Backstabbing for Beginners (2018) - full transcript

My name is Michael Sullivan

and I have a story I think
you're gonna wanna hear.

Michael Sullivan?

How long have you been in the
lobbyist at Belasquian Banks?

Uh, two years.

A lot of strategy, research and support.

Hmm.

That's a good job.

You're not happy there?

No, I just... I don't want to wake
up when I'm forty and discover

the only thing I've contributed
to the world is tax shelters,



sweatshops and holes in the ozone.

You're an idealist?

You know for as long as I can remember

I've wanted to be a diplomat.

I want to make a difference in the world.

Your father was a diplomat.

Uh, yeah, U.S. State Department, he...

Lebanon. 1983.

I'm sorry for your loss.

My father passed away when I was little.

He was killed in the bombing
of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut

when I was 5 years old.

One of my earliest memories
is my father telling stories

about the founding of the United Nations.



We'll find a way to end war.

Made it sound like modern day Knights

sitting around the Round Table.

I wanted to follow in his footsteps.

By the fall of 2002
I had applied for a job

at the United Nations four times.

Hey!

Uncle Michael!

My sister says it's because Foreign Service

is in our family legacy.

Hey little brother, how are ya?

Hey, good. Sorry I'm late.

You look good.

And just like my mother,

she married a guy she met
while interning at the U.N.

So I got you something small,

but something else is on it's way, okay?

Hey, Trevor.

Hey.

Nice cake Lily, got enough Danish flags?

Yeah, yeah.

Well, did you hear anything?

Uh, no.

I'll hear tomorrow.

But how'd it feel?

Good?

No, I was too nervous.

Oh well, it's their loss.

I'm sure you'll get it, you've
been working so hard for this!

Yeah.

And it's somebody's birthday,
so should we do cake?

Yes!

♪ Happy Birthday to you! ♪

♪ Happy birthday to you! ♪

♪ Happy birthday dear Kate ♪

Best candidates keep getting hired away

by fucking hedge funds.

Michael Sullivan.

I knew his father.

Danish passport.

His mother's side,
but he's only 24 years old.

He'll do.

I thought I would start with
some entry-level assignment,

instead I got a dream job.

Special assistant to the
under secretary general.

Running the largest humanitarian program

in the United Nations history.

I couldn't believe my luck.

All I kept thinking was,
"Don't fuck this up."

The program is called, "Oil For Food."

It's created in 1995.

By Security Council resolution 986,

which has stated that the
UN would manage the sale

of Iraqi oil and use the profits
to provide humanitarian relief

in the country to alleviate the hardship.

Which basically means that our office

is in charge of trying to feed
an entire nation,

over 20 million people.

You have a little reading to catch up on.

We are woefully behind schedule
on our funding status report

to the Security Council;

Your immediate task will be to
help facilitate its completion.

Your predecessor was due to brief

the undersecretary tomorrow.

Tomorrow?

What happened to him?

A car accident in Iraq.

Jesus Christ!

Is he alright?

No, he didn't make it.

A bullet-point summary will do.

Pasha will be in his office at nine.

Got a couple of minutes, Michael?

Justin Cutter, Central Intelligence.

Really?

Yeah, we come in all shapes and sizes.

Okay, can I help you with something?

Listen, we think Oil for Food is
being gamed for private gain

by a bad guy or bad guys unknown.

Possibly with help from the inside,

which is where you are, so...

Look I-I just got this job.

I'm not gonna-
I'm not gonna spy for you.

Oh God, no.

No, no, leave that to the professionals.

I don't want you to do anything

that makes you uncomfortable, Michael.

Just keep your eyes and
ears open, that's all.

For God and Country.

I was aware going in
that the Oil for Food program

had become something
of a political football.

The program budget was
10 billon dollars a year.

The entire rest of the UN
operational budget was only two.

There was crazy money to be had.

Special interest circling like buzzards.

The program was simple.

Because of the economic sanctions imposed

against Saddam Hussein

after the first Gulf War,
Iraq's economy had crashed.

People were starving and dying

from lack of basic medicine and staples.

The Oil for Food program
was designed to provide

Iraqi citizens with what
they needed to survive.

While at the same time, preventing Saddam

from developing his alleged
weapons of mass destruction.

Under UN supervision,

Iraqi oil was being sold at market prices

to pay for humanitarian aid.

Our job was to keep it funded
by making sure everything

went by the book.

I'm here to present the summary.

He'll be with you in a minute.

...This fucking regime!

Unbelievable.

Yes, I sorted it as always, a solution.

Now we-we charted
a load of taxis, filled them,

that should last the outlying villages

till we get the trucks back.

You call this a summary?

Fucking war and peace.

Sorry sir, I was trying to be thorough.

Thorough?

Yes, sir.

Fuck.

Well, just give me the highlights kid,

otherwise we'll be here till spring thaw.

Yes we have uhh, decreased
the malnutrition rate,

reduced child mortality, we've also uhh,

made big strides in access
to water and electricity.

There are however some umm,

systemic distribution failures
particularly in the North.

The Kurds are getting shorted
uhh, wheat, milk, diesel fuel

to the benefit of Tikrit,
who are getting seemingly

more than their fair share.

Saddam's hometown, what a surprise?

Yeah.

There are also all these
after service fees uhh,

in the contracts.

I'm pretty sure they're kick-backs.

If you wanna take a look, I uhh,
highlighted and aggregated them

on page 26 to 29.

It's a lot of money, sir.

In some places it's
as much as 30 percent.

Sit.

Kid.

Sit down.

The first rule of diplomacy is that

the truth is not
a matter of fact,

it's a matter of consensus,
now consensus right now

is that sanctions are here to stay.

The Americans and The
British will never lift them,

which means that if you want
the people of Iraq to survive,

we have to keep Oil for Food running.

Even with all it's warts and flaws.

Sir, you do not need to...

The second rule is to keep
your mouth shut and listen.

Then if it suits, you can talk.

With discretion.

Otherwise, keep your cards,
close to your vest.

Yeah.

Your father was a good man.

You should be so lucky
as to have his heart.

Yeah, so I've been told.

We crossed paths a couple of times.

Must have been 79', 80'.

What a tragedy.

Beirut.

Fuck, I'm sorry.

That must have been hard, a
boy growing up without a father.

It was my normal.

I had my cry.

Good.

Fix your summary.

Go home and pack.

We leave for Baghdad on the red-eye.

Uhh...

What? You have other plans?

No, I don't.

Of course not.

Thank you.

I was swept up in the romance of it,

I mean, this is what I wanted.

High adventure and a worthy cause.

It's like Baghdad was my Casablanca.

More or less sketchy,
crazy dangerous and stranger

than I could've ever imagined.

The country lived in a state
of permanent self-occupation.

Our Baghdad office is
going to present a problem.

Okay.

We can't let this
director sabotage the report.

Why-why would he sabotage his own report?

She.

So the Security Council will be
forced to lift the sanctions,

and everybody can cash in on the
deals they made with Saddam back

before he rolled into
Kuwait and pissed off the world.

Jesus H. Christ, kid.

Gonna have to fucking teach
you everything from scratch.

Every six months we have to
justify our continued existence.

Our job right now is to write a
report for the Security Council

emphasizing all the good in
the Oil for Food program

whilst minimizing the challenges.

Not to lie.

No, never lie,

but to choose our facts or
truths with the utmost care.

Right.

Can I trust you to do that?

Yes. Absolutely.

There she is.

Madame Dupre.

Trying to backstab us.

Christina.

Hassan Ghazarian.

Hey, Michael Sullivan.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Did you get the documents I sent you?

I did, I've even
printed them up for you.

Oh great.

You write well.

60 percent of the Iraqi
people are solely dependent

upon our suppliers for survival.

Wheat, grain, milk, medicine,
essential infrastructure.

During our last ten months, we
have decreased malnutrition rate

amongst children in Iraq by 50 percent,

thereby reduced child mortality significantly.

Okay, thank you very much,
photographers come through.

We're gonna have a photo
opportunity with Madame Dupre.

It's hard to overstate how badly Saddam

was abusing his people.

Friends of the regime could
get easy access to the medicine.

Others less fortunate were left to die

from even the simplest of diseases.

They send bad drugs.

Dump on us their out-of-date prescriptions.

Thank him for uhh, bringing this to me

and tell him I will definitely
look into it.

He says there's at black
market with Oil for Food pills.

Or this innocent child: Please
explain to her why she cannot

have the stem cell therapy that
could cure her.

Why she has to suffer because
the West begrudges Iraq,

it's dignity.

That I can't explain, no.

She asks why you are crying?

I promise I will do anything
I can to help your child.

It sickens me to have to stand
there and listen to your lies.

It's P.R., Christina, everyone
in the field is working so hard.

Well, my reporter for The Security Council

is going to tell the truth.

Just so you know.

Your report.

The program is a failure.

The sanctions aren't working.

How is the program failing?

Medicine is getting through!

At what cost!?

People are getting basic staples.

At what cost?

Everybody is grifting the system.

Corruption grows like a cancer.

It'll never be perfect and surely,

it's better than doing nothing.

Michael, what's the delay?

Uhh, sorry, there's a small security issue.

We'll be on our way in a few moments.

I know what you're doing.

You want me to sign off
on your moral relativism

so you can throw me under
the bus when it all unravels.

You are mistaken.

I'm just trying to feed a country.

Enough spin, Costa, enough!

The facts will speak for themselves.

My report with The Security Council

is going to tell the truth.

Baghdad is the centre
of the universe now, kid.

And this, Al Rasheed is ground zero.

Boiler room of diplomacy.

Pasha!

Nice to see you again.

Mr. Mohammed, my assistant.

Michael Sullivan.

Count your fingers after you
shake hands with this one.

All major intelligence agencies are here,

and all rooms are bugged.

Everyone trying to barter in their secrets

and their services.

Information is everything;
the currency, the power.

Look. Listen. Learn.

Everyone has their own agenda, huh?

Baby Bush thinks Saddam
disrespected his papa.

American neocons?

They're convinced democracy will
bloom here like a fucking flower

...good luck with that.

Putin wants Bush to fail,
China wants the new markets,

half of Europe couldn't care less

whether Saddam gasses
civilians or builds a bomb

Big Oil simply wants an end to
the sanctions

so they can suck at the Iraqi teat.

So, about what the doctor told me today.

The grifted medicine, missing supplies.

I smell a setup.

It didn't really feel like a setup.

More nonsense from Madame.

She's not just ineffective,
she's actively inventing proof

of the program's failings.

If we don't do something, this
reports gonna be a disaster.

Don't you get the final say?

Sadly, no.

UN protocol requires the
regional director sign off

on the report.

And what's our agenda?

Our agenda?

That little girl.

At the hospital.

God help anyone who gets in our way.

Yeah.

I had a son once.

Died of the flu, just a baby.

Can you believe that?

And my wife, we couldn't make another.

Sorry.

Thirty years ago.

How did you put it?

I had my cry.

Flu.

You tired?

No.

Youth.

Fuck.

You know, for someone who speaks
for other people for a living,

you don't talk much.

I couldn't help but notice
you were not surprised

when the doctor spoke of
black market medicine.

No I wasn't.

Will you tell your boss?

Yeah, we already know there's
some corruption in the program.

Outside Baghdad it's much worse.

Rations diverted, power cut off.

Extortion, bribes.

I'll uhh, make sure Pasha knows that too.

You have something you want to ask me?

Is it about Madame?

That your boss wants you
to find the secret button

he can push to bend her to his will?

I can tell you: it does not exist.

I'm just trying to do my job.

But your predecessor Abhek...

His car accident was not an accident.

That's a pretty big accusation to make.

Why are you telling me this?

He was murdered because
of something he uncovered.

Something in Oil for Food?

I don't know.

Maybe.

He was fearful of
someone inside United Nations.

A facilitator of corruption.

You need to be very, very careful.

Good evening.

Please.

The Mukhabarat, you see,
were concerned to inspect

your sleeping chambers for the existence

of any surveillance device.

This as a courtesy, for
your security, of course.

Why don't you start by
telling me who you are?

Are you enjoying your visit
to Mesopotamia, Mr. Sullivan?

First one, if I'm not mistaken yes?

Such a difficult, stressful
time for everyone here.

The Great Satan keeps
threatening to bomb the city

meanwhile, the sanctions cut deep.

Baghdad puts...

Why don't you get to the point?

You will find on the bureau behind me

an envelope containing
a small honorarium.

We greatly admire the work you
are doing for the Iraqi...

It's late.

I'd like you to leave, please.

No disrespect was meant by it.

Don't forget your envelope.

Can't blame them for trying, it's nothing.

You handled it perfectly.

What about what the
interpreter said about Abhek?

I don't believe it.

Maybe she's a spy for
Saddam sent to rattle us.

You look like shit, kid.

Fuck, eat something.

I'm sorry.

Excuse me?

I'd been warned, but I was still shocked

by the criticism from UN staff
against the sanctions.

Pasha was right, every
department had an agenda.

They were working across purposes.

They played right into
Madame Dupre's hands.

Shut up!

You sound like Saddam's puppets all of you.

Do I need to point out the
serious fucking consequences

to the Iraqi people,
if we fail to continue...

You violated...

Are you fucking kidding me!?

It's not our place
to question the decisions

of The Security Council.

We implement them.

Absent of all politics.

And yes, it's a hard
fucking job sometimes.

But if you can't do it,

I suggest you turn in your
fucking credentials and go home.

I knew from my research

that our biggest worry was Kurdistan.

As long as Saddam was
in power it was gonna take

all of Pasha's considerable
diplomatic skills

to keep the Kurd's from
undermining the report.

The rations, when they come, are
always half what was promised.

The North is a protectorate,
so unfortunately...

They had been hurt
harder under the sanctions

than any other region
and while Oil for Food

was providing some relief,

it had helped sustain the very
regime that oppressed them.

The Kurds have plenty
of money to buy their own food,

from that black market oil.

Minister, if you would allow me...

The Kurdish conflict with Iraq goes back

nearly a century.

Saddam Hussein took
it to a whole new level.

Forced displacement,
mass detention and torture.

And then, when that didn't work,
he resorted to landmines

and cluster bombs, sarin gas

and nerve agents Killing
tens of thousands

and crippling tens of
thousands more.

A reign of terror that included

the worst single act of chemical
genocide ever committed

against a civilian population.

Kurds are dying for simply being Kurdish.

And in a shuttle diplomacy between

two sworn enemies,
I watched Pasha work his magic.

...About how the
most beloved food to Allah,

is that which is touched by many hands.

Fuck!

This is all I need.

The Kurdish Minister's right though,

from what I've been told,

they're getting completely screwed.

I know he's right.

It's in the fucking field reports,
but we have to keep a lid on it.

The choice can't be to
feed everyone or feed no one.

It has to be to feed
as many as possible.

I have to go back to New York tomorrow.

I need you to stay focused.

Of course.

Here's your travel itinerary.

You are connected to
Kuwait, you land in JFK at 5 PM.

Dupre is going to freeze
you out for the final report.

Her opus indictment of Oil for Food.

Okay, then why am I staying here then?

In a few days, you'll
receive some photographs.

You'll want Hassan to see them

because you won't understand
what they could mean.

Your task is to make sure
he shows them to Dupre

by insisting he shouldn't.

You're asking me if I'll...

A trap, yes.

She'll fall into it,
and we'll be rid of her.

Kid, it's diplomacy,

which sometimes requires
removing obstacles

that stand in the way of
successful outcome.

Can I trust you again with this one?

I mean, how big of a lie
am I gonna be telling?

Not lie.

Just the opportunity to
draw a wrong conclusion.

Morning.

Just so you know, Madame says
you won't be reading the report

until it's finished and she sign off on it.

Well, Pasha said he wants me to help.

People in hell want ice water.

We're just ponds in a
bigger game, you and me.

Sorry, Michael.

Hassan.

At least you can help me arrange
an interpreter for a field trip.

I wanna open one of these boxes
and check the expiration dates.

He says he's the company representative.

Tell him I wanna open
one of these boxes.

These pills expired in 1999.

Sick people will get
sicker or die because of these.

Every box needs to be checked,

the out of date
medicine needs to be destroyed

and the manufacture will have to replace it

at their own expense.

I should warn you, everyone
here thinks I'm your prostitute.

Well, I guess we should
split the check then.

You can't really just have a date

with an un-chaperoned woman in Iraq.

There are rituals and traditions.

Do you wanna call it off then?

Did you tell your boss
what I said about Ahbek?

Yeah I did, he uhh...

He thinks you might be a government spy.

So are you? A spy?

Is that a serious question?

Well, that's a pretty evasive answer.

No.

Now it's my turn to ask you.

Okay.

What are you doing here?

Well umm, I'm doing a status report

for the Oil for Food program
and then I'm gonna...

I mean today, with
the spoiled medicine.

What you did had nothing to
do with writing your report.

You took action.

It was risky and rather brave.

Was that just to impress me?

I'm not here to just be a functionary.

I took this job for a reason
because I wanna help people

and I wanna make a difference.

Make a difference?

Exactly.

I'll drink to that.

Cheers.

They're not gonna bomb Baghdad,

not without getting
The UN staffers out first.

Mr. Sullivan?

Yeah?

This has come for you.

Thanks.

Lil, I gotta go.

Who sent this?

It was left on the night desk, sir.

Are those Oil for Food trucks?

Yeah, but I don't know
the source of them.

If they're real, they're
proof that we're being gamed

by Saddam's regime.

Yeah, If, I still don't
think we should trust them.

Using our trucks to deliver
weapons, I mean, what the fuck?

I'm just gonna pack them up
into a courier pouch,

see what Pasha says.

No, no, no.

Let me show Christina first.

No, no, no chance.

It's okay, what do you call it?

"Chain of command."

Okay.

Hi.

Hey.

I need to show you something.

Okay.

They are friends.

Okay.

So, this place isn't here, officially.

These are the graves
of Kurdish civilians that

Saddam Hussein one day decided
no longer needed to live.

Gas, Sarin, Tabun, VX.

The smell of sweet apples.

He doesn't care about your
sanctions or resolutions.

He's the Angel of Death... Azrael.

You're Kurdish.

My parents were intellectuals,
active in PUK.

Killed in Halabdja.

I'm sorry.

Nobody in Baghdad knows
I'm Kurdish, Michael.

If Saddam's police find out.

They will disappear me.

My friends, they helped Ahbek
uncover a criminal conspiracy

Saddam is using to skim billions
of dollars from Oil for Food.

Ahbek claimed there is a
whole system of corruption that

reaches to the highest levels of
the same Western government

that supports sanctions.

Okay, how did Ahbek know this?

There is a rumor of a list.

A list that contains names
of people and organizations

all over the world who are all
getting paid off by Saddam

to keep this system running.

And Ahbek had seen it.

Did you bring it?

Yes.

May have had it on his computer.

You sure nobody saw you?

The office was empty,
everyone had gone home.

Ahbek, what's going on with you?

I'm going North across the border.

It's not safe for me here.

He made a back up.

But it's encrypted.

We don't have the
resources to decipher it.

Why didn't you take it to
someone more senior in The UN?

I mean, anyone.

Madame Dupre?

Nobody would listen to her.

It's important who delivers the list.

No one can accuse you of being Partisan

or of having any agenda but the truth.

I'm not gonna front this, Nashim.

I'm not gonna do that.

No, I don't want that.

I just want you to take it back
with you and find someone

who can break the encryption.

Then, together we can decide what to do.

Shit!

It's the Mukhabarat.

Are you fucking kidding me, Jesus!

There must be a mistake, I'm a UN official.

The young diplomat.

You know it's very
dangerous for you to be in this

god forsaken desert unescorted.

The Mukhabarat were concerned
that you might have been

kidnapped by nefarious individuals.

Consider this a courtesy.

Your Papers.

I tell you this, with all
humility, Mr. Sullivan

because I'm sure it won't happen again.

Your recent visit to

the pharmaceutical distribution service

that was unnecessarily provocative, yes?

It would be in everyone's
best interest, in the future,

were to decide such inspections
were no longer necessary.

She is my interpreter
alright! I told you!

Go! Now.

Before they change their minds.

Get in the car.

He kept my papers.

It's only a question of time now
before they find out who I am.

Nashim Huesseni.

- Where is the girl?
- What girl?

The Kurdish girl?

- I don't know what you're talking about.
- You're lying!

- I-I don't know what you're talking about!
- Don't lie!

I don't know where she is.

We saw you with her!

Yeah, I know, but I don't
know where she is, okay.

Let me just... Let me just make a call.

I don't know where she is.

Get out!

You have no jurisdiction here!

Out!

It's Michael Sullivan with
The Baghdad Oil for Food office.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I need to arrange a UNLP
for one of our staffers.

Mhm.

And the name is Nashim Huesseni.

Hey.

I took all I could carry.

This will get you into the U.S.

The High Commission for Refugees
will help you get a visa.

I don't know.

I can go to Kurdish part of Turkey.

I have some friends there.

No, you'll be safer in New York.

We'll get you to The U.S.

then we de-encrypt the list together.

Go, you cannot be seen with me.

Whatever happens...

Just promise me you'll let me know.

Whatever happens, happens.

Right?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Would you please come to my office?

Immediately.

Did you really expect me
to fall for these...

These, I don't even know
what to call them.

Garbage.

What was the plan?

Trick me into releasing them?

And then force me out when the
evidence comes that it's false?

I'm at a loss to even know
what you're talking about.

Madame, I was sent some
documents and Hassam

wanted to show them to you, that's it.

You are finished in the UN,
do you hear me?

Your career is over!

What would you have him do?

He got some photos...

Shame on you.

Shame on both of you!

The report is finished.

It tells the truth about
the failure of Oil For Food.

The files are digital,
watermarked, time, date

and I have secure copies so
you can't change anything

when it goes to New York.

The battle is over,
Costa, and you have lost.

The Security Council
will make their decision

based on the facts.

She's not budging.

Well, fuck.

Nothing more for you to do there, kid.

Take the next UN flight and come home.

Don't worry about it.

Excuse me sir, can I see your passport?

Uh, yeah sure.

Mr. Sullivan?

I'm gonna need you to come with us.

Michael, how're you doing?

I have nothing for you.

No, that's okay,
I got something for you.

Christina Dupre is dead.

They found her a few
hours ago alone at home.

Heart attack.

At least that's what they're saying.

Wait, w-what do you mean,
"That's what they're saying?"

What do you think happened, Mike?

I-I-I don't... I have no idea.

How would I...?

Your boss, what does he think?

If you have questions for Pasha,

you should just ask him yourself.

Did he ever mention anything about a list?

No. Why?

Michael, is there anything
you wanna tell me right now?

No.

Thanks.

Hello?

You're home.

Yeah, yeah I just got in.

Did you hear about Madame?

Yeah.

Terrible.

Terrible.

We had our disagreements, but...

This just breaks my heart.

And, uh...

And the report?

Hassan assures me
that he doesn't share

Madame's determination
to blow up the program.

He'll sign off...

...as her successor, on whatever
we need to get re-funded.

Madame was wrong.

Being fucking dead doesn't change that.

You've got two days to clean this up.

What-what do you mean I've
got two days to clean this up?

I've been thinking I might need you

to present the oral summary.

Wait.

You want me to present the report?

To the whole fucking Security Council.

Isn't that breach of protocol, Pasha?

I can do what I like.

Besides, they should be
hearing from somebody close

to the ground, and whom
else can I trust to do it?

Okay, yeah.

Hm.

Are you kidding me?

This is such a big deal.

For somebody at your pay grade to stand

before The Security Council?

Yeah, no I know,
it's a great opportunity.

What?

Where did you get this?

A friend in Baghdad.

Uh no, I mean I can't crack this.

Do you know anyone who can?

Do you even know what's on the drive?

Uh, no.

Do you know anyone who can crack it?

I'll give it a try.

Do you mind if I hold onto this?

Yeah, keep it.

Hi, yeah I was given this as a
possible contact number for her.

Yeah, exactly, Michael Sullivan.

No, I understand, yeah.

Just the number I gave you,
if you could make sure you

or one of your colleagues gets, uh,

gets back to me if you
hear anything at all.

Madame Dupre's death

hung over Oil For Food like a cloud.

But Pasha had a clear
path to what he wanted.

I focused on writing the report.

I didn't want anyone to
doubt that I deserved

to be in that room.

I couldn't help thinking about my father.

Whether he had stood before
the council like I would.

Whether he would think that
what I was doing was right.

You okay?

I'm okay now.

They have 100 percent fucking
certainty WMD's in Iraq,

and zero percent
certainty where they are?

Let me call you back.

Finished.

Pending your review
and Hassan's sign-off.

That's my boy.

Good work.

I got a call from oversight
about your UNLP request

for our sexy little translator.

They asked me to look into it.

I believe she's in New York now.

Right.

She's Kurdish.

She needs asylum.

The D-4 were after her.

They killed two of her countrymen.

Kurds don't have a country.

She makes friends like you everywhere.

Oldest trick in the book.

The honeypot...

CIA calls it the "dangle" now.

Seduce the mark, tell him fairy tales.

It's not the Russians, notice:
CIA, MI5, Interpol...

Girl has a big following.

Pashmerga sent her to school in
England, got her phony papers

and a job at The Baghdad UN.

What did she want you to do?

Nothing.

I bet she's highly
skilled in the soft arts.

What you did is stupid and illegal.

I'll make it go away.

But in future, if you're
gonna do these things,

you've got to come to me first.

Who gave you this?

It doesn't matter.

You've been using me.

No.

Yes.

You said you wanted to help.

Our meeting wasn't like that, I really...

Fucking bullshit, Nashim.

I know how this works.

Do you?

Yeah.

Yes, okay, I am guilty
of taking a job in Baghdad

and trying to find a way
to help my people get free

of a dictator who wants
to exterminate us.

And yes, I talked with men
who might be of help,

but I didn't sleep with
any of them, okay?

I didn't have to.

Nashim, you have asked me
to risk my life for a list that

I don't even know where
the fuck it came from.

This is...

I'm sorry, but this is who I am.

Do you want me to leave?

Hi.

Hey.

Came to
wish you luck.

Hey, man.

Knock 'em dead.

Thank you.

Michael.

Ready?

Yeah.

You'll do great.

Relax.

Thanks.

In an unusual move at todays United Nations

Oil For Food vote

Under-secretary General Costa
Passaris yielded his chair

to his Executive Assistant,
Michael Sullivan

to present the report on
the status of the program.

The uh, Oil For Food program
continues to achieve

it's core mission of providing
humanitarian relief.

The request for
continued funding comes in the

wake of the sudden death of
Baghdad field director,

Christina Dupre who was a
vocal critic of the program.

And against the backdrop
of intensified efforts

to find Saddam Hussein's suspected caches

of weapons of mass destruction.

Continuing resolution 986, the
council has voted unanimously

to extend funding for another 180 days.

Michael Sullivan addressed the press after

The Security Council vote.

I don't understand why he
would want to invite me.

I know.

Me neither.

Let's get a drink, okay?

Here you are.

My protégé.

Michael Sullivan.

Timur Rasnetsov.

Costa insists you are
the hero of Oil For Food.

And here is Nashim.

Lovely.

Welcome to the USA.

Thank you.

Where is your drink?

I think we even have
some Arak tucked away.

So how have you been?

Fine, thank you.

Great.

Well, enjoy your evening.

You must be the young diplomat,
Michael Sullivan

my husband is always talking about.

Nice to meet you, pleasure.

I'm Melina, Pasha's wife.

Ah, of course, yes, yes.

Pasha gushes about you, and
Pasha doesn't gush about anyone.

Well he certainly taught me a lot.

It can never work.

Is that a proud papa over
protecting his surrogate son?

Don't patronize me.

Is it so unthinkable that I
could be in love with him?

You are what you are.

You cannot fool me.

You gave him the file on me.

Listen.

If you do anything to
compromise the kid or hurt him,

I will have you deported
so fast your hijab will spin.

You know what, I have to um, I have to go.

My apologies,
I have to deal with something.

How-how long have you known that guy for?

He came with a delegation, we just met.

Why?

He was the one that tried to
bribe me in my hotel in Baghdad.

Huh.

Apparently he's very well connected.

Could be useful.

I gotta go.

What the fuck was that
man doing at the party?

I don't know.

What did Pasha want?

He threatened me.

Your boss threatened me.

Hello?

Michael, my guy came through.

You better come see this.

Uh, you're not gonna believe this.

Um, Saddam has been selling oil
vouchers at a discount

to people who turn around,
resell the vouchers

at the going oil peak rate
for a huge profit.

Saddam gets a kickback,
a share of the difference

between his discount and the going rate.

How much did he make?

Could be over a billion dollars.

Jesus Christ.

Do we know if these are real?

They look real.

And it looks like a system.

There's a list of all the major players...

politicians, businessmen, bankers,

we're talking highly-placed
people at the very heart

of most first world governments,

and they are taking millions
of dollars in bribes.

This is real.

Of course, it's real.

Well, to prove it you're
gonna need records

of the actual transactions.

You need to give this to Pasha.

This is a UN internal matter.

You do not want to be left
holding the bag on this.

Amongst the encrypted documents
I found this video codec.

How long does it run for?

71 minutes.

71 minutes is a strange time.

I started to scroll through it,

but it's all pretty much the same.

Zoom in.

Scroll back.

I knew it.

I fuckin' knew it.

I knew...

I knew that he was involved.

We need to make the list public.

We can't do that.

They'll just deny it.

And then all we do is destroy The UN.

We need to find someone
to start asking questions.

The media, your congress.

The truth will come out.

Look, all these powerful
interests at play...

they will decide what the truth is.

Pasha will be the sacrificial
lamb and my career is over.

You're not part of this.

Of course I'm fucking part of this.

I just gave a speech about
the integrity of Oil For Food.

What are you saying?

Do nothing?

I don't know what I'm saying.

What's going on?

Michael! Stop it!

Michael!

Hey man, you okay?

Yeah, yeah.

You need me to call 911?

Where is she?

I don't know.

Call your friend,

tell him I will trade
what he wants for Nashim.

He's not my friend.

Pasha, I have a video of you
taking a fucking bribe from him.

You gonna come inside kid, or
do we have to do this out here?

We're gonna do this out here.

I take a cut, sure.

Why not?

Everyone else has.

I put my whole career
on the line for this mission,

every fucking day.

Come inside kid, it's cold.

Rasnetsov is a fixer.

He's a very dangerous man.

Nothing in Iraq runs, nothing without him.

And who runs him?

Highest bidder.

Moscow, Beijing, Saddam,
Hedge funds, mafia, greed.

Rasnetsov is the bridge
between politics and reality.

And whose side are you on, Pasha?

Ah, I thought I heard you come in.

Sit down Michael, please.

I'll make the call.

Coffee?

Uh, yeah, thanks.

Did you enjoy the party last night?

Yeah we had a great time, thank you.

You left so early.

I wondered.

Uh, yeah, my friend, uh...

she wasn't feeling too well.

It's flu season.

Yeah.

Well, I'll leave you to it.

They've handed her over to immigration.

Okay, well she has papers.

I think you'll find they're missing.

She's become an irritation.

If she gets deported to Iraq

they will execute her for treason.

They'll send her back to Baghdad
where I still have some sway...

No, you call him back and tell him

I'm not gonna give up the list
until Nashim is set free.

That's not how it works.

You need to trust me.

I did trust you, Pasha.

I trusted you and you
fucked me at every turn.

Look where we are.

Committing crimes and taking bribes.

The crime would have been to do nothing.

To watch innocents suffer and die.

What about Dupre?

What about Abhek?

What was the justification for that?

We didn't make the storm.

And we can't control the storm.

All we can do is plot
our course, set our sails,

and try to do our best.

As we did, and we do.

Best for who, Pasha?

Best for you.

Not best for Nashim.

Not best for her people.

Ah, look, maybe you love this spy, fuck.

Who am I to argue with the heart?

Don't let her get you killed.

We can help her people,
but we have to do it our way.

Bush's Coalition of The Willing
is going to Invade Iraq

in a matter of days now.

Consensus is changing, and the
new truth is Saddam is history,

and Oil For Food can be
successful framework

for rebuilding of a new free Iraq

in which The United Nations,

not the carpetbaggers
and craven governments

who created this nightmare...

The UN can take the lead fucking role.

You and me, kid.

We can save the world and save your girl.

Trust me.

My fellow citizens, at this hour
American in Coalition forces

are in the early stages
of military operations

to disarm Iraq, to free it's people

and to defend the world from grave danger.

Over the next 24 to 48
hours perhaps as many as 3000.

3000 tomahawk cruise missiles,

satellite guided precision bombs,

laser guided bombs would
be dropped on various targets.

Not only in Baghdad...

among Baghdad, but elsewhere around the...

Six weeks after the
invasion I was back in Baghdad

to work on Pasha's
plan to put The UN in charge of

rebuilding the new Iraq.

The sanctions were lifted.

The free market would power the country.

Free elections would give
every citizen a voice,

and oil would pay the bills.

Pasha still had strong connections.

And he kept his promise to me.

Nashim Husseini.

It's nice when we're together.

Blank pages.

I missed you.

I have something for you.

A new passport and a visa so here.

You can stay as long as you want.

And what about the list?

I gave it to Pasha.

You traded the list for me?

Yeah.

Why?

I didn't exactly have a choice.

I made a judgment call, okay?

And what do you think is
going to happen with Pasha now?

Pasha can still do a
lot of good in The UN.

You are dreaming.

I'm not dreaming.

I'm not dreaming, I'm not, okay?

Consensus has changed,
and with Saddam gone

we can actually do a lot of good.

Finally...

Just by thinking you
can work with the criminals

to take what you want you are lost.

Well, it wasn't exactly a
fight we were gonna win, was it?

I put all my fucking life on this.

Who are you to decide that for me?

You said it yourself.

It's very, very fucking complicated.

No, not this part.

This part is very simple.

I don't wanna be a part of this.

I can't.

Nashim, Nashim, wait, wait, wait.

Nashim!

I'm told you aren't answering your phone.

What the fuck?

Yeah, I've been busy.

Yeah.

I heard.

Your Kurd took a walk.

Relationships are a train wreck.

Come on, kid.

You wanted a career in diplomacy.

Well, you're missing your golden moment.

See you at the office.

Pasha I have those medical
contracts for you to...

I was on my way out.

Pasha.

Abiento.

It's good to see you again, Michael.

You think I like it?

He's got the world in his pocket, kid.

All the major fucking
players in the reconstruction.

I don't understand.

When did he get back into this?

He never left, he just
moved into the shadows,

as the stakes got higher.

There's no one else.

We've been through this, Michael.

I'm not gonna fucking deal with him.

What?

This is how it works.

The optimism of liberation was short lived.

It turned out nobody had made plans for

what to do after Saddam was gone.

The Americans had purged everyone

who had been loyal to the regime,

which meant there wasn't anybody left

who knew how to run the country.

Renetsov and all the other
fixtures like him filled

that vacuum of power, and out
to control the game again.

Iraq spiraled into
anarchy, chaos, and terror.

All those countries that had been

scamming Oil For Food before the war,

well, they got ready to carve Iraq up.

Like it was one big pie.

And me?

I was going through the motions.

I'd lost my faith in it.

Hello?

It's Nashim.

Hey.

You okay?

I need to see you.

Can you come downstairs?

Sure.

Michael, good to see you.

Yeah.

I got someone you gotta meet.

We need your help, Michael.

Michael Sullivan, Mr. Shaswar Rauf.

Yeah, we met before.

He will play a central role in a New Iraq.

You ever heard of a guy named Resnetsov?

Yeah.

Yeah? You ever met him?

A few times, uh, before the invasion.

How 'bout after?

No I didn't.

Well now him and his criminal
gang from Oil For Food are back,

and they're creating a mess in Iraq.

Yeah.

You know there was a list
of, uh, individuals and

organizations that were helping
Saddam fleece Oil For Food.

You guys know about that, don't you?

Yeah, but there was no way
to prove what was on it.

No, proof was in the Iraq Oil Ministry.

Official files that were
taken by the US troops

after the government fell.

Proof that is probably still in
the basement of the UN

somewhere if anyone cared to look.

Look, forget about the list.

We don't want the list anymore.

You don't want the list.

Too many powerful people.

Too political.

It's a coalition of the fucking greedy.

No one gives a shit about Iraq.

Everyone just wants the money
and the crude.

Yeah, and that's why
we need to stop Resnetsov.

And Pasha can give him to us.

Michael we have strong Intel
that your boss is involved.

Pasha's never gonna help you.

Well maybe he just needs a little push.

And we're hoping that
maybe you can convince him.

You think I can convince Pasha?

Pasha's never gonna do it,
he's never gonna listen to you.

We can protect the UN
from any unpleasant blow-back.

Diplomacy.

What?

Diplomacy.

Something Pasha said to me once.

So now you're the one
working with the criminals.

It's not the same.

Why isn't it the same?

We have the momentum now.

The Kurds are going to be an
important part of making...

Kurds have been fighting the same war

for pretty much 7000 years.

You really think this is
gonna change anything?

Who can say?

But for sure it's not up to
you to decide that for us.

Come with me.

I can't.

Neonatal medicine.

Yeah, they're new vendors.

French Canadians.

They want exclusive rights

to the whole of The Northern Region.

That's fairly greedy,
especially for the Canadian's.

Well I can...

They'll need to be willing to pay

a hundred grand to make it happen.

You, um, do the legwork

with the Kurds and the
Provisional Authority,

I'll handle the rat, we split fifty-fifty.

Fifty thousand dollar pay off?

No, shekels.

Christ, of course dollars.

What the fuck?

Thank you.

Pleasure to see you again, sir.

And so much more favorable circumstances.

Yes?

Ah, you must be one of the Canadians.

Uh, Cutter, sir.

No.

Ah, American.

I wasn't, um...

you didn't tell me the
Provisional Authorities

would be sending someone
for such a routine agreement.

They didn't.

We're not exactly here
about medicine, Mr. Passaris.

They'll need to be willing
to pay a hundred grand

to make it happen.

You, um, do the legwork with the Kurds

and the Provisional Authority,
I'll handle the rat,

we'll split fifty-fifty.

Oh, kid.

Fifty thousand dollar pay off?

No, shekels.

Christ, of course dollars.

What the fuck?

It's like a surprise party
without the cake.

What do you want?

Give us Timur Rasnetsov,
and resign your job.

Or we'll have to drag you
and the United Nations

through a scandal of historic proportion.

This happens with or without you,
with or without me.

Rasnetsov is protected by
multinational companies

who have governments who protect them...

same people who just
brought Saddam to his knees

and put you here...

holding court, judging me.

You think your place at the
table now was not bought

and paid for?

We paid with our lives.

If that's what you mean.

What you call corruption is
simply the growing pains

of a new democracy.

And you are indeed fools

if you think you can put
the brakes on it now.

Let's let the politicians worry about that.

We will settle for the rat.

You want me to commit suicide.

We can protect you.

You know that's not true.

Well, just set up a meeting.

Give him the envelope
for the Canadian deal.

We'll catch him red-handed.

What the hell?

Not bad, kid.

Well played.

He's late.

Yes?

Fucking country.

Is it okay if I join you?

I'll be stepping down, going home.

I've lost my taste for it.

I wanted you to hear it from me.

I've recommended you
for a position in UNESCO.

Special Assistant.

You'll be the youngest
one in the whole UN.

Did you know?

Oh kid.

How can even you think that?

These fucking lunatics, they're
killing each other every day.

That's the truth of it.

That's your truth, Pasha.

And I'm not part of it anymore.

Don't.

Don't do anything dumb.

You can't fight the storm.

I realized everybody
knew about the corruption.

They just didn't want it exposed.

Every permanent member
of The Security Council

had something to lose, someone on the list

who could embarrass them.

It would all be covered up.

But the UN couldn't survive these lies.

I had to do something.

Risk something to make a change.

If I tried to list

his accomplishments
we would be here into tomorrow,

but in his forty years
of service to the cause

of world peace and our
humanitarian mission,

the crowning achievement would have to be

his successful implementation and operation

of Oil For Food.

Hi. I'm Trevor Owen from Oversight.

I spoke to John earlier.

Saddam's Palace Files.

Right, yeah.

Which boxes?

All of them.

They're sealed to the public,
but as you're from oversight,

and as long as you don't take
anything with you...

...go crazy.

Thank you.

Mr. Passaris.

Job well done.

Thank you.

Where's Michael?

He's cleared his desk, sir.

I think I found it.

You know what we're gonna have to do?

Fuckin' family.

My name is Michael Sullivan,

and I have a story I think
you're gonna wanna hear.

These are the raw numbers for
how much money was involved,

and that is billions, not millions.

Jesus.

And this is a list of everyone
who received vouchers there,

bribes and kickbacks.

You can corroborate the names
with the deposit records

right here with the list
of contracts on file.

This is massive, Jesse.

You realize the minute this breaks

you'll have a lot of enemies.

Yeah, I know.

We, uh, we could protect you,

cite you as a confidential source.

No, anonymity is part of the problem.

If nobody takes
responsibility for the truth

then we are leaving it up to consensus

I have to own it.

We begin this evening
with the United Nations,

the Oil For Food controversy, and scandal.

And the call on the part of
the United States senator

for the resignation of Kofi Annan.

Obviously these are serious allegations,

which we take seriously.

The UN secretary general
today ordered an investigation

of Costa Passaris.

The former undersecretary
who a whistleblower claims

was behind the Oil For Food
scandal that has rocked

the United Nations,
and implicated a long list

of prominent businessmen,
and political figures

across the world.

Incompetent and corrupt.

Weaknesses in the Oil For Food
program raises

serious questions about the United Nations'

ability to enforce sanctions and administer

a humanitarian aid program in the future.

The documents The Telegraph
have come up with

were reportedly found
in Iraq's foreign Ministry

in the anarchic
days after the US lead invasion.

The Wall Street Journal
reports having documentation

of kickbacks and bribes in the form

of oil vouchers worth billions of dollars.

But according to federal authorities,

Passaris himself has fled the country.

I'm with The Wall Street Journal.

We're doing a follow up on
the Oil For Food scandal.

I've come to get your side of the story.

I don't have a side.

And it's the kid's fucking story.

I'm not running away, okay?

Make sure you write that.

Not hiding from anybody.

And yet here you are in
a place without extradition.

It was difficult.

Write that.

Complicated.

Messy with Saddam's ugly nonsense

and the usual first world duplicity,

but we did more good than bad.

I don't care what anybody fucking says.

And the kid did great.

The choice as I see it
is between cynicism and candor.

You know if everyone cared so
much about Iraq as they said,

then this story would have been celebrated

as a conspiracy of saints.

But the truth...

the truth isn't about
the lies we told each other.

It's about the lies we told ourselves.

More than two thousand companies

from fifty-six different
countries took bribes

or paid kickbacks to Saddam Hussein.

Over twenty billion dollars got diverted

from the Oil For Food Program.

Implicated were some of the most

prestigious corporations in the world.

One hundred and seventy two
organizations and individuals

highly placed in their
governments received bribes.

My name is Michael Sullivan.

My father was a diplomat.

I tried to follow in his footsteps.