Lions for Lambs (2007) - full transcript

Roadside bombs have claimed the lives

of eight US soldiers today in Iraq.

Four troops were killed when an
explosion struck their vehicle

during combat north of Baghdad,

while an airman was killed by
another roadside bomb in Tikrit.

Two US soldiers were
killed and three wounded

when their unit was struck
by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

The death of an eighth soldier
from a non-battle-related cause

is under investigation.
At least 3,555 members of the US military

have died since the Iraq War
started back in 2003.

One more, that's it.
Thank you very much.



Thank you for coming in.

Thank you, sir.
Have a good meeting, sir.

Senator? Absolutely.

He's ready for you now,
Ms. Roth.

Sorry?

The Senator.
Oh!

Okay.

Hi.

Good morning, Janine.

Only good thing about morning
is it ends at noon.

Please, sit down.

Would you like some
coffee, tea, water?

No, thanks.

It's terrific to see you.
Thank you.



Thanks for coming in.

Senator? Marcia, could
I have coffee, please?

I read the story you did on the rise

of image consultants in politics.

You did?

I thought it was
a good story, actually.

It was a different angle.

Thank you.

Are we waiting for
your PR pit bull, or...

No. Just you and me.
Oh.

No one to intercept
your trick questions.

One-on-one time. Wow.

You were the first to call me
the future of my party,

and this is me returning the favor.

Well, it wasn't a favor.

It was just how I
saw it eight years ago.

Well, nonetheless, grateful.

And considering
the state of your party,

how do you know
the tag isn't pejorative?

'Cause I got 77% of the vote.
Oh, yeah.

How could I forget?
Yes.

You're aware that I'm doing
this time line about this...

Yeah, you're doing a detailed
time line on the War on Terror,

and I bet, if it's like every other time
line that's come out this past year,

It'll be the opening salvo of a much
larger retrospective of mistakes made.

Or it could just be
a simple list of facts.

From which you all
will pick and choose.

You don't trust us.
I trust you.

And that's why we're here.

To discuss what, exactly?

To see if you'd like to write
an honest-to-God story again,

instead of reminding
the few paying attention

that we've been fighting
a tough war for six years.

Who gets the Peabody for that?

What's the story?

It's about a new plan going
into motion in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan? A new plan?

A new plan that will win both the war

and, as cliché as this might sound,

the hearts and minds of the people.

What's the plan?

Obviously, I won't be at liberty
to tell you everything.

National security, of course.

But enough so that
you might write a story

about what we're doing
in Afghanistan now.

Not six years ago, but now,

and how those efforts can
culminate into actual victory.

Uh-huh.

What is this?
This?

This meeting.

This is my honest effort to
keep the press better informed.

And to change the subject
from the past to the future.

Acknowledge mistakes and talk
openly about ways of fixing them,

step by step.

How much time do we have together?

I have till 11:00.

The whole hour? Wow.

You all must be panicked.

Oh, no, no, no.
We're determined.

Listen up.

Hooah!

Lieutenant Finch,
you and your boys good?

Roger that, sir.
How's that knee?

Ready for that 15-mile hike.

Glad to hear it. Rodriguez?
All up, sir.

All right, good. I want you to take
notes, I want you to ask questions.

Good news first.
Al Qaeda and the Taliban

have been whittled down
to small wolf packs,

so do not believe everything
you read in the papers.

We've successfully pounded the
enemy into something much smaller

and more impotent than
when we first got here.

That's good. The bad news.

We have yet to step on their throats.

We've yet to close.
The longer we don't, the harder it gets.

Remember your von Clausewitz,

"Never engage the same enemy
for too long, or he will..."

Adapt to your tactics, sir.

He will adapt to your tactics.
That is correct.

Case in point, INTSUM is reporting

that Al Qaeda in
the Badakhshan province

is attempting to open up a new front.

Locals up there can't
handle the fight, sir?

See, that's really the whole problem.

There's nobody up there strong
enough to fight this enemy,

and Karzai sure as shit ain't gonna
let any of these guys go home now.

Sir, why is the enemy doing this now?

What is clearly happening is that the
enemy is bent on establishing themselves

as a legitimate fighting
force for the people again.

Sir, these guys don't grow on trees.
So where they coming from?

They're going door to door.
They're asking families to give up their sons.

If they don't give up
their sons, their sons

are executed in front of the families.

That's number one.
N umber two is Iraq.

Qaeda and the Tali are starting to
funnel battle-tested fighters...

Funnel through where, though, sir?

Well, that I can't tell you.
I ain't gonna answer that question.

'Cause you already know too much.

So, Jihadi and Wahhabi terrorists

are moving through
Shiite territory, sir?

Suffice it to say,
the enemy is getting stronger

and the enemy is getting uglier.

It is time for us to get back
into their fucking kitchen.

We are gonna put our
foot on their throats.

You are going to air assault
into the Badakhshan province.

You will set up an operating
camp here at Pamela Left,

a forward operating point.

An 8,000-foot peak offering 360
degree views of the valley below.

The enemy is gonna want it
just as badly as we do,

so we've been
ordered to take it first,

before the snow thaws.

If you'll check your maps, you'll
see there's a suitable LZ.

You all got that?

Roger that, sir.
Hooah.

You will set up camp,
you will set up comms,

you will set up sat links.

You will patiently wait, and if
fortunate enough to engage the enemy,

you will introduce them to the
full measure of American Mean.

- Are we clear?
- Hooah.

Dress warm.

We're being pushed awfully
fast here, aren't we, sir?

Yep?

- Morning.
- Morning.

- You want it closed? Or...
- What's your guess, Todd?

You want it closed? Or...

What's your guess, Todd?

You know this is unethical,
making me bring you some coffee.

No more than making me
look at that shirt.

Doc.

This here's a genuine Reyn Spooner.

This is $89. 99.
Or was it $69.00...

Yeah? Well, well,
I take it all back, then.

Yeah, please.

So why'd I ask you to come
in this early with a gift?

Well, you know, my sporadic absences.

Kind of sounds like
the title of a book

about your semester
so far, doesn't it?

That's good, yeah.

Yeah, I don't know, Doc.
I just...

I have never, ever
been this busy in my life.

What with?

Wow, just like all my other classes...

This is your major.

And there's also a young lady, too.

Yeah?
Uh-huh.

Is this the one that you jockey to sit
next to when you do come to my class?

No.

What else is keeping you busy?

President of my fraternity.

Hey. Well, hail to the chief. Uh-huh.

Come on, now.
You were in a house. Right?

Yeah. Gotta remember
how busy it can get.

Oh, yeah.
With the four-day weekends

and the 30-minute
study sessions.

Yeah, no.
That's not what I mean.

Well, you asked me what I remembered.

All right. So, what?
You don't think that school

should be as social as it is academic,

kinda like getting two educations?

Well, I think if you can't balance
the two, you shouldn't be here.

I also think that most of the
kids that argue that one out loud

are the guys with
the 2.4s trying to justify

30 grand a year for all those C's.

Okay, my friend.

You've aced a lot of the
exams you've shown up for,

but you've only been to eight
classes this semester.

Now, that'd be a hall of fame run,

if we only met once a week.

So, attendance is part of
my grade all of a sudden?

Hey, Todd?

Would you take a solid B for
the rest of this semester?

No plus, no minus, just a
straight blue-collar B?

I'll get that to you.
Right here. Right now.

It's no bullshit.

A B for what?

For not coming to another class.

For not writing or reading
one word I assign to you.

For not signing up for any more of my
classes for the rest of your time here.

A B for nothing, huh?

You nod yes, and this meeting's over.

Half the fucking class
would kill for that deal.

But I'm not meeting with any of them.

Think I know what you're doing.

There's another deal. Two parts.
Both non-negotiable.

First part,

you show up every day,

every class, from here on out.

And second, you sit there
and you let me tell you

about the last two kids
I had that gave me hope.

Maybe that'll explain why I
called you in this morning.

And Tango, what are you guys doing?

We're just fluttering.
Base turn to follow.

And ground...

- Hey, Texas.
- Here, 203, bro.

Yeah, I gotcha.

Hey, check this out!

You got the reaction time of a fetus.

Whoa, whoa! There we go.

Friendly skies, baby.

How can you be more afraid
of clouds than bullets?

'Cause I'd rather take
a bullet than a fall.

You think you fast?

This is a very high-minded goal you've
set for yourselves in Afghanistan.

Yes,
it is a high-minded goal.

But this goal for the future of
Afghanistan is just a lot of hot air,

unless we solve
the military problem first.

Our Special Forces soldiers are
going to take the high ground

in key positions throughout
Afghanistan before the snow thaws,

allowing the enemy mobility.

And the military part
has to come first, why?

Because only after
we've eradicated the enemy

can we then get down to
the true nuts-and-bolts work

of keeping this new
democracy breathing.

So it's basically kill
people to help people?

No.
No, that's not what I said.

I said "the enemy."

Don't take that out of context.

Sorry, I was just trying to...

Yeah, I know what you're trying...

boil it down. So, in 2002, I
remember you said something like,

"The Taliban's back
is forever broken."

And then big applause.

"Mission accomplished."
Right.

Writ small.

Mistake.
Mistake?

Because we now know the enemy with
broken backs can still crawl.

And we also know
that the enemy learned

their lesson from
that first back-breaking.

So, you're taking for granted there's
gonna be a second back-breaking?

Would we be having
this meeting if I didn't?

Is this how the rest of
the hour's gonna go, Janine?

I'm just asking questions.

Senator, can you just
give me one example

of the enemy having learned a lesson?

They've woken up to the fact that
we're fighting on two fronts.

Uh-huh?

And history does tend to punish
that kind of hubris, right?

So, we're launching this new strategy

using the military
as the opening punch.

Taking the high ground is key.

Whoever takes it owns
the ability to observe,

the prerogative to attack

and the opportunity to preside.

So... Preside?

It's why the Romans built forts.

You establish a constant presence,

or you'll have constant violence.

So, we're gonna be there
for good, like Romans?

I said constant, not permanent.

Oh.

We have to have the same patience

and determination as these insurgents,

or they'll simply outlast us.

And this security allows us to build
those schools and the clinics.

It's going to bring
clean water supply...

But where's NATO in all this?

Good question.
Where are they?

We can't wait for them to
decide when they might act,

so we put this new
strategy into motion now.

And why now?
Why not a year ago?

Two years, three years?

Two reasons.
First reason, the satellites

and drones are not nearly as
omniscient as they're marketed to be.

Anybody knows that.

You just Google "Predator"
or "Global Hawk"...

The second reason's ugly.
Ugly?

What is that,
code for "off the record"?

For the time being, yeah.

Okay.

Iran.

Iran?
What are they doing now?

Outside of building nuclear weapons,

talking to North Korea,

and telling Israel they don't know
what a real Holocaust looks like?

They're allowing Wahhabi insurgents

to hike from Iraq to Afghanistan using
the most direct route possible.

Across the countryside of Iran.

Is that confirmed?
By their denials.

Proof there truly
is a new axis of evil.

Wow.

1,300 years of murder
between the Sunnis and Shias

getting back-burnered now

so they can kill more
Americans in more places.

Hey, are we still off the record?

Because this really is...

This is a story.
That's negotiable.

You see what I'm saying?

These radicals are uniting against us.

Now, we need to remind the American
people who their enemies are.

Okay, you have proof that they are uniting
against us, or are you saying that

there may be some
potential at some point...

No, no, no. Don't, don't, don't
underestimate how frightening

a development this is.

Now, this is a significant threat

to the security of our nation,
and you can quote me on this.

Now that Iran has nuclear potential,

we simply cannot
allow this to escalate.

When you say nuclear, it just sounds

like the same kind of
fear-mongering that led up to...

Your position affords you
the luxury of that opinion.

Mine does not.

It is my responsibility.

It's part of my job description

to protect the American people.

Mmm-hmm.

And that is why we put this
new strategy into motion now.

So when does it start?

Ten minutes ago.

Heads up.

Sir, we're two minutes out.

Two minutes! Lock and load!

That's an old A.A.
Right there.

Anti-aircraft
gun on the ridge.

NODs!

It's all good, sir.
Drones took pictures last night.

It's an old, rusty 23-millimeter
with spiked barrels.

Good eye, though.

Rusted and spiked.

Inoperable.

Spiked? By who?

Point is, it can't shoot.

What?

An old A.A. Gun that can't shoot
could make for a nasty trap.

Sir, I see this kinda junk
from the air all the time.

That's why we call
this place "Trash-gani..."

Medic!

Man down! Man down!

What direction?
What direction?

We are taking fire!
Mayday! Mayday!

Give me your finger!
Give me your finger!

Turn towards it.
Turn towards it.

Turn in towards it!

Land!

Land, land!

Land!

What are their names again?

Ernest and Arian.

Wait.
Like "Master Race" Aryan?

Well, he spelled it with
an "I" instead of a "Y."

What's your point?

You looked up "irony," huh?
What?

You know? A guy named Arian,
he could only be

African American.

What difference does that make?

Stay focused on the American part.

All right.

So they played ball, huh?

It was the only way they
could afford to come here.

Scholarship athletes?

You wanna come up with two
guys more different than me?

What?

You know, professors aren't
teachers, they're salesmen.

Okay.
So what do you sell?

You, to you.

But, you know, you don't have
to do me any favors, Doc.

And why is that, Todd?

Why don't you have
to do me any favors?

Why don't you care anymore?

Well, how do you know I cared before?

Just because I showed up
to your class?

Yeah. You not only showed up,
you got involved.

You read everything I assigned.

You were hungry.
You leaned into those lectures.

You went for the jugular
in every debate.

Now my question to you is,
why not anymore?

I already answered you.
A lot of things.

Girls, fraternity, a social life...

Bullshit. Come on.
Hey, Todd, come on.

Go on.

Don't wanna hurt your feelings.

Hey, we got an hour.

Don't waste a second on worrying about my feelings.
I'm not worrying about yours.

Thanks. You should
write Hallmark cards.

Okay, go on.

Say it.
All right, all right.

Political science, Doc...

What's scientific about it,
outside of maybe the psychology

behind how much shit voters will
swallow before they notice?

Science part, it's really
only about how to win.

Not how to govern, not how
to make anybody any better,

just how to win.

No matter how stupid or two-faced or
criminal you gotta make yourself look.

Give me an example.

Okay, like
presidential candidates now.

They announce their candidacy by
standing in front of a large audience

and loudly saying they will not
run for president. You know?

Yeah, I do.
Yeah. What is that shit?

It's as old as time.

No, I don't think so.

'Cause you...
Okay, you had me when

we were studying the old philosophers.

Greeks?
I mean, Doc, you had me.

They were awesome.

But somewhere...

Somewhere you lost me.
I don't know.

Have you ever been to Greece? No.

No, of course not.
Otherwise you'd know,

their government makes ours look

like a streamlined
vision of the future.

Well, isn't that my point?

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle.

They can't fix things, what the
hell is Todd Hayes gonna do?

Bitch. Quit.

Hey, look, I'm gonna
pay my taxes. All right?

I'm gonna obey traffic lights.
I'm gonna give...

Gee. That's super.

I was thinking about something bigger.

Something bigger?
Bigger like what?

Like, like "be a congressman" bigger?

Well, that's bigger.
Oh, yeah. Super.

And then I get to be
one of those turds in DC,

and I do mean pure pieces
of shit, who make our laws?

I get to be a dough
boy who parts his hair

the same side as everyone else.

The guy who never says anything
even though he never stops talking.

Do I get to be the guy
who lectures you on morality

while a page jacks me
off under the table?

Yeah, please.

The guy who funnels away a million
that doesn't belong to him

and then bawls like an
evangelist when he gets caught.

And how many never get caught, Doc?

Hey, if that's something bigger than

being a good Joe with
a good job, fuck it.

Yeah, that's where you lost me.

You almost convinced me.

Almost convinced me.
What?

That you really know
what you're talking about.

You're great with words, Todd.

But you know what would make them even
better is that they had a heartbeat.

If they were rooted
in any kind of experience.

If you had knocked on doors,

licked envelopes, been
to a damn public rally.

Just put yourself on the line
in any meaningful way.

Licking envelopes.

That's putting myself
on the line, huh?

Infinitely more than just talking.

Ernie?

Brother!

Pamela Left is hot.
How hot?

Chinook took hits
from small arms, RPGs.

You talking to the pilots?
And they have dead and wounded on board.

And they didn't
land at their objective.

Where did they land?

Three kilometers south on the plateau.

Chopper's fucked for good.
Two men missing.

Missing? Lead with that,
who's missing?

Finch and Rodriguez.

Consensus on the chopper is that
they fell out over a small ridge

short of the planned LZ.

No guessing on whether
or not they survived.

Ernie?

Brother?

Arian? You fucking idiot.

How bad are you?

Bad!
Can you get to me?

I'm stuck. My leg's jammed.

Hang on!

I'll launch the rescue chopper.

Get them in the air but vector them
halfway between Pamela Left and us.

We are not gonna put them
in that same gauntlet.

Put them in a holding pattern
till we know what's going on.

Can we see anything?
You got a Predator up?

I don't know for how long.
Cold front's still coming.

G2 says it's packing big snow,
maybe 70-mile-an-hour winds.

It's fucked.

All right, I want to see as much
as I can for as long as I can.

What's the ETA on getting
a fast mover out there?

I got a Warthog that'll take 20,
25 minutes to get out there,

but the margin of safety...
Just scramble it, do it.

I would love to
talk to the motherfucker

that said this mountaintop was secure.

Afghan terrain demands
that small specialized teams

establish forward operating points.

I've heard of
"forward operating bases,"

but not "forward
operating points."

"Point" sounds
smaller than "base."

Because it is.

What? Just,
come on, say it.

Sorry, no. I just...

It also sounds like
Pentagonese for "bait."

Janine. It's not like we're
putting one or two guys

on the mountain here.
All right?

But small is how we fight now. Mmm-hmm.

Says the man in
the air-conditioned room.

This is a fight that we're in.

And, unfortunately, civilizations
do not sustain themselves

through non-violent responses.

What does that mean?

Are you going to now forgo diplomacy

and State Department treaties, too?

We were attacked.

You do not respond to
an attack with diplomacy.

Bin Laden's idea of diplomacy
is not filming the beheadings.

Saddam violated 16 U N resolutions
and the U N responded

by issuing 30-plus
sternly worded statements

condemning his behavior.
All the while France, China and Russia

continued to trade with
Saddam under the table.

And didn't we also
arm Saddam in the '80s?

But here we are now.
Yes, here we are now.

And don't you think
it might be critical

to examine how we got to this point?

How and why is not the issue now.

We have to move forward.

We're fighting a brand
of evil that thinks

the last 1,300 years of human progress

is heresy punishable by violent death.

Now, if that's something that you
don't feel should be wiped...

Me? I would like to see bin Laden

dead and gone as much as anybody,

but I just don't understand

how you can not want
to look at the past.

Not think it's critical.

What is critical, what is relevant,

is the implementation of a new
strategy that will win this war.

A war we cannot lose.

But we're not winning it.

Yet. This new
strategy can change that.

How about a strategy
to bring the troops home?

So leave?

That's not an option?

Okay, let's play this out.

We walk and Afghanistan
reverts back to the Taliban.

Only now the Taliban has
metastasized into something

infinitely more vicious and potent

because they're now
2-0 versus superpowers.

They butcher the people
who helped us, who voted,

who were stupid enough to put
their faith in our word.

So call it not only the end of hope

for tens of millions of Afghans but
the end of American credibility,

the end of America as a force
for righteousness in the world.

When did America become...

And when we're forced to go back

in a couple of years,
and please quote me on this,

we'll be squared off
against a shattered Iraq,

a hopeless Afghanistan,
and a nuclear Iran.

How many troops are
we gonna need then?

I guarantee
you'll be adding some zeros.

Wait. May I speak freely?

You're about to implement
another new strategy

regardless of the human cost

or the financial cost because
you predict that maybe...

We thought deeply about the human cost

when we were planning this strategy.

What were your estimates exactly?

What I can say is that this strategy

has patience and
determination at its core.

It ensures that it puts
our fighting men in spots

where they can face,
fight and kill the enemy,

so that we can then go about
rebuilding that country.

And if it takes ten years, that's how long we stay.
We do whatever it takes.

Whatever it takes.

Then why did it take three years
to up-armor our Humvees?

They're up-armored now,
at my constant urging.

Add-ons don't provide the same
protection, Senator. You know that.

And why does the President
insist on spending billions

on subs and fighter planes that are
completely useless in this kind of war?

What do you think I'm working on?

And why do we send 150,000 troops

to a country that did not attack us?

And one-tenth that number
to the one that did?

How many times are you people
going to ask the same question?

Till we get the answer.

Okay, here goes.

Iraq was almost a First World country.

"Was" is the operative tense.

We took it quick
because we had numbers.

Afghanistan was, is,
and always will be

the definition of rugged Third World.

Big numbers have bogged
down there since before

Alexander became "the Great."

We "took" Iraq?

How did I miss that?

Militarily, we did.

We made mistakes.
Colossal mistakes.

That should never be forgotten.

But six years ago,

who could have known what
to do or when to do it

after watching our jets
fly into our buildings?

Do you remember how petrified we were

at what our enemies
might do for an encore?

And how, all at once,
everything was at risk.

Families, friends, and kindergartens,

rivers and bridges, nuclear plants.

Do you remember how terror
colored that next morning

in shades we'd never seen before?

Mmm-hmm.

And tens of thousands have died
since because of that fear

and the mistakes it inspired.

But the question I'm left with,

the question that keeps me up at night

because I have to answer it,

is, "What do we do now?"

Shit.

First platoon?

Two roger bob, roger five.

My God.
They're moving in.

Yeah, we're leaving our radio on

and we're still waiting to
hear from the last two.

Do you have the temperature radar on?

They're alive.

Okay. Okay.

It's just snow blowing!

Watch my flank.

Get me the A-10 pilot.
I want a goddamn ETA.

They just said 18 minutes.

That was seven minutes ago,
I wanna talk to the pilot now.

Sir, the rescue bird is in its holding
pattern waiting for your word.

All right. So, what? Ernest
and Arian, they volunteered?

Is that a question or an accusation?

All right, it's just a question.

Yes, they volunteered.

They're like adrenaline types, like,

they like it extreme.
Those kind of guys?

No, no.

Ernie and Arian
aren't adrenaline types.

What I was talking about was fearless.

Being terrified but willing
yourself to the next step.

It's courage, right?

But of the real kind.

What are you afraid of, Todd?

Most everybody's afraid of
not getting a job

or moving in with their parents

or student loan payments looming.

Yeah, that all scares me, too, Doc.

Or the voice in your head that keeps

asking really awful questions,

like, "Should I be
doing more with my gifts?"

"Am I making the most out of
my time here on this planet?"

Think everybody asks themselves
those kinda questions.

A lot of us are afraid of the answers.

Do you remember the second or third
lecture you ever had with me?

And I called you out of the blue?

You sat way over to the side
where most of you guys sit

when you don't wanna
be called on to talk?

You know, close enough
to have commitment,

but just far enough away where I
can't see you to call on you.

It's called embarrassment.

You asked me what I thought
about the reading,

and I just said,
"I didn't do the reading."

But on reflex, no excuses,
no bullshit, honest.

I was just terrified.

But you willed
yourself to the next step.

And do you remember the
subject we were discussing?

What that reading was all about?

I try to block embarrassing
moments out, don't you?

It was about that clinic
they were opening up on Adams.

They were passing out clean,
free needles to addicts.

Mmm-hmm.

And a class of 80 people thought
that that was a pretty good idea.

They thought, yeah, stop spreading of
disease and maybe cut crime a bit,

and you said...

Look, if we're gonna spend
tax dollars, our tax dollars,

to help people break
the law in a safer way,

why don't we have a
designated drunk-driver lane

on the highway, too?

What?
What?

It's a much bigger problem
than IV drug use.

And it's the exact same logic.
You're talking economics.

Yeah, I'm talking economics, and
I'm also talking about safety.

No, no.

Wait a minute.
You just admitted

you didn't even read the assignment.

I know, I didn't. But I can still think.
I've still got a brain.

He's right.
He's right?

No, no.

Yeah, well, you know. I can kick a
hornet's nest with the best of them, Doc.

Yeah, but the kid who didn't read
the assignment and admitted it

becomes the center of one of
the most interesting debates

I've ever been a part of.

Where did that kid go?

So I take it to mean you think
that the number of troops

that we have in
Afghanistan now is enough.

I do. And a big part of why we're able

to do more with less in Afghanistan,

outside of the precise intel
that we have in the area,

is the superior nature
of our Special Forces.

I mean, these guys,
these guys are pros.

Mmm-hmm.

It really reminds
me of Abrams, in '68.

Abrams? Abrams.
H uh? Yeah. Remember?

Mmm-hmm.

How long ago was that?

Can't get the Vietcong
to engage in big fights,

so we'll send out smaller groups

so that they can't
resist ambushing us.

At least we'll be fighting.

Fifty-eight thousand
names say

that new strategy
didn't work out so well.

What is your problem with evolution?

With utterly capable platoons
of Special Forces soldiers

surgically ferreting out the enemy?

Again, platoons are small.

Again, small is the point.

Abrams.

What, do you TiVo the History Channel?

No.

'68 was my first year reporting.
It was my college newspaper.

Liberal rag?
Yeah.

I never lost my taste for it.

Lucky me.

1968.

Yeah, you were six.

But reading at
a sixth-grade level.

40 years in this racket.

You don't have to say
the duration out loud.

40 years means
you should have enough salt

to know that we're at a tipping point.

Now, the American people
need to understand

it is not only our choice to stop these
insurgents, but our moral obligation.

We simply cannot allow their form
of evil and terror to spread.

And through precise military action,

we will take the essential first step.

First step?

But what have we been doing for
the past six years, Senator?

You know, World War I I
took less than five.

Roll over.
I gotta see your leg.

See if it's compounded.

Oh, God.

Don't black out.

Okay.

You need a tourniquet.

I'm one-handed.

Man.

Push through, brother.
Push through.

Shit.
Rescue's coming.

There's nothing debatable about it, Janine.
The job is not done.

But, Senator, the American people,

if they're going to accept
yet another new strategy,

I think, want more than just vague
admissions of past mistakes.

Can you tell me, in your own words,

exactly where you think we went wrong?

Worst intel in our history.

Decision-makers
who've never bled in a fight.

Bad PR.

Bad PR?

You guys had a heyday with Abu Ghraib.

That was quite the meal ticket.

Have you ever bled in a fight?

Intelligence. Six years.

But not the infantry, right?

You know this.

I graduated first in
my class at West Point.

I excelled at intelligence.

Are you asking me to apologize
for an achievement?

No, no, no.
I would never do that.

You know, here we are,
having a high-minded debate

about war and policy,
and it just occurred to me

that you're not gonna be able to
fit a real story in between those

"home of the free, land of the obese"

exposes and all your network's
entertainment coverage.

Well... Maybe if I keep
my fingers crossed

I might get
a seven-second mention

from that focus-group-created
anchor of yours with the big hair.

Forgive me, it's
Summer Hernandez-Kawalski?

Is that her real name?

Mmm-hmm.

What happened to you guys?

When did you all become a windsock?

A what?
Windsock.

Blows with the prevailing breeze.

When did you start confusing

majority opinion
with the right opinion?

Sort of like when we
supported going into Iraq?

Supported?

No, no, no.
You guys sold it.

Your network led every report
about the invasion of Iraq

with a digital
screen-sized flag,

the square-jawed
saluting Marine,

and the bald eagle
soaring to Aaron Copland.

That's because
we believed and you believed

that Iraq was a legitimate enemy,

and you asked us for the
benefit of the doubt...

They are a legitimate enemy.

Because we have troops in harm's
way, so we gave that to you.

Your network provided that
benefit without a blush.

We gave it to you.

We both... Janine?

We both put our fighting men at risk.

Now, I've admitted my mistakes.

When will you?

Call from Senator Skilken on line two.

Thank you. Ask him to
wait a second, please.

You know, in a sense,
we're on the same team.

We're teammates.
We both have a responsibility.

You've already sold the war.

Now I'm asking you
to help me sell the solution.

Excuse me, I have to take this call.

Could use the phone in here.

Do you think I want to let
you hear me beg for money?

Why are they waiting?

May be trying to take us alive.

Figuring out how.

Breathe!

Breathe.

Okay, Team One gets to set the bar.

And the topic they've pulled...

"What foreign relations theory
or concept can best be applied

"here at home
to greater effect?"

Dude, thank God it's not us.

Okay, Team One, you're up.
15 minutes, flame or fame.

That's good.

Man!
Hey.

Hey!
What?

You okay?
You ready to do this?

Yeah.
Breathe.

I'm breathing.
Breathe.

No, no, no, you gotta forgive my boy.

He's so desperate to get
my dumb ass a good grade

he's either gonna shit his
pants or swallow his tongue.

You know why they
cut affirmative action?

It was his G PA.

So what about you, Doc?

What about me?

Well, those who can't do, teach.

Seriously, is being a professor

doing the most with
what you were given?

Are these your gifts?

You got me.

You know, 30 years ago
I had a whole different idea

about what this job was gonna be.

I was gonna publish
theories that would

change the thousands that read them.

The university fathers were
gonna be so impressed with me

that they would
offer me season tickets

on the 50 just to make sure I stayed.

Jesus. That's some
elaborate daydreams there.

Yeah. Aren't they?

Yeah.

Papers I do get
published don't get read.

Students do come to me for advice,

but the school still spells my
name wrong on memos and mail.

So, what? You still here for the money?

The money?
God, no. No.

I'm still here, Todd,
because I'm a selfish man.

I'm selfish for the very rare times

when you really know you have
someone in one of your classes

that has rare gifts to go on and
do big things on a big scale.

I realize that my
gifts aren't my theories,

but my ability to recognize
great potential in others,

and maybe give them a little
shove when they need it.

You think I'm one of those people?

What do you think?

Ernest and Arian,

they were able to
show you they were rare?

Like, every day?

Just enough to erase doubt.

No, no. The only real difference
between you and them, Todd,

is that you're a naturally
gifted student. They weren't.

They had to work their asses off.

Didn't come easy for them, like you.

That, and they could also hit
90-mile-an-hour fastballs?

Hey, I'll trade them, Doc.

No, they'd trade you.

They went to these high schools

in the area around where they grew up.

Godforsaken places
that bear no resemblance

to the schools you or I went to.

Metal detectors on every door,
and teachers carrying Mace.

And these awful places
did them not one favor.

Saw the same thing
when I was in Vietnam.

What?

The first guys to sign up
to fight are the very ones

this country really
doesn't treat that well.

And here are Ernest and Arian,

growing up in these neighborhoods

where people butcher each other

for the most
simple-minded shit.

"You were raised in a neighborhood
two blocks south from

"where I was raised
instead of north." Bam!

"The rims on your car are
better than mine." Bam!

And what do they do after
they scrape themselves up

and get out of these
places in one piece?

They go out to fight
for the very country

that all but ignores
these neighborhoods

unless there's a riot
or a drive-by epidemic.

Then on the flip side,

you got kids that can take advantage

of every single gift this country has.

Just like me, right?

And usually they're the first
ones to take a big step back

when it comes time for volunteers.

Are you recruiting me?

Recruiting you?

You sold the army to Ernest and Arian

and now you're
trying to sell it to me.

Three guys in that
photo never came home.

One guy's in prison for life.

You wanna know what the
worst wound I ever got was?

Fifty-four stitches protesting
in Chicago after I came home.

I did just the opposite of
recruiting Ernest and Arian.

Did I like what they did?
No.

Did I agree with what they did?
No. In fact, it broke my heart.

But that doesn't mean I don't
revere the reasons they went.

They took action because they believed

the best way to change things in
this country was to go fight for it.

Engagement.

Engagement is
the foreign relations concept

that we would like
to apply here at home.

We're pretty good with it abroad.

Cur Secretary of State has traveled
more miles than any in history,

and we have more embassies than ever.

To your first point, isn't that just

because of easy access to jets?

And to the second, aren't there just

more countries now
to put embassies in?

We can choose not to fly those jets

and we can choose not to
recognize any new country,

but choosing to do so,
I guess, is engagement.

Again, we're pretty good with
engagement outside of our country,

even though we've
had some big failures.

Like?

Like 9/11 and Rwanda.

Somalia.

There's a communist country
90 miles outside of Miami.

And we just need a lot more than
15 minutes to talk about that.

Yeah, well, no country's perfect.

Every country should wanna be better.

Look, homeboy, if you cool with that,

we would like to use
the rest of the time

we have left to focus on engagement

and how we see it abroad and we
don't see the same on our streets.

Now, we totally turned away from
the biggest problems here at home,

even though the best way to
double the size of the problem

is just to turn your back on it.

Yeah, so who knew?
America needs to do more.

- We do.
- Why?

We do.

Like, do away with your
junior year of high school.

And there's three options instead
of just going to school.

You get a Peace Corps year abroad,

an AmeriCorps year here in one
of the 500 poorest zip codes,

or an ROTC-like apprenticeship
here or abroad,

but everybody picks one, and
nobody gets a note from Mom.

Man, come on.
Is this another joke?

No, man.
Was democracy a joke?

It's the truth.

Was civil rights a joke?

How about every junior then also
learns to march in formation,

and we invade our neighbors?

We would get lost on the way.

Oh, man.

Listen, 73% of all California freshmen

cannot name the country that
borders Minnesota. Can you?

77% of all US freshmen cannot name
both senators from their home state.

And 50% of all 8th graders can't write
or do math at 8th-grade levels.

And when 25% of
our workers didn't function,

we called it a Great Depression.

Now, what do we call 50% of
our students not functioning?

A Greater Depression?
And Canada borders Minnesota.

That's the smartest thing
you've said all day.

Yeah, but what about cost?

I think he means, "How ridiculous

"and infeasible
would they be?"

I mean, come on...

Not as ridiculous as the nine grand

we spend per student per year.

Nine grand times,
what, 3.8 million juniors?

That's 34 billion dollars, man.
34 billion dollars.

We spend two billion dollars more
now than we did five years back.

And for worse results.

Who wouldn't wanna be
part of an experience

where it's not about your race,

it's not about your wealth,
not even where you come from.

Common only because we're American.

I guarantee you that would
make us better for life.

And the shame is, we don't get
that type of level playing ground,

not in this country,
unless there's a draft.

So I'd have to stay in
school a year longer?

You've been here eight years, bro.

We could all...
With all the degrees

and all the money we're gonna make,

go hide in a big house
with high walls.

When hasn't a big house with high
walls been the American dream?

- Good point.
- Uh-huh.

July 5, 1776.

What about December 8, 1941?

September 12, 2001?

So you two don't
wanna go to Harvard Law

or Stanford Business
after you graduate here?

You don't wanna make money?

I say bullshit. I think it's totally
hypocritical for you to just

talk this giant game.

Let's do this.

All right.

What?

They gotta be kidding.

Whoa.

That's weird.

Are they kidding?

- No way.
- Is that serious?

Thank you.
Thank you.

Doc, what's going on with you?

Look like you getting
ulcers over there.

No. I've had the ulcers.

Question is whether
or not they're bleeding.

You gotta stop worrying,

thinking that that
project made us enlist.

It didn't.
I don't believe that.

Come on, you guys.
You two could pick

any grad school in any field you want.

$200,000 in the hole
the day you graduate.

Loan forgiveness programs?

Yeah, there are programs, but they're
not as forgiving as they advertise.

Arian's doing a lot of
talking for both of you.

You think he did
the math all by himself?

Doc, you're the one who told us
not to live over a safety net.

I didn't think that
was gonna translate

to you guys heading out to a war.

If I did, I would've cut my tongue out.

I think you're missing
the point, Doc. Yeah.

Why? Because I can't see
the army as a better gig

than graduate schools most students
would give an arm to get into?

No, because you're not seeing
that if we did anything else,

we wouldn't be a part of the most
important things going on right now.

Doc, these events are
gonna define our lives.

Just the same way
Vietnam did for yours.

I didn't enlist.
I was drafted.

World War I,

German soldiers wrote poems about
the bravery of British grunts,

admired them, almost as
much as they laughed at

the British high command who wasted those
same grunts by the hundreds of thousands.

German general wrote,

"Nowhere else have I seen
such lions led by such lambs."

Gosh, that statement
is so dead-on right now.

These starched collars
that started this war,

that are running it now,

nowhere near the best and the brightest,
not even in the same galaxy.

They're the ones that, when some
of our men are blown to bits

in the middle of a gun battle,
say shit like,

"The enemy may have bloodied our nose,

"but we're learning
from our mistakes."

We agree.
What's the problem?

"So, what's the problem?"
What are you talking about?

Yeah, I mean, we already
know how the system works.

Guys, think. Think!

We've thought that far ahead.

Because it's going badly makes
it even more important, Doc.

I don't...
What do you mean?

We wouldn't have spent three weeks in
school on Nixon without Watergate.

If we killed bin Laden on 9/12,

or if Iraqi Shiites greeted
us with a ticker-tape parade,

we would never have to think about
things like, "Who are these people?"

"Does religion
really preach murder?"

"Do they really
need a dictator to stop

"themselves from
massacring each other?"

The greatest military in history
can't catch three guys.

Come on.

And how do you preach democracy

and still send billions to Saudi kings

who are the furthest thing from it?

So just load yourselves
into the breech, huh?

Or sit on the bench.

The men who lead are the ones that do
work when there's work to be done.

Will you step up when you're needed,

or will you just sit back and let the
other people do the lifting for you?

They're just simple questions.

With potentially really awful answers.

Guys, trust me.

Please trust that if
I thought this fight

was worth the sweat, I'd back you.

I would.

But what about stepping up here?

Changing policy at home?

Look, we go do this now, then
we come back and go to school.

On the army's dime.
Then we can do something.

Black and Mexican combat vets
with an education.

Goddamn!

No debt to dictate what we do next.

They gotta listen to us then, Doc.

We can change things.

If.

So why isn't Tali just rushing them?
Finishing it?

'Cause we're worth more
captured than killed.

The pilot.
ETA to my boys.

Nineteen minutes, sir.

All right, when you get
there, you shoot straight.

I want you to apprise the
rescue chopper of all of this.

You tell them we
got an A-10 bomber

moving in there to
attempt to clean it out,

but they are heading into a still-hot
LZ with exposed friendlies.

I want you to make sure
that this is heading

the correct way up the command chain.

You understand me?

You tell them this is not as easy
as it looks 9,000 miles away.

Janine? I'm sorry
to keep you waiting.

There's a vote up now, so I...

Can I just...

In 1991 my network, ANX,
was bought by a corporation

best known for selling
soap and light bulbs.

And overnight we went
from a news organization

preoccupied with gathering
news, to a business unit

preoccupied with
ad revenue and ratings.

A windsock. And I knew it.

When I signed my contract, I knew.

But I thought I could
keep my autonomy, you know.

I thought that little raise they gave
me meant they were still committed

to hard news, but, anyway...

Janine. Sit. Please.

Thank you for that.

It's just the truth.

How can I...

How can I verify
the results of this mission?

You're not gonna be embedding
press with these troops, are you?

No, no, no. There's no room. Right.

Special Forces travel fast and light,

but I can provide the infrared
and the gun-camera footage.

That's great.
That's great.

Those are always the most popular
downloads from our website.

And any developing details will
come directly from me to you.

Great. Thank you.
Yeah.

Now let me kill the good feeling.

You? Really?

Worst-case scenario...

Forward operating points don't work.

They will work.

Have you...
Has the President

contemplated surging the troops?

In support of this strategy,
if it's necessary?

Military's stretched
pretty thin right now.

Maybe you'll have to send
kids didn't sign up to go?

A draft? No, no, no. We don't need it.

We have everything we need
to break the enemy right now,

except the public will to do it.

That's where you come in.

But how do we know you're
gonna get it right this time?

You know, people are very mistrustful.

You know, after 9/11 we had
the whole world on our side.

Here we are six years later,

stumbling through one of the worst
times ever to be an American.

Look, come on, Janine.
Hyperbole is not gonna do us any good. It's...

Come on. Nobody is monitoring
our patriotism here.

You have to admit, this is
one of the five worst times

to fly the Stars and Stripes.
People need a...

A win, Janine.

The people, the President, me.

We all need a win in Afghanistan.

Winning allows our public to refocus.

Winning gets Congress back in the
mood to talk instead of yell.

And it helps
the people of Afghanistan...

That goes without saying.

And it helps your party.

Because we are the party
that represents security,

the power that this
country is known for,

the party that signals
tyrants the world over

that the USA has the stomach and
stamina to finish our fights.

Finish?

Do you wanna win, Janine?

What?

Do you wanna win the War on Terror?
Yes or no?

Yes or no?
It's... It's a broad...

Okay, you see this,

this is the quintessential yes
or no question of our time.

But this...
Equivocation is defeat.

You stop for a second and you're dead.

The only option for America...

Excuse me. The general would
like to see you, sir.

Excuse me.

Irving.

Mmm-hmm.

Uh-huh.

When?

Ammo!

Reloading!

How much ammo do they have left?

How the fuck would I know?

Why aren't the Tali hitting them?

I think they're trying to get
them to empty their clips.

No.
They're still there, sir.

Keep me posted.

It's just covering fire!
Save your ammo!

I tell you what,
I am sick and tired, Janine.

I am sick and tired
of being humiliated.

Over and over again we have
allowed our great country

to be threatened by these
little, tribal, ragtag gangs.

And it's going to stop.

Do you realize what we've got?

Do you realize what our capability is?

Because God knows, it breaks my heart

to ask the men and women in uniform

to risk their lives for this victory,

when I know in my gut there
is no other way to that end.

Not with this enemy.

Not with their medieval beliefs.

But the solace that I can provide
the families of our fallen,

with absolute conviction,

is that at least their lives
were about something.

Now, to tax Internet transactions

or not tax Internet transactions.

That is the question.

- Marcia?
- Senator?

My notes, please.

This is your strategy, is it not, sir?

It is the product of new
school military thinking.

And you are the new school.

You have the ear of the President

more than the Defense Secretary.

So?

So, if it succeeds
with your name on it,

it's a great way of
separating yourself out

from the rest of
the pack in your party

who would like to be president.

Let me state this
as loudly as possible.

I'm not running for president.

This has been a good hour.

This is a big story.

And it's yours.

This is my direct number.

Call if you have any questions.

Thank you.

Marcia, could you come in, please?

Absolutely.

He's over at the
Department of Agriculture.

Hey!
Yeah?

Any idea how many left?
A dozen or more. I don't know.

Get on the phone
with the A-10,

tell him to keep making runs
until he's out of ammo.

ETA on the rescue bird is six minutes.

Headwinds.

Put me back on with the pilot.

Can they see us?

Is it over?

For us if they lived!

Eyes up!

So I'm supposed to go implement

Arian and Ernie's junior year project,

even though that thing sounds
like a fairy tale to me?

You gave them an A for that?

I gave them a B+.

What? A B+, they were
loose on their stats.

No, I heard you.

Why aren't you telling me about
the students who got an A?

'Cause I don't
remember them right now.

So, what? Attendance is a prerequisite
for you, but grades aren't?

Aha!

You're on to the secret now, Todd.
It's called "potential."

And believe me, that's a far
better signal of what you might do

than getting an A in some class

you might forget
about in two, three years.

Sounds a lot like
what kids with 2.4s

tell themselves to justify all the C's.
No, no, no, no, no.

That's very nice, but neither got C's.

Maybe both got
blue-collar B's.

Not by quitting.

You happy they're over there?

Todd, I told you twice, I did
everything I could to stop them.

But revered the reasons they didn't?

Yeah.

So I'm supposed to
listen to your advice.

This direction
you're trying to give me,

even though that the two
you've been telling me about

didn't listen?

They went ahead.
They did what they were gonna do anyway.

Okay, maybe, just maybe, you might
be dropping the hammer on me

because of how rarely you find

a student you think is worth the time

and how often it sounds like
you failed at getting through

once you did find those students.

Actually, the failing started
about 10, maybe 15 years ago.

You know, the truth is, Todd,

I used to knock meetings
like this out of the park.

And what changed?

You. Students
sitting across from me.

'Cause we're more shrewd.
'Cause we see how things work.

'Cause we don't wanna die
for these pieces of shit.

Because you wanna put as much
distance between yourself

and the real world as possible.
And these pieces of shit...

And by the way, how many times
are you gonna say that?

They bank on your apathy.

They bank on your willful ignorance.

They plan strategies around it.

They try to figure out how much they
can get away with because of it.

So blame me for it all.

Blame me 'cause I might just
wanna live the good life.

Because I can.
Because I'm smart enough to.

You're gonna blame me
because I don't wanna work

elbow to elbow with you
on a goddamn collective farm?

Doc, you are sounding a hell
of a lot like my parents.

They're always harping on how
they're giving me a better life

than they ever had,

and then they resent the shit out of me

'cause I got the nerve to enjoy it.

Todd, what good is a $90,000 Benz

if there's not only
not enough gas in the tank,

but the streets and the highways

are decaying to the point
of becoming Third World.

If all your rants about Congress
and politics are true, Todd,

if things are really bad,
as bad as you say they are,

when thousands of American troops

are dead and more are dying every day,

probably as we speak, you tell me,

how can you enjoy the good life?

Rome is burning, son,

and the problem is not with
the people that started this.

They're past irredeemable.

The problem is with us.
All of us.

Who do nothing.
Who just fiddle.

Who try to maneuver around
the edges of the flame.

And I'll tell you something, there
are people out there, day-to-day,

all over the world, that are
fighting to make things better.

You think it's better to have tried and
failed than failing to try, right?

Yeah.
But what is the difference

if you end up in the same place?

At least you did something.

Thanks for knocking.

What did I'enfant terrible want?

One-on-one time.
Whole hour.

An hour? Jesus.
What, a beating or a story?

A big new military move
launched as we sat there.

An exclusive?
Yeah.

Damn. Details.

Let's get the basics up
on the scroll right away.

What's the action?

Janine? Hello?

It stinks.
I mean, I don't know.

I just came away with a bad feeling.

It just... It feels...

Feels?

Bogus.

It feels?
Yeah.

I mean, are you being paid
to investigate your feelings?

I mean, just give me
the facts, Janine. Jesus.

You know, we can't do this again.

Do what again?

We can't just buy
the whole little program

like we did for
the run-up at the...

Oh, please. Stand back while
my fucking head detonates.

This is your guy, right?
He's not my guy.

But he goes right to you.
He asks you the questions.

He's handing you an exclusive.

He's giving you a fucking gift.

It's not a gift.
It's propaganda.

And we don't have to
broadcast everything

that the government
wants us to, do we?

No, we broadcast news.

The launch of a new
military move is news.

Are you feeling a teensy
conscience attack here?

Please. Well, isn't it a
little late for that?

Come on. What is the story?
What is the move? Give me a goddamn...

Hey, are you old enough
to remember The Who?

The Who? Yeah.

And I'm young enough to listen to them.
So what?

Meet the new boss Same as the old boss

That's what, it's the
Vietnam-era thinking, you know?

And they just repackaged, you know?

They're gonna send out small
platoons, these kids, as bait.

It's just... It's the same...
Oh, come on.

It's the same old, same old.
No, no. That is speculation.

We do not air speculation, okay?

No, I know.
It's these guys.

They're so desperate
for a way out, see?

They're so desperate to
change the subject from Iraq.

They're so desperate for a win
that they're listening to Irving.

And you know, I don't blame
them, because, boy, he is good.

But he doesn't have a plan
for the day after the attack.

No. I mean, he'll croon
about hearts and minds,

but it's all, you know, helicopters
and Marines. That's what...

Jesus. Anyway, he couldn't care
less about the soft stuff.

You know, this whole thing, this...

It's a strategic...

It's a lubricant to get him
into the White House.

So what? So
the guy's ambitious.

So what?

Wait a...
Janine, are you letting

your politics cloud your reasoning?

I'm just trying to
do my job. That's all.

Your job, if I can bring you back
to the twenty-first century,

is to report verifiable facts,

so I can put them up
on the goddamn screen.

There are none! Okay?
There are no embeds up there.

We have to just take
his word for it. It's just...

How can you stand it so hot in here?

But I'll tell you something.

He does have a plan
for after the election.

Yeah, and it's not the long, slow
peace process. No, no, no, no.

These boys have toys on the high shelf

they've not been allowed
to use for 50 years.

He says, "I'm sick of being humiliated.
"Oh, my God, Janine.

They're dying to take these down...
Please don't start that.

And try them out...

That tactical,
nuclear, paranoia bullshit.

And find out what a real
winning noise sounds like.

No, no, no. He said to me...
I don't wanna hear it.

He said this to me.
I have it. I have it.

"Whatever it takes to win."
Fuck.

Here it is.
See? "Whatever it takes."

Okay. Great, great.
Can you please just calm down.

Okay? Calm down.

Look, it seems to me

like Irving has a plan to go after
the guys who attacked us, okay?

Now, our viewers will believe
that's a good thing. So do I.

What happened to you, Howard?

Time was you would
take a punch at anybody

if you thought it was justified.

You know, you were good once.

Yeah, and I didn't think
I'd live past 40, either.

Come on, Janine.

You can't leave me
hanging out here by myself.

You just can't do that to...

Wrong. I just can't do this.

You turn in some loony, speculative,

what-if story
that's based on what?

A woman's intuition?

I expected more from you, Janine.

Yeah, you expected me
to turn in a tidy time line.

That's right.

If we don't do this, Howard,

who's gonna do it?
This is the job.

These politicians, these
journalists, everybody that says,

"Oh, well, if we'd known
then what we know now."

It's bullshit!
It's bullshit.

It was all right there.

We knew it.

If we had bothered
to connect the dots.

But we didn't, did we?
We just rolled over.

Right?

So what happens if you're
wrong, Janine, huh?

Listen to me.
You're 57 years old.

You got a mother that
needs 24-hour care now.

What other network is gonna
snap you up after this, huh?

All I'm asking is...

Just don't put me in
this position, okay?

Your version of this
story will never see

the light of day, and you know it.

Well, I can't write
the one that he gave me.

Can't.

Well, I think you
ought to think that over.

Abdullah!

Abdullah!

Oh, man.

Get to me!

I'm digging!

Get to me!

Come on. Come on.

Pilot.

Get back there, make another pass

and clean those fucking Talis out!

Professor Malley?
Read the sign.

Wait.

Are we done?

Okay.

Here's my last bit, so bear with me.

The decisions you make now,
bud, can't be changed

but with years and years
of hard work to redo it.

And in those years, you
become something different.

Everybody does as time passes.

You get married, you get into debt,

but you're never gonna be the
same person you are right now.

And promise and potential,
it's very fickle.

And it just might
not be there anymore.

Are you assuming
I already made a decision?

And, also, that I'll live to regret it?

All I'm saying is
that you're an adult now.

And the tough thing about
adulthood is that it...

It starts before you
even know it starts,

when you're already
a dozen decisions into it.

But what you need to know, Todd,

no lifeguard's watching anymore.

You're on your own.
You're your own man,

and the decisions
you make now are yours

and yours alone
from here until the end.

I'm sorry. The sign says till
8:00, and it's way after 8:00.

Yes. Sorry.

So, what, you don't want my decision?

Class meets again
Tuesday at 9:00.

I'll find out then.

Okay, Muna. What...

Professor Malley, the grade
you gave me can't be right.

You mean a C+? Excuse me.

Close the door behind you, huh?

Let's see. So...

Ammo?

I'm out.

Me, too.

Rescue's not gonna be here in time.

No, no.

Get out of here.
Get out of here. Go on!

No way.

You can move. Climb down.

Not even if there was a ladder.

Not like this.

Not laying down.

Help me up.

Let's go.

Hey.
Hey, man.

So, the new thing is skin turgidity.

Tur-what-ity?

Did you make that word up?

No. It's a term taken
from flora and fauna,

used to describe the health of...

Like plants?

Well, yes. Exactly.

You going to astronomy today?

J.D. 's organizing
a Madden tourney.

Totally sounds like it.

So, firming creams don't work.

Well, not all do, but this one does.
And which one is this?

The fuck you doing up so early?

A meeting with Malley.

Los Angeles affiliate, KZVZ, is
reporting that pop singer Fate

has this morning
finally filed for divorce

from rapper
husband Bully-Dog.

After Fate and
Bully-Dog's now

notorious Pacific
Rim tour last summer,

when Fate was recorded
asking a Japanese reporter

how long the bus ride from
Tokyo to Beijing would be.

Up next we have our lead story.
Baby toupees.

What'd you guys talk about?

Grades.

Is he failing you?

He is failing you, isn't he?

No, he's not failing me.

What, do you already know
what you're getting?

Huh?

Do you know what you're getting?