We're not the assholes.
We went there to save
those people.
- We didn't.
- And whose fault is that?
Whose fault is that?
[ Speaking global language ]
♪
♪
- I take it you didn't get
that promotion?
- I got reassigned
to North Korea.
- Wow. That's very exclusive.
Not just anyone can vacation
there.
- I didn't get a brochure.
- It doesn't exactly scream
Condé Nast cover.
- If you helped capture
and interrogate
the most notorious man
on the planet,
this is what you get.
- [ Rebecca laughs ]
- $75 gift card.
- Wars are expensive.
- No, it's just 3 trillion
and counting.
- [ Chuckles ] On the, um,
bright side,
they're respecting the taxpayer.
- Oh, yeah. Yeah.
So much respect.
- Thank you.
Did you see they have molten
chocolate lava cake?
- Mm. Unfortunately, the garlic
bread bankrupted us.
- Oh, no!
- Yeah.
[ Both laugh ]
- Did you think about what you're
gonna say to your dad?
- Uh, I-I-I can't talk to him.
- You found a way to connect with
a ruthless, murdering dictator.
- That was easy. This is Dad
we're talking about.
- You will find a way to connect
with an old man who loves you.
- John Nixon?
- Hey, Nixon.
- Brody.
- Good job, man.
- Oh, thank you.
- I'll be at the car.
I'll meet you there.
- Yeah, I'll be right there.
Hello.
- What are you doing here?
- Uh, flew in this morning.
Briefing Brody.
So, uh
Mm, um, Polly, this is
my wife, Rebecca.
- The famous Polly.
- Infamous, by John's account.
- Thank you for looking
after him over there.
- Yeah, of course.
- John said you were most
comforting after Jerry died.
I'm glad you had each other.
[ Polly chuckles ]
- Uh, join us for dessert.
- Oh, um, I'd love to, but, you
know, I have a flight to catch,
and Brody's waiting,
I haven't packed, so
- Um, where are you off to?
- Russia.
- Yeah, well, I got the golden
ticket.
North Korea.
- It was really nice to meet you.
Bye. Take care.
- Polly's lovely.
Not how I imagined.
- None of it is how
I imagined it.
- So what happens now?
- Maybe some dessert?
- Yeah.
- Excuse me.
Can I get the menu, please?
Dessert menu. Thank you.
Hey, cheers.
Cheers.
♪
- Who was responsible for the
abuse within Abu Ghraib prison?
American soldiers acting
on their own accord,
described by some
within the Pentagon
as recycled hillbillies.
Or did it go to the very top
of the military
and civilian leadership?
- In recent months, we've seen
abuses here under our
responsibility,
but it doesn't represent
America.
It doesn't represent
American values.
- Can I take a picture with you?
- Sure. Hurry, though.
♪
- George Tenet, last night
at a secret meeting
at the White House,
he resigned.
- I've decided to step down
as director
of Central Intelligence,
effective July 11th.
- The Coalition Provisional
Authority
will cease to exist
on June 28th,
at which point the occupation
will end
and the Iraqi interim
government will assume
and exercise full
sovereign authority
on behalf of the Iraqi people.
Sincerely, L. Paul Bremer,
ex-administrator
of the Coalition Provisional
Authority. [ Laughing ]
- The government of Iraq putting
former dictator Saddam Hussein
on trial for his crimes
sometime this summer.
An early trial would show
the new government is
making progress, bringing him
to justice.
- Well, the important thing,
he should get a fair trial.
- We don't even know
who the judges
of the Iraqi Special Tribunal
will be.
We don't know who the
prosecutors will be.
- Later, Hussein said,
let's cut through this.
This is theater to help Bush
the criminal, win the election.
- With your hard work, we're
going to win tomorrow,
and I will carry that honor and
dignity for four more years.
- [ Cheers and applause ]
- God bless.
[ Speaking global language ]
- Rick, heavy fighting in Najaf.
Numerous explosions
and gunfire heard.
Coalition commanders sent
at least seven tanks
into the city's large cemetery
to attack militia members
loyal to radical cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr.
Cleric Sadr calling for
an all out holy war.
- A high speed dash through
Fallujah's dangerous streets,
headlong into a firefight.
♪
- No more money for Bush's crime!
Not another nickel,
not another dime!
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
- Sir. It's time.
- On World News tonight,
Saddam Hussein in court
before an Iraqi judge.
All Iraqis watch their former
leader tonight.
For many, it's a great day.
[ Crowd clamoring ]
[ Whistling ]
[ Clamor continues ]
[ Crowd shouting ]
[ Gavel banging ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Instrumental music playing ]
♪
♪
♪
- John Nixon.
- Surprise!
- How'd you find me?
- Well, you know,
I'm a highly trained
CIA operative.
I, uh, cracked your grandson.
- Oh!
- Well, how did you break
the toddler?
- Oh, you know, I didn't even
need to waterboard him.
I just promised him a double
chocolate sundae
at Chuck E. Cheese.
- Oh, so you're lying
to a 4-year-old?
Nice, you're in top form.
- Yeah.
- Have you spoken to Polly?
- Yeah, she's, uh, being
reassigned to Russia.
- Mm. She'll fit right in.
- Yeah.
Do you want to grab a bite?
My treat.
- Big spender, huh?
- Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
I know how to treat a lady.
- [ Angela chuckles ]
- You're two years
from retirement.
- Well, as you know,
the midterms
were a referendum for the,
uh, war.
Republicans took a thumping,
so they cleaned house.
Bremmer, Tenet, Rumsfeld.
Anyone they could scapegoat.
- Well, at least you're in
distinguished company.
- What's Hussein like?
- He can be really charming,
terrifying,
sometimes vindictive,
still honorable.
I found myself really respecting
him one day
and despising him the next.
- Bundle of contradictions.
- Yeah.
- You can never really understand
another person.
- It was like we didn't
even care.
Everything they told us,
every reason for going in
is turning out to be bullshit.
- Bullshit's part of the job.
- So what, I just let the
president believe
whatever the hell he wants?
- Maybe you should.
Why are you here?
- You ran ops in Cairo
in the '80s, right?
- This is an interrogation?
- No, just a debriefing
between friends, maybe?
- Well, I worked lots
of places.
- All the literature says that US
relations with Saddam
started after the Iranian
revolution, right?
- Sounds plausible.
- So what if a 22-year-old writer
with politically connected
family
got approached by an Iraqi
dentist
who happened to be a handler
for the CIA?
And this writer got put up in an
apartment on Al Rashid Street,
straight across from the
Iraqi prime minister's office.
And then one warm October
afternoon
he was standing there on that
block with a gun in his hand,
waiting for the PM's
limousine to arrive
but he lost his cool
and pulled the trigger
too soon.
Then he got shot in the leg,
escaped to Cairo with the help
of Egyptian intelligence,
and then three years later,
he comes back,
highly trained,
with a long list of political
opponents
that was compiled by the CIA.
And then he launches
a successful coup.
He takes over the country.
- You're a born myth maker.
- Did we create Saddam?
- John
the agency doesn't do history.
- Come on, Angela.
- I'm late for my mani pedi.
- Listen, we need Saddam.
He-- he's the enemy
of our enemies.
No one's listening to me.
- Well,
you know there's only one man
who can help you.
- Bush? Come on. I'm serious.
- You ambushed me for advice,
so I'm gonna tell you
for the last time.
You give people what they want,
they will give you
what you want.
You want to save your
mustachioed friend
- [ Phone rings ]
you give the
Commander-in-Chief
what he wants.
- [ Phone ringing ]
- Or don't.
- Becks, I can't talk right now.
- John, it's your dad.
- What?
- Come now, John.
Right now.
- Okay, I-I'll be right there.
- Is everything all right?
- He's in the hospital.
- Um
- Listen, you're too smart
to stay retired.
♪
♪
♪
- Hey.
Dad? Hey.
- Yeah.
- Hey, Dad.
- Charlie
- It's the morphine.
- Hey. Dad. It's me.
- Yeah.
Oh, Johnny. Yeah, that's what
I meant, Johnny. [ Chuckles ]
Oh, well, has, uh, anything
happened since I left?
Is Saddam Hussein dead yet?
- He's, uh
He's on trial, Dad.
- Oh, damn.
They need to string him up
by his cojones.
Yeah. You wouldn't deny
a dying man
his last wish, now,
would you?
- [ Chuckles ] No.
I'll pass it up the chain.
- Yeah, a human stain.
He-- he murdered Charlie
and If I could,
I'd strangle him myself,
but I don't have the energy.
- Hm.
I have no doubt, Dad.
- Hey, you!
Hey, you--
I'm not staying here anymore.
- His oxygen level
is really low.
- Dad, me and Becks are here.
Okay? You'll be fine.
- Yeah, but they say, you know,
I just have to stay here
for now.
What kind of exact
time element is that
of just for a while?
I-I--
I'm not staying here,
and you can't stop me.
Get outta here!
Leave me alone!
- You're coming home.
You're gonna stay with us.
- Huh?
Yeah?
- Yeah.
- Oh, thank God.
Glory be to God.
- A hospital's much better
equipped.
- Yeah. I know, but--
it's Stage 4.
[ Monitor beeping steadily ]
♪
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Gavel bangs ]
♪
♪
- Hey, John.
- Hey, Sara.
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Speaking global language ]
♪
♪
♪
♪
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Gavel banging ]
[ Speaking global language ]
- John.
- Yep.
- You got a reprieve
from North Korea.
- Okay.
- You've been assigned
to execution watch.
- He hasn't even been
convicted yet.
- Seventh floor thought you would
want the honor,
given your relationship to him.
- That's not much of an honor.
Give it to Samir, my translator.
He deserved it.
Okay?
- Okay.
♪
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Gunshots ]
[ Screams ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Gunshots ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Gunshots ]
[ Gunshots ]
[ Gunmen laughing ]
[ Gunshot ]
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
[ Protestors chanting ]
♪
- What's your plan, Nixon?
You're the Saddam whisperer.
- He seemed to have accepted
his death.
- [Exhales] Then we have nothing
to threaten him with.
- The goal isn't to threaten him.
It's to convince him that this
is his best course of action.
- The best course for who, sir?
- We've offered him everything.
- And that's the problem.
You know, we've got to stop
pandering to him.
Our only chance is to make him
feel like he's forgotten.
Saddam needs to feel in charge,
but if we can make him feel like
we don't care about him
anymore, then--
maybe we have a chance.
Maybe then we can turn him.
- So how do we do that?
- It's just time.
- [ Scoffs ] Time is something
we don't have.
- You expect DC to just
to hurry up and wait?
- Look, that's the best analysis
I got.
You do with it what you want.
Sir, if there's not
anything else,
I'd like to go see
my family now.
♪
♪
[ Kids chatter ]
- I hope you use it ♪
You got a season ticket
to my heart ♪
Don't you refuse it ♪
You got a season ticket
to my love ♪
'Cause you're the
only one ♪
[ Telephone ringing ]
- Hello?
- Becca?
- Hi, Johnny.
- Dad?
Is everything okay?
- Yeah, yeah. Everything's okay.
Don't start getting prickly
on me.
- Is Becca okay?
- Yeah, of course she is.
She's fine.
Uh, she's-- she's relaxing.
- What are you doing there?
- Well, I'm helping her out,
you know,
trying to get everything done
while you're not around.
It's old Dad to the rescue.
Do you want to leave her
a message?
- Tell her I'm sorry.
- Okay. Alright, I guess, uh,
she'll be happy to hear that.
Tell her I'm coming home.
- When?
- I'm flying out tomorrow night.
- Oh, good.
- I'll see you then.
- Good.
♪
- My last night in Iraq.
I can't sleep.
Almost a year after
the invasion,
nothing is holding together.
Bush stopped saying "weapon
of mass destruction."
Now it's "eliminating a
potential threat."
What a joke.
We're ruled by cretins.
♪
[ Protestors chanting ]
♪
I keep starting wars.
We never finish.
We burn it down and then
walk away.
♪
Insurgency is growing.
[ Protestors chanting ]
Al-Sadr and al-Zarqawi
aren't hiding anymore.
They're on the street and
they're dragging Iraq
into a full blown civil war.
What's going to happen to the
Iraqis who believed in us,
the translators, the fixers,
the ones who stepped
into the light
because we promised them
a future?
We leave and we leave them
for dead.
♪
If we're to have any chance
to stabilize Iraq,
we need Saddam alive.
[ Protestors chanting
in distance ]
♪
[ Chanting continues ]
- No goodbyes.
- There's not much good
with any of this.
- Well, you're going home.
Alive.
Caught Saddam Hussein.
- I feel like we made things
worse.
- Sometimes it gets worse
before it gets better.
- These people are coming
for their revenge.
- Yeah.
[ Protestors shouting ]
- Thank you.
- Ah, thank you.
I'll see you down the road.
- Absolutely.
- Bye.
- Yeah.
- Hey.
When I get back, I wanna see
one of those
famous John Nixon
roller disco moves.
- Yeah.
[ Engine starts ]
♪
[ Horn honks ]
♪
♪
[ Protestors shouting ]
♪
[ Protestors chanting ]
♪
[ Glass bottles thudding,
shattering ]
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
[ Helicopter blades whirring ]
♪
[ Metal door opens ]
[ Indistinct radio chatter ]
[ Metal door closes ]
- Mr. President, I just
wanted to tell you, I wish we
could have had these
conversations under different
circumstances.
I feel like I understand you
and your country
so much better now, and
I'd like to thank you
for that.
- There are two qualities
that are more important
than anything else.
To be just and fair.
So when you go home,
I want you to be that.
[ Metal door opens ]
♪
♪
♪
[ "Dreams Come Around" by
Bob Bradley, Steve Dymond,
and Nick McEnally plays ]
♪
- Nobody's standing in my way ♪
♪
Don't give a damn
what people say ♪
♪
You got your goals,
you got your dreams ♪
♪
And you won't stop
till you succeed ♪
♪
When your dreams come around ♪
♪
- Right here, please.
- Okay, sir. Good day.
- Thanks.
♪
- When your dreams
come around ♪
♪
They never let you down ♪
♪
- [ Chuckles ]
- When your dreams
come around ♪
- Oh, my God.
- They never let you down ♪
- I didn't know you'd come
I missed you so much.
- Are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm-- I'm
[ Dog barking ]
- Zoe! Zoe, come here.
- Daddy's home.
Look who's here.
- Hello.
- Well, I didn't drop the
[ Laughter ]
- [ Relieved sigh ] Surprise.
[ Johnny Cash's "Hey Porter"
playing ]
- Hey, porter, hey, porter,
would you tell me the time? ♪
How much longer will it be
'til we cross ♪
That Mason-Dixon line? ♪
At daylight would you tell
that engineer to slow it down? ♪
Or better still, just stop
the train ♪
'Cause I want to look around ♪
- Mom's meatballs?
- Your dad made me beg him
to get your mom's secret recipe.
- Mm, nice!
- She stole that recipe from "The
Galloping Gourmet" TV show,
but I acted like
I didn't know about it.
- Yeah.
- I made Bolognese sauce.
- Mm! That's his favorite.
- And ask everybody
that ain't asleep ♪
- Hey! [Laughs]
- It's a little spicy.
You're doing great.
- [ Rebecca laughs ]
♪
- Hey, easy there, Pops.
♪
- Oh! [ Chuckles ]
- You okay?
- Yeah.
- Alright.
- Easy there, Daddy-O.
- Yeah.
Yeah. Calm down.
[ Clears throat ]
- Hey, porter, hey, porter ♪
- You okay?
- Yeah, good.
- It's getting light outside,
this old train is ♪
- Oh, my God, there's too much
food on this table.
- Hey, hey. Here, I got it.
- Alright. Thank you.
- If he will blow his
whistle please ♪
[ Relaxed sigh ]
- So-- big hands or small hands?
- What's that?
- Saddam.
- Oh. Uh
- Well, yeah,
I mean, you know, were they
bony, meaty, uh, manicured?
You can tell a lot about people
by their hands.
- Please, can we just enjoy
a family meal together?
- Becca went to her first
professional baseball game,
and she had a blast.
- I loved it.
I am so sorry, because so many
times you've said, "Let's go."
And I've been like, "No,
I don't like baseball."
But I do.
♪
♪
[ Birdsong ]
[ Loud thump ]
[ Yawns ]
- Good smells.
- [ John chuckles ]
- Exciting, isn't it?
- What?
- It's like your first day
at work.
- It feels like I've been in that
office for 120 years.
- John the Analyst worked there
for 240 years.
But this is day one for
John the Conqueror.
John the Captor.
John the Hero of the
Western World.
- [ Laughing ] "Hero of
the Western World."
Very funny.
- [ Rebecca laughs ]
- You know what now might be
a good time for?
- No.
- It's a good time to ask
for a raise.
[ Both laugh ]
Okay?
- Okay.
You got me there.
- [ Both laugh ]
♪
♪
♪
[ Man speaking global language
nearby ]
♪
- Before I take your questions,
let me speak with the
American people
about the situation in Iraq.
This has been tough weeks
in that country.
In the south of Iraq,
coalition forces
face riots and attacks
that are being incited
by a radical cleric
named al-Sadr.
He has assembled some
of his supporters
into an illegal militia
and publicly supported
the terrorist groups
Hamas and Hezbollah.
Al-Sadr's methods of violence
and intimidation
are widely repudiated
by other Iraqi Shia.
He's been indicted by
Iraqi authorities
for the murder of a prominent
Shia cleric.
They want to run us out of Iraq
and destroy the democratic
hopes of the Iraqi people.
[ Speaking global language ]
- By helping to secure
a free Iraq,
Americans serving
in that country
are protecting their
fellow citizens.
As I've said to those who
have lost loved ones,
we will finish the work
of the fallen.
America's armed forces are
performing brilliantly
with all the skill and honor
we expect of them.
- Welcome back. Good job.
- Thank you.
- We're constantly reviewing
their needs.
Troop strength now
and in the future
is determined by the situation
on the ground.
If additional forces are
needed, I will send them.
If additional resources are
needed, we will provide them.
The people of our country
are united
behind our men and women
in uniform,
and this government will do all
that is necessary
to assure the success of
their historic mission.
- John?
They're waiting for you
upstairs.
- Oh, okay.
[ John exhales ]
- Hi.
- There he is!
The man who got Hussein.
[ Clapping ]
Pleasure to meet you, John.
- Pleasure.
- Director Gabe Varticus.
You can call me Buddy.
- Buddy it is. Uh
where is Angela?
- She retired. This is her
replacement, Janie.
- Jane Cassidy. Welcome home.
- She retired?
- What'd you wear?
- Sorry?
- When you met him.
What'd you wear?
- Just some cargo pants
and a shirt.
- Oh, I woulda confronted
that bastard
in a three piece Brioni.
- I'm sure you would have, Buddy,
but
in the BIF, we were up to
our asses in mud, so--
alert anyone of Saddam's
presence.
You know, there was always
a risk of someone trying
to assassinate him
or escape attempt.
- What, uh, nuggets did Saddam
give you?
- Nuggets. I mean,
nothing of substance, really.
- You gleaned nothing of note
in all those interviews?
- Well, yeah, we should--
we should use him.
You know, help us understand
the region, the players--
- That'd be pretty hard for him
to do from his grave.
[ Laughter ]
- Yeah, no, Saddam should hang, definitely.
But, uh, you know, in the
interest of mitigating
the risk of operational
regional instability,
the agency would be better
served keeping him alive.
- Appreciate the perspective,
John, but really not necessary.
- I've prepared a brief
for you, sir, I--
- John--
- I'd love for you--
- We've assigned you
to North Korea.
- [ Scoffs ] What?
- We've uncovered a secret
uranium enrichment program.
Bush wants the agency to take
a hard look at Pyongyang.
- It's an important desk
at an important time.
- But more important than this?
Kim Jong-il? I mean--
we're at a critical
inflection point
in the Middle East right now.
Is-- is this a joke?
Are you kidding me?
♪
♪
[ Door opens, closes ]
- He took it well.
♪
♪
- Are you moving in?
- In case you didn't notice,
she's not doing very well
and somebody had to do
something about it.
- Yeah, well, you should have
told me she was getting worse.
- What? And have you worry?
Just worry you with everything
you had on your mind?
- Yeah, but--
- But what?
We're soldiers.
We have to stick to the mission.
We gotta stay on point.
What are you doing home now?
- It's not a good day.
- Oh, I can see that.
Wouldn't take Colombo
to figure it out.
- You know why we couldn't find
any sources
to tell us about Saddam's
escape plans?
'Cause he didn't have any.
He was busy sending out his
book for publication.
- He's a goddamn butcher,
that's what he is.
- Well, he's not that same guy
anymore.
- Oh?
- Yeah.
- Hey, is this because you two
are having tea together now?
Let me tell you something.
Because of that prick
you don't have a brother
and I don't have a son!
- I'm just saying, it's not that
cut and dry.
- Oh, no, don't--
don't you go there.
Don't you play that game.
We're not the assholes.
We went there to save
those people.
- We didn't.
- And whose fault is that?
Whose fault is that?
[ Speaking global language ]
♪
♪
- I take it you didn't get
that promotion?
- I got reassigned
to North Korea.
- Wow. That's very exclusive.
Not just anyone can vacation
there.
- I didn't get a brochure.
- It doesn't exactly scream
Condé Nast cover.
- If you helped capture
and interrogate
the most notorious man
on the planet,
this is what you get.
- [ Rebecca laughs ]
- $75 gift card.
- Wars are expensive.
- No, it's just 3 trillion
and counting.
- [ Chuckles ] On the, um,
bright side,
they're respecting the taxpayer.
- Oh, yeah. Yeah.
So much respect.
- Thank you.
Did you see they have molten
chocolate lava cake?
- Mm. Unfortunately, the garlic
bread bankrupted us.
- Oh, no!
- Yeah.
[ Both laugh ]
- Did you think about what you're
gonna say to your dad?
- Uh, I-I-I can't talk to him.
- You found a way to connect with
a ruthless, murdering dictator.
- That was easy. This is Dad
we're talking about.
- You will find a way to connect
with an old man who loves you.
- John Nixon?
- Hey, Nixon.
- Brody.
- Good job, man.
- Oh, thank you.
- I'll be at the car.
I'll meet you there.
- Yeah, I'll be right there.
Hello.
- What are you doing here?
- Uh, flew in this morning.
Briefing Brody.
So, uh
Mm, um, Polly, this is
my wife, Rebecca.
- The famous Polly.
- Infamous, by John's account.
- Thank you for looking
after him over there.
- Yeah, of course.
- John said you were most
comforting after Jerry died.
I'm glad you had each other.
[ Polly chuckles ]
- Uh, join us for dessert.
- Oh, um, I'd love to, but, you
know, I have a flight to catch,
and Brody's waiting,
I haven't packed, so
- Um, where are you off to?
- Russia.
- Yeah, well, I got the golden
ticket.
North Korea.
- It was really nice to meet you.
Bye. Take care.
- Polly's lovely.
Not how I imagined.
- None of it is how
I imagined it.
- So what happens now?
- Maybe some dessert?
- Yeah.
- Excuse me.
Can I get the menu, please?
Dessert menu. Thank you.
Hey, cheers.
Cheers.
♪
- Who was responsible for the
abuse within Abu Ghraib prison?
American soldiers acting
on their own accord,
described by some
within the Pentagon
as recycled hillbillies.
Or did it go to the very top
of the military
and civilian leadership?
- In recent months, we've seen
abuses here under our
responsibility,
but it doesn't represent
America.
It doesn't represent
American values.
- Can I take a picture with you?
- Sure. Hurry, though.
♪
- George Tenet, last night
at a secret meeting
at the White House,
he resigned.
- I've decided to step down
as director
of Central Intelligence,
effective July 11th.
- The Coalition Provisional
Authority
will cease to exist
on June 28th,
at which point the occupation
will end
and the Iraqi interim
government will assume
and exercise full
sovereign authority
on behalf of the Iraqi people.
Sincerely, L. Paul Bremer,
ex-administrator
of the Coalition Provisional
Authority. [ Laughing ]
- The government of Iraq putting
former dictator Saddam Hussein
on trial for his crimes
sometime this summer.
An early trial would show
the new government is
making progress, bringing him
to justice.
- Well, the important thing,
he should get a fair trial.
- We don't even know
who the judges
of the Iraqi Special Tribunal
will be.
We don't know who the
prosecutors will be.
- Later, Hussein said,
let's cut through this.
This is theater to help Bush
the criminal, win the election.
- With your hard work, we're
going to win tomorrow,
and I will carry that honor and
dignity for four more years.
- [ Cheers and applause ]
- God bless.
[ Speaking global language ]
- Rick, heavy fighting in Najaf.
Numerous explosions
and gunfire heard.
Coalition commanders sent
at least seven tanks
into the city's large cemetery
to attack militia members
loyal to radical cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr.
Cleric Sadr calling for
an all out holy war.
- A high speed dash through
Fallujah's dangerous streets,
headlong into a firefight.
♪
- No more money for Bush's crime!
Not another nickel,
not another dime!
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
- Sir. It's time.
- On World News tonight,
Saddam Hussein in court
before an Iraqi judge.
All Iraqis watch their former
leader tonight.
For many, it's a great day.
[ Crowd clamoring ]
[ Whistling ]
[ Clamor continues ]
[ Crowd shouting ]
[ Gavel banging ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Instrumental music playing ]
♪
♪
♪
- John Nixon.
- Surprise!
- How'd you find me?
- Well, you know,
I'm a highly trained
CIA operative.
I, uh, cracked your grandson.
- Oh!
- Well, how did you break
the toddler?
- Oh, you know, I didn't even
need to waterboard him.
I just promised him a double
chocolate sundae
at Chuck E. Cheese.
- Oh, so you're lying
to a 4-year-old?
Nice, you're in top form.
- Yeah.
- Have you spoken to Polly?
- Yeah, she's, uh, being
reassigned to Russia.
- Mm. She'll fit right in.
- Yeah.
Do you want to grab a bite?
My treat.
- Big spender, huh?
- Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
I know how to treat a lady.
- [ Angela chuckles ]
- You're two years
from retirement.
- Well, as you know,
the midterms
were a referendum for the,
uh, war.
Republicans took a thumping,
so they cleaned house.
Bremmer, Tenet, Rumsfeld.
Anyone they could scapegoat.
- Well, at least you're in
distinguished company.
- What's Hussein like?
- He can be really charming,
terrifying,
sometimes vindictive,
still honorable.
I found myself really respecting
him one day
and despising him the next.
- Bundle of contradictions.
- Yeah.
- You can never really understand
another person.
- It was like we didn't
even care.
Everything they told us,
every reason for going in
is turning out to be bullshit.
- Bullshit's part of the job.
- So what, I just let the
president believe
whatever the hell he wants?
- Maybe you should.
Why are you here?
- You ran ops in Cairo
in the '80s, right?
- This is an interrogation?
- No, just a debriefing
between friends, maybe?
- Well, I worked lots
of places.
- All the literature says that US
relations with Saddam
started after the Iranian
revolution, right?
- Sounds plausible.
- So what if a 22-year-old writer
with politically connected
family
got approached by an Iraqi
dentist
who happened to be a handler
for the CIA?
And this writer got put up in an
apartment on Al Rashid Street,
straight across from the
Iraqi prime minister's office.
And then one warm October
afternoon
he was standing there on that
block with a gun in his hand,
waiting for the PM's
limousine to arrive
but he lost his cool
and pulled the trigger
too soon.
Then he got shot in the leg,
escaped to Cairo with the help
of Egyptian intelligence,
and then three years later,
he comes back,
highly trained,
with a long list of political
opponents
that was compiled by the CIA.
And then he launches
a successful coup.
He takes over the country.
- You're a born myth maker.
- Did we create Saddam?
- John
the agency doesn't do history.
- Come on, Angela.
- I'm late for my mani pedi.
- Listen, we need Saddam.
He-- he's the enemy
of our enemies.
No one's listening to me.
- Well,
you know there's only one man
who can help you.
- Bush? Come on. I'm serious.
- You ambushed me for advice,
so I'm gonna tell you
for the last time.
You give people what they want,
they will give you
what you want.
You want to save your
mustachioed friend
- [ Phone rings ]
you give the
Commander-in-Chief
what he wants.
- [ Phone ringing ]
- Or don't.
- Becks, I can't talk right now.
- John, it's your dad.
- What?
- Come now, John.
Right now.
- Okay, I-I'll be right there.
- Is everything all right?
- He's in the hospital.
- Um
- Listen, you're too smart
to stay retired.
♪
♪
♪
- Hey.
Dad? Hey.
- Yeah.
- Hey, Dad.
- Charlie
- It's the morphine.
- Hey. Dad. It's me.
- Yeah.
Oh, Johnny. Yeah, that's what
I meant, Johnny. [ Chuckles ]
Oh, well, has, uh, anything
happened since I left?
Is Saddam Hussein dead yet?
- He's, uh
He's on trial, Dad.
- Oh, damn.
They need to string him up
by his cojones.
Yeah. You wouldn't deny
a dying man
his last wish, now,
would you?
- [ Chuckles ] No.
I'll pass it up the chain.
- Yeah, a human stain.
He-- he murdered Charlie
and If I could,
I'd strangle him myself,
but I don't have the energy.
- Hm.
I have no doubt, Dad.
- Hey, you!
Hey, you--
I'm not staying here anymore.
- His oxygen level
is really low.
- Dad, me and Becks are here.
Okay? You'll be fine.
- Yeah, but they say, you know,
I just have to stay here
for now.
What kind of exact
time element is that
of just for a while?
I-I--
I'm not staying here,
and you can't stop me.
Get outta here!
Leave me alone!
- You're coming home.
You're gonna stay with us.
- Huh?
Yeah?
- Yeah.
- Oh, thank God.
Glory be to God.
- A hospital's much better
equipped.
- Yeah. I know, but--
it's Stage 4.
[ Monitor beeping steadily ]
♪
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Gavel bangs ]
♪
♪
- Hey, John.
- Hey, Sara.
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Speaking global language ]
♪
♪
♪
♪
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Gavel banging ]
[ Speaking global language ]
- John.
- Yep.
- You got a reprieve
from North Korea.
- Okay.
- You've been assigned
to execution watch.
- He hasn't even been
convicted yet.
- Seventh floor thought you would
want the honor,
given your relationship to him.
- That's not much of an honor.
Give it to Samir, my translator.
He deserved it.
Okay?
- Okay.
♪
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Gunshots ]
[ Screams ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Gunshots ]
[ Speaking global language ]
[ Gunshots ]
[ Gunshots ]
[ Gunmen laughing ]
[ Gunshot ]
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪