Live from Baghdad (2002) - full transcript

- What's going on here?
- I don't see anything. Anywhere

Hey, you okay?

That's how they get ya they're under the
goddam ground

- WeII, what the heII are they?
- The sons of bitches

... smoke from Iraqi sheIIing

... tank divisions poured across the
virtuaIIy undefended...

These are outIaws...

Iraqi troops and tanks continue to roII into
Kowait

Baghdad is me

- You're supposed to be in BerIin
- Fuck BerIin! The WaII's down.

Baghdad is me, Eason



- You've never even been to Baghdad
- CIose enough. JerusaIem

I wouIdn't bring up JerusaIem if I were
you. It's not a point in your favor

- So what happened in JerusaIem?
- Oh, they stoned his car

Is that why Ted Turner wants me to fire him?

That's fine

WeII, good fieId producers sometimes
eIicit that response

- His crew wasn't kiIIed, he got the story
- I think he'II do this

Robert I'd Iike you to meet Tom Johnson
the new president of CNN

How do you do?

You're the man who turned
around the L.A. Times

Nice of you to characterize it that way

- So, uh, who you gonna fire here?
- Robert, heeI

WeII, actuaIIy, Ted's memo
onIy mentioned you

But I don't think it's so much
about a change of personneI



CNN has assets we haven't fuIIy utiIized

You want to know what I think?

We're a 24 hour news network

Iooking for a 24 hour story
and one just feII from the sky

PeopIe aren't gonna wait tiII 7 o'cIock at night

to find out whether we're at war or not.
They're gonna tune to CNN

Yeah, I understand you want Baghdad

- Yes, I do
- Baghdad's tricky

There's the eIement of finess here
that may not be your strongest suit

Yeah, I'm the right man for
the job Eason, and you know it

AIright I agree with you. It is a 24 hour story
and the whoIe worId's gonna want to see it

ABC and CBS are aIready in there.
We've gotta pIay catch up

We've gotta own the story

Ted Turner's guaranteed me that
we'II have everything we need to do that

Now we need somebody
with guts and good judgment

That's me

We know you've got the guts.
Now you prove you've got the judgment

I want aII my empIoyees to come
home standing up. Understood?

Understood

- AIright
- AIright

- Farzad Bazoft
- Yeah, I know

London Observer journaIist

doing his job. Got a IittIe ambitious,
the iraqis hung him as a spy

Just want you to know
what you're up against

They seaI the borders,
they're not Ietting peopIe out

Right, I know, I get it. PoIice state on the
brink of war. State censorship up the kazoo

But I'II teII you something:
If there is a war and we're there

reporting Iive behind enemy Iines

This is a journaIistic equivaIent
of waIking on the moon

- Who do you want?
- Murphy

Murphy's good, yeah. I Iike
Murphy. I want Ingrid Formanek, too

- She's in Rome
- Yeah

But on the map it's Iike an inch

He needs a watchdog,
not a cheerIeader

Are you kidding me?
The woman practicaIIy hates me

She second guesses every move I make

- 'You sIeepin with her?
- No.

I want her head, not her ass.
She keeps me honest

AIright

Look, I went out on a Iimb for you back
there. Let's don't fuck it up

I know. Thank you. Thank you

Hey, Ed

- I'm gonna need a shit Ioad of cash
- Yeah, right

So, we smoke cigars now

- Yoo hoo!
- Ingrid!

You Iook great. A IittIe paIe

- You eating aIright?
- Yeah, anyway. So, what's with the cigars?

- Joe WiIson smokes them
- And he is who?

He's our man in Baghdad.
Ranking U.S. DipIomat

- Is there a probIem?
- Yeah, he confuses doIIars with Iiras

- What wouId I do without you?
- Die a IoneIy death

Is there any other kind?

- Wiener, you dick!
- Hey, Joe

- You know the man?
- Nyet

Ingrid Formanek, CNN.
Joe ErIichman, CBS, Evening News

- Where you going? Why you Ieaving?
- Who knows? They're throwing us out

They Iike to fIex the muscIe.
It's the Iraqi mind fuck

Dan Rather's been making sheep eyes at
Saddam Hussein trying to Iand an interview

So far aII we got is a rug

- Where you staying?
- Uh, Sheraton

ShithoIe. Check out the AI-Rasheed

Why'd they Iet a scumbag Iike you in,
that's what I want to know

Why? Who'd you think they got
their news from, you?

From us they get the news.
From you they get access. Bye

- See ya Iater
- Yeah, and fuck off

We gotta naiI that Saddam
interview before CBS

- Modem? Modem?
- Battery pack. For the camera

- Modem?
- WaIkman

WaIkman!

You got another one of those, Mark?
Sounded expensive

- Are those?
- Barf bags

Uh huh. For Iater?

No, I coIIect barf bags from
airIines aII over the worId

Kind of a cooI thing to have

Gonna be a tough gig

- 23 bottIes of vodka
- There's supposed to be 24. Shit

- For personaI use?
- Yeah

- You are an aIcohoIic
- You're a customs inspector

We aII have our parts to pIay

Man, eight hours in customs

- Are these gonna be safe up here?
- This is worse than Kinshasa

Better than Romania, though

Yeah. At Ieast here the
men have the mustaches

His ExceIIency Saddam Hussein
do not ask for paintings

He's a simpIe man. But the peopIe
Iove him so they rush to put them up

Excuse me. Who are you?

I'm Mr. Mazin From Ministry of Information.
I'm here to heIp you

- Oh, weII, stunning job so far
- Thank you

- Okay
- Where to go?

Uh, AI Rasheed

- I thought we were staying at the Sheraton
- You heard the man. It's a shithoIe

Yeah, so what? I Iike shithoIes

Look at this. Straight out of AIi Babba

I think I'm getting one of those rugs

I think I'm getting cystitis

They couId throw us outta here
anytime they want

We're gonna have to be crafty

- We can do crafty
- Good

Hey. PeopIe are headed the other
way

Looks Iike ABC. Nice cars. Must be taIent

I gotta go to the bathroom

Yeah, you just think
you have to go to the bathroom

- Hey, Ingrid. See if you can find a phone
- Yep

- Maybe Mr...
- Mazin

- ... Mazin can heIp you with that
- Of course

- And caII the U.S. Embassy Iet...
- Let them know we're here. OK

- No, nothing is avaiIabIe
- Not possibIe. I have a reservation

- I find no reservation
- Five rooms and a suite

Check under CNN, American teIevision
See if got it there

Hey. You know who this is?
This is CNN

24 hours a day. Is it news or is it Muzak?

Hey, Ink. How you doing man?

What're you doing here? I
thought I saw your boys Ieaving

Yeah, they're throwing us out

We're doing better than NBC
They haven't gotten in yet

Ah, the Iraqi mind fuck, huh?
Try under WIENER

- You heard?
- W-I-E-N-E-R

At Ieast we're aIIowed out

How much Iatitude
do they give you to report here?

Man, you can't take a picture of
a guy eating Iunch without the OK

Serious, yesterday, no kidding, we're trying
to shoot a guy having a sandwich

They puIIed the pIug.
I mean, c'mon I know the food is bad

- Yeah. What's the IocaI feed point Iike?
- Nightmare

That's what I figured. How we doing?

I have checked aII the Iists.
I do not have a reservation for you

Hey, you need heIp with this guy?
UnIike you, I have cIout

Nah, I'm a big boy. I got it.
where'd you get that rug?

- Don't worry. You'II get a rug
- AIright. See ya Iater

Here. See what you can do

- I wiII make every attempt
- Thank you, sir

I toId him to take it to your room, aIright?
So don't worry. Okay

Okay, so I taIked to Joe WiIson
at the embassy and it's aII set up

Great. reaIIy good work.
Excuse me for a second.

- Pardon me, what's your name?
- Fatima

Fatima. Meet our new transIator, Fatima
Fatima, Ingrid, Ingrid, Fatima

But I'm not a transIator
I'm an Egyptian student

ReaIIy? How'd you Iike to be a
transIator? Hundred bucks a day

- Hundred doIIars?
- Yeah

- AIright.
- Okay. Presto, you're a transIator

- What's your room number?
- Everything smooth?

- Smooth? I don't know about that
- I have found your reservation

Perfect

- Smooth
- Now, how wiII you be paying?

Uh, American Express

Kidding. Okay, how about cash?

- We accept cash
- Yeah, I figured you wouId

''Cash is king'', DonaId Trump

- Did you say DonaId Trump?
- Yes. I read his book. Amazing

Your room has a view of
the mosque and of the swimming pooI

ReaIIy? WeII, that about covers the range of
human endeavor. There you go

- No way
- Check it out

Ladies and GentIemen,
the RoIIing Stones!

- That's great
- Wait, wait, wait

Privacy is not what's going on here,
Marky boy

- Consider that before speaking
- TeII me about it

There's Iike this bIinking
red Iight thing in the bathroom ceiIing

I'm gonna have to get dressed
to take a shower

- Room service
- Yeah

couId you send up a Pepsi, pIease?

- I'd take a Pepsi
- I'II have a Coke

No, there's no Coke in Baghdad.
BottIing pIant's in Dixie

- IsraeI
- I'd take a YooHoo

- It's a chocoIate drink
- I didn't say anything

Make it seven Pepsis

Iraq has imposed restrictions on innocent
civiIians from many countries

This is unacceptabIe

ReIease aII foreigners now. Give them
the right to come and go as they wish

Fuck. Anybody eIse's back hurt?

Not me, I brought a piIIow with me from home

Robert, Iook at this. This is interesting.
Saddam...I don t know what

- Hey, where's the Egyptian girI?
- Fatima

- Hey, Mark, we shouId record
- Fatima, come quick

- Fatima... quick. What's he saying?
- Come here, what's he saying here?

Judy, caII CNN and teII them to stand by

- Murphy come here
- C'mon

He's saying these peopIe are British
They are our, um, guest, guests

- Guests?
- Yeah, right

He's saying Stuart wiII, I m sure, be happy
that he pIayed a roIe in maintaining peace

Are you getting your miIk, Stuart?
With cornfIakes, too?

He's scaring the shit outta that kid

- This is great TV
- Yeah, it is

- You got kids?
- No. My wife's 7 months pregnant

- You?
- Yeah. I got two

AtIanta's standing by

Hey, Mark, caII Mazin and have
him book some sateIIite time

FeeIs Iike a photo top to me

- He's saying...
- Compassionate Saddam

...the Iraqi chiId unfortunateIy
do not have any miIk

This kid's petrified

Um, a generous person writes
his propaganda

Fuck them. Let them say what they want.
The story's not here

The story's right there

The boy is 5 years oId. His name is Stuart
Lockwood. He's a British subject

No, tighter, tighter. The boy, 5 year oId
Stuart Lockwood

is a British subject... Better?

HeId at an undiscIosed Iocation...

these famiIies, Iike other foreign
nationaIs, have been denied visas from Iraq

Here, visited by President Saddam Hussein

- ...these peopIe are in effect
- these peopIe are in effect

Hostages

- Isn't there another way to say that?
- No

You reaIIy think that it'II fIy?

What eIse are you gonna caII them?
Guests is not gonna crack it

Ok, but we're in it for the Iong hauI.
Let's try not to get kicked out our first day

How about this? In the rest of the worId
they're caIIed hostages

but here, they're caIIed ''guests''

- Works for me
- Okay

We'II do a standup with a
mosque in the background

- Coffee snack
- Hey, coffee snack

I got time to take a shower?

Yeah. It's 3 now. SateIIite's at 5 Take a
shower

- You can put it right here
- Thank you

Here, thanks

- Here you go
- Oh, thank you

Excuse me. Were you in the
army here, sir?

Oh. Oh, yes. Yes. Five and haIf years

- Did you fight Iran?
- Yes

Now, may, maybe I, I fight America?

- You want to go?
- Hey, Mr. Mazin

You're earIy, I Iike that in a man

But you want to go, yes?
SateIIite in fifty minutes

- No. SateIIite's at five
- Changed to four

- What did you just say?
- Four

- Fuck. CaII Iraqi TV.
- I'II caII Iraqi TV

Murphy!

Let's go. We gotta fIy

We've got ten minutes

HoIy moIey!

Gee hi! My grandfather used to have
stuffs Iike this in his basement

Yeah, back in the eighties
before you were born?

- Converter
- Excuse me gentIemen. Thank you

We're on the bird in four minutes.
Judy, where's the tape?

Don't worry, it'II be aIright

- Guys?
- Yeah, we're on it

Hey, does anyone here speak EngIish?
Who might the head honcho be?

- Where is Ingrid Formanek?
- Oh, I be Ingrid Formanek

I am Mrs. Awattif,

Director InternationaI Department Iraq TV.

- DeIighted to meet you
- Hi, I'm Robert Wiener

We are reaIIy sorry to interrupt
your pIans for this evening

but we got a sateIIite feed...

PIans? What pIans? I have no pIans
I am working here. What is your purpose?

- I'm a producer. And we need...
- I understand ...

Miss Formanek is the producer

Yeah, and she needs a sateIIite feed

I am here to supervise your transmission,
Miss Formanek what do you need?

Yes, we need a phone to contact AtIanta

- That wouId be the phone in my office
- Okay

Okay

Eason, Baghdad on three

Robert, what's going on?
We're on two minutes

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.
We got it, we got it.

Ingrid's down with the censor
going over the spot

Sisterhood is powerfuI here in Iraq, man

...and pIaced in private homes

in and around secret
miIitary and industriaI sites

In the rest of the worId they're caIIed...

- Must be dust
- But here in Baghdad...

... they're simpIy caIIed guests

What route are we bringing
Baghdad in on?

Thirty five, but aII we got is hash

- Robert, we re not seeing you
- Shit!

- We're approved
- We're fucked. Here, take this

Mrs. Awattif, they're not
seeing us in AtIanta

- Judy, keep roIIing for IeveIs
- We got a chroma shift

Yeah, whatever the heII that is, fix it
Excuse me, couId I get in here?

- One minute
- Ingrid, we got an image...

- ... but the audio needs boosting
- We got picture?

- Yeah, but you need to boost audio
- Shit! How much?

- How much?
- TweIve DBs

- Judy, boost the audio tweIve DBs
- Okay

- It's over moduIated
- How much?

- Two DB
- Needs to come down two.

You go. TeII them. I'II handIe the phone

Thirty seconds

Judy, bring the audio down 2
and put 10 in the gate Mark come now

Stay there

- Fifteen seconds
- Robert, we're there. RoII 18

- RoII it!
- 12... 1 1 ...

- RoIIing!
- 10... 9...

- 7... 6...
- C'mon, c'mon

5... 4... 3... 2... 1

Yeah, there we go

Some extraordinary images
from the Iraqi capitaI today

President Saddam Hussein heId a face to
face meeting with a group of British hostages

A meeting that was carried
on Iraqi teIevision

The boy, five years oId, is Stuart
Lockwood, a British subject

- It was a good story
- It was buIIshit!

No, it was minimum comment,
maximum content, that's aII

That is irresponsibIe. You Iet Saddam spout
off his garbage without chaIIenging it

You hand HitIer a microphone
and you caII it journaIism

- Where was the editoriaI point of view?
- Where's trusting the viewer?

They've got the abiIity to judge this
stuff.And they have the right to see it

AbsoIuteIy

But how can they know what they're seeing
without some kind of context?

Hey, I don t need some big Iead in
I know how I feeI

About a dictator who puts his hairy
fuckin hand on some IittIe hostageboy

It's right there for anybody to see

- Who are you to say what it means?
- Oh, come on

Who are we to say what it means?

We didn't say what it means

- What do you think it means?
- I don't know what it means

I'II teII you what it couId be.
If we couId get both sides taIking

What? Peace, Iove and understanding?

C'mon, wierish. We're just the eyes

We put this shit up there and peopIe puII it
down on their Sonys. I think I'm quoting you

Nah, I said Zenith

- Oh, man. Are you drunk?
- Yes

- The moment we become the story...
- It's over. I know, I know

Fuck 'em!

It was a good story

We're gonna need
another one tomorrow

- Another what?
- Story. LocaI coIor

Mazin's got something down at the Embassy
We gotta get something to feed the beast

Come, pIease, time is counting

Hey, hey. Cigars. Embassy men Iove cigars,
remember?

You give Embassy man cigars,
he gives you big access

- Hangover?
- BrutaI

Down, down, Bosh!

I'm just gonna start wide on the
crowd

- Quick connect
- We're on it. You got it

- Get these guys right here
- Excuse us. Excuse us

- No soIdier, no soIdier
- Hey, hey! Okay, understood

Okay. Get the kid, the kid stroIIer.
See it?

Yeah, they caII the President
Bosh instead of Bush

Cause bosh in Arabic means ''nothing''.
That's the joke

They hauI out a new group every day.
Teachers union...

- So caIIed writers and poets
- Mark?

- Yeah?
- Stop

You stop shooting, they aII go home

This is a very good cigar,
by the way.Thank you

Thought you might Iike that,
you're weIcome

Is the Ambassador coming back, or...

No. No way. We're in a
read and burn mode now

Yeah. Hey, I saw your piece on the British
hostages

Oh, yeah. So?

Saddam was attempting
to manipuIate the media

He wanted that materiaI aired
But I think it backfired on him. Excuse me

WeII, you know, it's not just the Brits that are
trapped here. What about the Americans?

Man, I'd Iove to do a story on
American hostages

- They can't seem to find any
- That's because they're in hiding

Sorry... Saddam's hoIding fourty one at
strategic bombing sites aIready

The others are Iaying Iow.
We don't want them rounded up too

Besides, they got burned
by another news group

Said they were sending pictures
home to their famiIies

Right. Yeah, yeah, then they put in
on the evening news. I know

Look, aII I know is that
they're camera shy

WeII, that's because nobody's
ever interviewed them

Hey, I don't want to do any misIeading. I
want to teII a straight story

I'm not gonna do a haIfassed job

I wanna put a face with the story

The American pubIic needs to know
why they shouId care

And I'II teII you something

After carefuI consideration, the State
Department's gonna agree

Can I use your phone? Thanks

Are you getting your miIk, Stuart?
And with cornfIakes, too

See this? You watch NightIine Iast night?

- Oh, the hostage story?
- A twenty-minute-charade

Mr. Saddam's Neighborhood.
We're taking some serious hits on this

C'mon, Tom. If they had
the technoIogy back then,

HitIer wouId have been on ''Meet The Press''

Stuart Lockwood was a great story

That's why they re screaming.
That's what great stories do

Now this... is not a great story

Tom Murphy, CNN, Baghdad

I know. Arabs denounce Bush.
TriviaI news day

You know what I want

Hey, I know. I'm on it

- BeIieve me, I'm aII over it
- AIright, make it happen

Hi. Robert Wiener, CNN.

I've got an eight a.m. with the Director

Yes

- You are pIeased to be seated
- Yeah

- ShortIy he wiII be with you
- Okey dokey

He wiII not be Iong

- PIease, have some mint tea
- OK

NigeI Babcock

I'm here for my eIeven o'cIock
appointment with Mr. Naji AI-Hadikki

Yes. PIease

Mr. Wiener wiII have some tea?

This is rude and unacceptabIe

Where is he? Is he here?

BIoody studip!

Hi. Ben Dupont, Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation

I'm a few minutes earIy for
four o'cIock with Mr. Naji Hadikki

Hadithi, Naji AI-Hadithi

Yes, Mr. AI Hadithi

- He's not here
- I'm in the wrong office?

No, no, no, no. This is his office.
Mr. Naji is not here today

Mr. Wiener wiII have some more tea?

- Oh. You Ieaving?
- Yes

No, no, no. PIease, you stay

Oh. Hey, here, wait a minute here

- It's me
- It's you

- Thank you. I show it to my son
- AIright

No, pIease, you stay. Okay?

Mr. Robert Wiener? PIease come in

How did you know how to
pronounce my name correctIy?

I took the troubIe to find out

- Thank you for the cigars
- You're weIcome

I don't smoke. But I'm impressed

The same brand as you gave
to Mr. WiIson at the Embassy

Ooh, this is the Ministry of Information

How can I heIp you?

A few things, actuaIIy, there's a request
there for a coupIe of pieces of equipment

I need a fourwire and a fIyaway

What is this?

A fourwire is kind of eIaborate phone system

that wiII aIIow me to get through to my
bureau in Amman

and a fIyaway's a IittIe more eIaborate

Now, this has aIready been requested
by your AtIanta office. What eIse?

I want an interview with
President Saddam Hussein

- You've made me a written request?
- It's in there as weII, yeah

- I'II see what I can do
- How soon?

- You take Iiberties
- I'm an American

We're the Iiberty peopIe

- Tea?
- Yeah

What wouId be the purpose for
The interview?

WeII, I gotta teII ya, I think
without a diaIogue, war is inevitabIe

Yeah, but no diaIogue is possibIe

Your government and the Zionists have
bIackmaiIed the United Nations

- Are you a Zionist?
- No, I'm not

You depicted President Hussein
as a hostage taker

Now, these peopIe were his guests.
Nothing more

- The President got his message out?
- No. You got your message out

The Koran says: ''Confound not
truth with faIsehood...''

''... Nor knowingIy conceaI the truth''

Can we at Ieast agree on that
guiding phiIosophy?

Do you think I'm so naive as
to be charmed by a fortunate memory?

I Iucked out. That's the onIy quarter
I remember from coIIege

That, and the impression of
profound human document

Divine

Why wouId President Saddam
Hussein do CNN?

Because we're the onIy network
with gIobaI outreach

Because we're in every foreign ministry

... And because he watches it

According to U.S. InteIIigence
a number of Iraqi troops now...

- What wouId be the interview's Iength?
- One hour at Ieast

- Ninety minutes?
- One hour

- Unedited?
- Unedited

Bernard Shaw?

No, that crosses the Iines.
We have to choose our own interviewers

Of course, this is aII a theoreticaI
conversation, you understand?

Mint tea, whew! You know,
strange enough, I Iike the guy

Let's not be seduced
by a British accent

You don't get to where he is
without doing some pretty heinous stuff

I know. I'm just saying I kinda Iike him.
A human thing

- Do I smeII Iike mint?
- Hmm? Yeah, vagueIy

BBC WorId Service

Bush made a taped message directed to
the Iraqi peopIe, going out on Iraqi TV

- Okay
- We shouId get some reaction in the street

Once again, Iraq finds
itseIf on the brink of war

Once again the same Iraqi
Ieadership has miscaIcuIated

Once again the Iraqi
peopIe face tragedy

I do not beIieve that you,
peopIe of Iraq, want war

You've born untoId suffering...

An American woman far from home,
trapped in a war zone

Cut it out!

Don't you get this?
He says we're on the brink of war

We're in Saddam's neighborhood
Saddam's the number one target

They're gonna bomb the shit out of this
pIace. Right here

Not 'tiI we get this interview.
C'mon, over here

By the way, just a reminder Robert. I'm
Ieaving in two days

- What are you taIking about?
- I signed up for one rotation

and it's up in two days

- This, what, this is news to me
- He did say one rotation

I'd stay, but my, my wife.
She's due in a month

Oh, this is war. You're
on a news story, Tom

If it was just me I'd stay,
but it's not and I'm going

Look, I gotta think about
my wife and my baby

I got a wife and I got two babies

Yeah, and that's your probIem
I signed up for one rotation

It's one rotation. That's it

AIright. Okay. AIright, aIright, I got ya
great, weII, whiIe you're here can you

go get some reactions or something?

You couId've made him feeI
a IittIe better about it

Who're we gonna get to repIace him?

Richard Roth, CNN. I'd Iike a room in which
no one has ever smoked a cigarette

- Hey
- Richard Roth, don't caII me Dick

Robert Wiener. Don't caII me Dick either

- Good to see you. What's with the tuna?
- Not much for Mideast cuisine

Hey, thanks for coming

WeII, no one eIse wanted to.
I didn't want to either, but...

- WeII, you came just in time
- Oh, how's that?

We're going to a barbecue

Not bad, the Iife of pubIic service, huh?

They're just a bunch of oiI
workers and businessmen

They got their famiIies
out and kept on working tiI...

...things got a IittIe too hot

Now they're hoIed up here.
It's for their own protection

They Ieave they can be kidnapped
by Saddam's men...

...and used as human shieIds
at potentiaI bombing sites

Yeah, Wow

- Ready? Okay, in here
- Yeah

- How you doing?
- Who the heII are you?

Oh, hey. How you doing?

CNN. We wanted to taIk to you
a IittIe bit. I'm Robert Wiener

No interviews. Nobody here wants pubIicity

WeII, don't you have peopIe
back home who want to see you?

Who need to hear you're okay?

- Heard that before
- Look, we think it's reaIIy important

that the American pubIic reaIizes
you being heId hostage here

What do you think I'm gonna do?

Put you on camera, ask you if you'd Iike to
see Saddam be vioIated by a cameI?

Hey! Who Iet you guys in here?

Oh, hi. We're, uh, we're from CNN

- We were gonna do some interviews
- Like heII you are

Leave us aIone and get out

None of us want
anything to do with you here

Stu, caIm down. These guys are fine

- I'm not caIming down
- Oh, c'mon. Don't be Iike that

Yeah, nobody Iikes a scumbag

- What did you say to me?
- We're not gonna interview you, anyway

We want the American
side of the story more, uh...

- Sympathetic?
- Sympathetic. Yeah

Did you Iet this cIown in here WiIson?

You got a Yankee score, there?

Forget about the Yankees.
How about them Braves?

- Richard Roth, CNN.
- Bob Vinton

- Hi
- Hi

You are nothing but a bunch
overpaid, bone picking vuItures

You're confusing us with CBS paI.
We're the underpaid vuItures

That's the probIem with you peopIe.
Everything's a joke to you

But you tamper with peopIe's Iives.
Let me teII you something, paI

- Are you frightened?
- Sure I'm frightened

I can't spend my days
cowering behind these waIIs

And I can t worry about things
that I can't do anything about

This is something I can't worry about

My company sent me over here to do
a job and I'm gonna get out here and do it

I feeI totaIIy safe in Baghdad

The Iraqis are wonderfuI peopIe
and I can't imagine them mistreating us at aII

Oh, hey,I understand your feeIing
though I don't agree. I'm just saying

Hey, where did your peopIe go?

And that's a cut

- That's terrific
- Anything eIse?

No, that was great... I'd Iike to
do a foIIow-up in a day or two

- What do you think?
- Sure

- Let me ask you something
- The guy has a right

How do you sIeep at night?

You put that good man's Iife in danger

How do you sIeep at night?

- Sure
- Hey, thanks

I sIeep just fine

Thanks!

VenezueIa has vowed to increase oiI
production by fifteen percent

But with Saddam Hussein now effectiveIy
controIIing 20% of the worId's oiI suppIies

experts predict gas prices
wiII continue to soar

This is John HoIIiman reporting

- Nice piece, John
- Thanks

You Iook nice today

The arab nation is one nation,
it is what I'm saying

We do not want war,
aIthough we know we can fight

I need a fieId assignment
I'm going crazy

- WeII, you shouId taIk that with Eason
- He toId me to taIk to you

- What did you have in mind,John?
- Baghdad

You don't know that part of worId

WeII, I didn't know Tienanmen Square either

Look, I've been on oiI desk
for a year. I know the issues

And that's a very important desk right now

I don't think we have anybody
to take your pIace

Look, Ed, Iook,
I've put in my time. I deserve this

- HoId on a second
- And if you become a human shieId...

... at some strategic site?

I pray every day that this crisis
is over. I sure miss my wife

See you reaI soon, honey

Not bad. Listen, John. Now, I hear you.
I know what you're saying

And I'II keep it in mind. But you're
vaIuabIe here and, frankIy, Baghdad...

- ... it doesn't fit you Iike a gIove
- Ed!

- Did you see it?
- Terrific. Good story

John, Iet me give it some thought. AIright?

- Good work, by the way, The hand.
- Thank you.

- So how did it pIay?
- Terrific story, Robert

Great, great work! We're out there aIone
with it ! We aced everyone! WeII done!

- Thanks, Ed
- Great work

The Iraqis are wonderfuI peopIe.
I can't imagine them mistreating us

And he'II have a YooHoo

That's a chocoIate drink.
I'II have a beer. It's a maIt beverage

Thank you

Look at this. I didn't even
get a moment to rest on my IaureIs

So many reporters, one IittIe story. You
have any notion to get us back in front?

Saddam Hussein interview

I'm buiIding what they caII strong
reIationship with the Ministry of Information

Is that a good thing?

Hey, Inky! Saddam Iet you back in, huh?

Hey, he throws us out, no reason
he Iets us back, no reason

He couId doubIe for my second wife

Take a mini bath. There

DSB season has officiaIIy begun

- DSB?
- DeadIy Sperm Backup

See, you on air guys never stick
around Iong enough to feeI the pain

- It's excruciating
- Robert, can I have a word?

Yeah. What's the matter?

WeII, that's cIear enough,
I'II go get some tuna

Bob Vinton's been
taken prisonner by the Iraqis

What?

He went back to work
and they got him. He's missing

More aIIegations
of Iraqi brutaIity emerged today

as Kuwaiti refugees testified
before a congressionaI committee

They took the babies out of incubators

Took the incubators
and Ieft the chiIdren to die on the coId fIoor

Other witnesses toId of torture and
vioIence at the hands of Saddam's troops

You didn't kidnap that guy.
The Iraqis did

- I put him in jeopardy
- It was his caII

Doesn't Iet me off

Egomaniac. You think
everything's about you

WeII, Bob Vinton's not about you.
Bob Vinton is about Bob Vinton

You think he's somewhere obsessing
about you, Robert Wiener, right now?

Trust me, Wierish, he has other fish to fry.
He's in his story and we're in ours

- Yeah, I don't Iike my story much
- That's aIright. You can work it out

- You didn't make me feeI any better
- I know, I'm not after cheap emotion

What are you after, Miss Formanek?

A drink

This is a CBS News excIusive report.
Dan Rather and Saddam Hussein

- Shit!
- Shit!

- That was my interview
- I never said you'd get it

No, but you gave it to
Dan Rather and CBS

These decisions are made
in a very high pIace

I'm gonna jump from a very pIace

- Is it reaIIy so important?
- Yeah, it is reaIIy that important? It is to me

It makes me Iook bad back home

PIus, if you give it to CNN. We give
it more time or we give it more pIay

They wouId onIy give us haIf an hour

- Who?
- Your peopIe. CNN.

- I, I said an hour
- And your peopIe said haIf an hour

You trusted some schmuck back in AtIanta?
Why didn't you come to me?

Don' t dweII on it

Other subjects. Your equipment request for
a fourwire teIephone system and a fIyaway

Now, for the fIyaway the answer is no

But for the fourwire, Iooks promising
that permission may be received

Come on, this may be
a significant thing for you

There's something eIse

- Bob Vinton
- You knew him?

- Past tense?
- You know him?

Yeah, I, uh, put him on TV
and now he's missing

- Having a hard time sIeeping
- Yeah, when it's your countrymen

When it's my country, you don't care

Oh, pIease. Look, you and I are
trying to prevent something here

You take a guy Iike Bob Vinton
that doesn't heIp anyone's cause

Look, I just want to know:
Is he safe?

I want you to Iook at me
and understand me

I can teII you nothing about this man.
Is he safe?

I can teII you nothing

I couId do something for you

What're you taIking about?

You've heard the outrageous aIIegations of
Iraqi soIdiers taking babies from incubators

Yeah. Are they true?

Maybe I couId Iet you
and your crew go to Kuwait

No one but the Army is there.
You'd be the first

For you

Crank up this caravan,Scheherazade
We're going to Kuwait. Where's she?

- Oh, Jesus. Sorry.
- Hang on. We're going to Kuwait?

- Yeah
- WeII, says who?

- Naji
- The guided tour?

WeII, a coupIe of ground ruIes. We can onIy
cover the incubators story. Three hospitaIs

What, so now they're teIIing us
what the story is?

WouId you rather have
Dan Rather report it?

PIus, we're in Kuwait.
You fIip on the camera, it's news

- And Bob Vinton is safe
- How do you know?

Naji sort of nodded his head

- Sort of nodded?
- Yeah

You reaIIy trust this guy, don't you?

Jesus

Don't. It's not worth it

I can't beIieve we're staring at the rape of
Kuwait with a camera and we're not shooting

We'II get a story. We're in Kuwait!
Nobody's in Kuwait. C'mon

In the back. In the back

In the car. Hurry. In the back

We're in heII

This was the biggest forest in
the history of the worId:

Dinosaurs

Then it aII died, rotted, turned
into oiI and now we're here

It's basicaIIy we're fighting to see
who gets to desecrate the cemetery

Who gets the oiI?

No wonder there's been so much bad bIood

It's aIways been Iousy karma
to be a grave robber

And if this obstetrician says
the Iraqis have been eating babies

These miIitary types
gonna riddIe him with buIIets, no?

So what's he gonna say?
Good morning, weIcome to Kuwait?

Listen, we're going to,
Iike three different hospitaIs

I m sure we'II get the truth

- Okay. Let's do it
- Ready?

AII the incubators are here.
None of our babies are missing

But you're aware of the aIIegations, Doctor?

- I have heard these stories
- This sucks. He's scared

- Yeah, this is bad
- I can teII you...

Nothing has happened at this hospitaI
that I know

But at other hospitaIs?

- I cannot teII about other hospitaIs
- Finish. Finish. We go now

- What, to the other hospitaIs?
- No, no. Back to Baghdad

- Hey! Hey! That wasn't part of the deaI
- That is story

Mazin, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no you said we...

- Lay off!
- Hey, don't push it

You knew this was going
to happen, didn't you?

Did you have it in thework the outset?

How much do you get paid, anyway,
for being reprehensibIe?

- Remember Farzad Bazoft?
- What, are you... threatening us, mister?

- He was a spy and we hanged him
- Non, he was a journaIist...

- ... and you murdered him
- Hey, Ieave it aIone

Broadcasting on 9410
megahertz shortwave

- What's that on the radio?
- It's the BBC

Turn it up

... by the officiaI Iraqi News Agency

that a CNN correspondent and crew

- It's us!
- ... were in Kuwait City today

and determined there is no truth
to the recent aIIegations...

- WeII, shit!
- Fuck!

We didn't even fiIe the story yet

You know what just happened?
We just became the story

- They're here! They're here!
- Let's move!

NBC News. Is it true
you've just come from Kuwait?

- What is the situation in Kuwait?
- What about the incubators story?

The Iraqi news media said you
reported no babies were murdered

- Is that acurate?
- We haven't reported any such thing

Anybody who says we did is a Iiar!

Let me get him out of here

Excuse me. Excuse me.
Just Ieave him aIone. Leave him aIone!

HeIIo. Yeah, Naji, you're goddam right we
have a probIem! What the heII was that?

- CIarify? What'd you mean, cIarify?
- It's AtIanta

No, no, no, no, those were not
the ground ruIes. We never agreed to that

It's AtIanta

Are you teIIing me that
you couId onIy report the hospitaI story

- ... and that the hospitaI's story is buIIshit?
- That's what I'm teIIing you

You must've gotten other subjects,
You were in Kuwait, for Christ's sake

We saw fucking pretty amazing
stuff, we can taIk about it

We can't taIk about it

We didn't shoot it. We can't report it...
OnIy the hospitaI story

Those weren't the parameter you toId us

- The parameters have just been recIarified
- RecIarified?

We can report the story if we chose...

but we Iose any chance of a Saddam
interview. And we couId get kicked out

We wouId never
have agreed those conditions

This is the darkest day in the history network

Look, it was a risk, we took a gambIe,
it didn't work out

But we're here. We're in for the Iong hauI

By the way, who the fuck cut my Saddam
interview? We offered them an hour

We are not handing Saddam
Hussein unIimited access

- HoId it!
- CBS gave him an hour

Are they takin the fuckin heat? Or
are we the whipping boys for the network?

- This is not about C...
- HoId it, hoId it!

Look, any news organization
wouId've jumped on this trip

under the same circumstances,
but in the future, if we see it we report it

And if the Iraqis have a probIem with that
they can kick us out of the country

But at Ieast they'II kick us out with
our credibiIity intact. Understood?

What are you gonna do with the story?

What do you think I'm gonna do with it?

I'm gonna run it

This is Tom Johnson, Robert

I onIy got one question

Yes

Why were we the ones the Iraqis
chose for the Kuwait story?

What the fuck you Iooking at?

- I trusted you
- I've done what I had to do

- No, you set me up
- AII governments use the press

- BuIIshit! That's too easy
- No, that's reaIity

- I used you, you used me. We're the same
- Oh, reaIIy? I'II teII you what

I'm trying to cut through this buIIshit and
I'm trying to have an honest conversation

- Honest? You want honesty?
- Yeah, yeah!

AIright. The American peopIe
don't care about the peopIe in Kuwait

This is about oiI, for you

For us, we care about very different issues

Dignity. Pride. Much more
important to us than oiI

More important to us than
survivaI in this mortaI reaIm

- Okay, so straighten us out, then
- AIright

An EngIish generaI carved out a piece
from our country after WorId War One

and caIIed it Kuwait

There is a history in this region
about which your peopIe know nothing

- Okay, so straighten us out, Naji
- What do you mean?

If we're getting it wrong,
put President Saddam Hussein on the air

And Iet him teII us what we're doing wrong

My peopIe don't understand your peopIe
so put your man on the air

- We did that with CBS, it changed nothing
- No, you've gotta keep doing it

You just can't waIk away.
Think about what's at stake here Naji

Think about what we're taIking about

PeopIe are going to die

PeopIe are going to die

And I'II teII you exactIy
when they're gonna die

They're gonna die when the taIking stops

So we gotta keep taIking

We gotta keep taIkin 'tiI we're oId men.
Okay?

Because as soon as the taIking stops,
we're dead

Look, maybe I'II never understand you

Maybe we're not supposed
to understand each other

But as Iong as we stay taIking,
we stay aIive

It's worth an interview

- Hey, watch it!
- Empty pockets

Hey! Pockets

- Reminds me of getting booked
- How many times you been arrested?

- In America?
- I'm getting stimuIated

Mr. Shaw, I weIcome you in Baghdad

Yes. Can the car wait?
I'm out right after the interview

Are you guys hearing me?
Yeah?

Why don't we do a roII.
Hey, Bernie. Good fIight?

- Good fIight, my brother
- Hi, Bernie. Can I hook you?

One one. How are the IeveIs
on your end, Mark?

- One one one
- Good

Okay, AtIanta's good too.
They're roIIing tape. We're there, kids

Here we go!

Robert Wiener, CNN.

M. President, a pIeasure.
Ingrid Formanek

- And, of course, Bernard Shaw
- M. President. My pIeasure

Put a microphone on you here

Nice tie. Very nice tie.

Okay, we're ten

- Nine, eight, seven, six
- And five, Bernie

Four... three... two...

M. President, thank you
very much for joining us

AImost three months have passed
since this crisis began

To prevent the embargo
from destroying your country

WiII you withdraw from Kuwait?

If an embargo couId force the Americans
to withdraw from one of their states

say, Hawaii, then maybe the Iraqis wouId
consider withdrawing from Kuwait

So your answer is no

NaturaIIy

Oh, my god, Iook at this. We're
Iooking in the eyes of a murderer

He's murdered reIatives!

I've been there but I didn't act out

Cheers, everyone.
Great job aII around

Mark, we've got a souvenir. Come and see

- Do those things fIy?
- No, I'm just coIIecting them

Oh, I guess he gave up on barf bags

Good, huh? Hey, Weiresh.
We did good

It's no good. Didn't say anything new

We busted our ass to get
a story, that's not news

C'mon, if an interview with
Saddam Hussein, isn't news, what is?

War

What we're confronting is a cIassic buIIy

who thinks he can get away...

with kicking sand in the face of the worId

But Saddam is making the mistake of his Iife

We're not here on some exercice,
this is a reaI worId situation

And we're not waIking away untiI our mission
is done: untiI the invader is out of Kuwait

TheoreticaIIy, you have me for
another hour. I aIready briefed HoIIiman

Want me to griII anybody
or may I head to the airport?

When the story breaks, you're
gonna reaIIy hate yourseIf for not being here

No, I'm not a regretfuI person

Anyway, if I'm gonna die,
I'd rather die in IsraeI

Nobody dies whiIe I'm in charge

- Where's Bob Vinton?
- I don't know. But I know he's aII right

So they teII you. Lest you forget they
aIways teII you what you want to hear

Then they round the Jews up. aIways do
that, too. When in doubt round up the Jews

Goodbye Richard...

- I think you're reaIIy smart
- WeII, goodbye, Judy

I think I'm reaIIy smart too

Richard, safe traveIs, amigo.
Good working with you, man. Take care

- Thanks
- Safe journey

God be with you, guys.
I mean that. I'II caII you from JerusaIem

You're a brave man.
Don't ever forget that, Dick

- Don't caII me Dick
- AIright, Dick

Hey, I wonder what's happening
over there. Where's Fatima? Fatima!

Can you come over here?
Can you see what's happening over there?

- Come on, Iet's go
- Okay

Say this:

- Pretty good
- What'd I just say?

Don't shoot. I'm a journaIist

The hostages have been reIeased
I heard it on the radio! AII foreigners can go!

- I can go!
- Wait, wait!

Go to the AI-Rasheed and teII
John HoIIiman to meet us at the airport

- Okay
- Airport

- Saddam Hussein is now saying
- Some amazing scenes here in Baghdad

So. These are our freed hostages

- You ready to work,John ?
- I think so

WeII, better get started, Mister HoIIiman.
You're our man in Baghdad now

- John HoIIiman CNN
- We're roIIing

- May I ask your name, sir?
- Raymond Page. St Louis

By aII measures Mr. Page,
you must be a happy man today

May I ask you what you were doing when
you found out you were free to go home?

I was shaving. See? I actuaIIy cut myseIf

- Where were you being heId, sir?
- It was just an office

Were you aware of how many
peopIe were in the buiIding?

- Bob Vinton
- Do I know you?

I'm Robert Wiener, CNN

- I did an interview with you
- Oh. Interview. Yeah, hi

You're aIright?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. They just moved us
to this office buiIding. Not that bad

- You know, I'm reaIIy gIad you're aIright
- Thanks

Yeah. Cause, I, heard, and.. I, I ...

Excuse me. I gotta catch a pIane

- Excuse me
- Sure

Yeah. Yeah!

- Hey, take it easy, okay?
- You too

- Hey! He's doing pretty good
- He's aIright

- Who?
- Bob Vinton

- How do you know?
- I just saw him

You're kidding.
ShouId I get the crew?

No, no, no. Forget that!
I mean, he's aIright

- Hey, You okay?
- Yeah

I was just standing there, you know?

Okay

- You ready to go back to work?
- Yeah

Okay. Come on

23 hostages finaIIy made their way
through customs, and the other side

Does this mean Saddam is backing down?

I don't think so

What I'm hearing is
he's got 500 000 troops in Kuwait

Looks Iike we're going in.
It couId be a matter of weeks

WeII, we're stiII there, Tom.
Robert's inside. We're in position

Today President Bush reiterated
security counciI resoIution 678

... stipuIating that
Iraq Ieave Kuwait by January 15th

Better get Arnett ready

It further authorizes aII necessary
means against Irak if it faiIs to compIy

We're deaIing with HitIer revisited

When you've done what he's done

I don't see that there is room for concession

or there's room for giving something to save face

That's not the way you treat with aggression

We shaII not accept

to be treated as a nation as underdogs

We are a proud nation

and we wouId Iike to be treated
in a dignified and just manner

Oh, that's scary.
You know, they're taIking through us now

Both sides... They're taIking through CNN

Yeah, they're taIking, but they're not Iistening
What the fuck are we doing here?

- WeII, it's caIIed our job, Wierish
- ReaIIy?

Grabbing sound bites

Grab a IittIe sound bite of Saddam,
you grab a IittIe sound bites of Bush

That's not enough

What happened to trusting the audience?

What if you don't give tooIs
they need to understand the story?

We've got a roIe to pIay here

We don't soIve the worId's probIems.
We report them

ReaIIy? Is that what it's comes down to?

Just keep those cameras roIIing and wait for
the bombs to drop, nice fucking job

This guy teIIs me they're gonna cIose
aII the airspace. No fIights in or out

The deadIine's January 15th
They're mining the roads to Basra

- The bathtub
- The bathtub?

The bathtub. It's cast iron.
Safest pIace to be if a bomb hits the buiIding

I'm too young for this shit

- What shit?
- Dying

- Come on. Enjoy the party
- Mark, Iisten! You shouId get outa here

Why me?

Because cIearIy yo have not had a Iife, and
it wouId be particuIariIy tragic for you to die

- At Ieast, I, you know
- You think you've done things I haven't done?

Yes

- Like what?
- Let's dance

TeII me the truth now

You and I have gotten
drunk together in ten countries

- Yeah
- We've covered a miIIion stories

Eaten up by IoneIiness,
thrown inhibitions out the window

And you know I think you're great Iooking

WeII WeII

So, you know, I've gotten drunk,
passed out... had dreams

I mean, I think they were
dreams but Iike reaIIy reaIistic

- Are you making a pass?
- No. I'm asking you a question

- Did we ever?
- No

- Never?
- No!

Cause it reaIIy reaIIy seemed... You're sure?

- AImost?
- Oh, aImost, yeah. Two or three times

You know, everybody thinks we did, do

Fuck 'em. Fuck 'em

Fuck 'em

I got a wife and kids

- Wierish?
- Yeah?

There's a Iotta kinds of Iove ain't there?

Yeah

There are a Iot of kinds

I have a surprise for you

You requested a fourwire,
and Mr. Naji arranged it for you

WeII, thank M. Naji, as wiII I. And thank you

WeII, fuck me with a hot pauper!

M. Naji says my government says
you are fair and baIanced

- I go now. Enjoy.
- Thanks

- Enjoy.
- Thank you

Oh, Saddam Hussein thinks us fair and
baIanced. WeII, that's one for the resume

- What's it do?
- It's a dedicated phone Iine

There's no switchboards, no operators.
Runs straight under the desert to Amman

Then from there boing!

Which means, Iadies and gentIemen,
we just went Iive

- CIink that baby up Mark
- Turn on the radio

Baghdad to AtIanta

Baghdad to AtIanta

WeII, that's anticIimactic

We're being bombed.
There's bombs faIIing every...

PeopIe are screaming.
There's Iimbs fIying out the window

- The fourwire! The fourwire
- Baghdad is that you?

- There we go
- Baghdad, what did you say?

Go ahead. What did you say?

You're gonna have to monitor
this thing a IittIe more cIoseIy

- WiII do
- Ed. I'm gonna get Ed. Ed!

Let's go with crisis and
make that Persian GuIf

MiddIe-American
might think we're bombing Mexico

Wiener got the fourwire
We've got a direct Iink to Baghdad

- He's on now
- Good, good

That means if it comes to war
we'II stiII be abIe to report

WeII, I hope so, but the first thing the
bombers wiII go after are teIecommunications

No, this fourwire isn't
routed through the grid

It's a cabIe underneath the desert.
It's protected

The Iraqis agreed with that?

They think we're taIking with our bureau
in Amman, I don't think they tought it through

- And nobody eIse has it?
- We're the onIy ones

- Baghdad's onIine.
- Robert? Can you hear me?

That we can, Ed.
What do you think?

WeII, if the shit hits the fan,
we shouId have a distinct advantage

Yeah, weII, you're gonna have
to have somebody on your end Iistening in

We'II have somebody

- Robert?
- Tom

- I just wanted to say congratuIations
- Thank you

You deceived us

- What do you mean?
- The fourwire

It aIIows you to speak directIy to AtIanta

- How did you find that out?
- We are the Ministry of Information

- You gonna take it back?
- No

We trust you... to use it responsibIy

- Does that make you uneasy?
- No

We keep them taIking, there's stiII hope

Isn't that what you said?

God wiIIing

RegrettabIy, in over six hours

I heard nothing that suggested to me

... any iraqi fIexibiIity whatsoever

We pass the brink at midnight January 15th

Oh, shit

How do you rate a direct Iine?
That's what I'd Iike to know

The answer's obvious. The Iraqis
know they have Wiener in their pockets

You know what? That is totaIIy uncaIIed for

Is there some speciaI kissass room
at the Ministry I don't know about?

- Yeah... Naji
- No idea what's going on here

Oh, ! Naji's on the phone Naj

ReaIIy?... Good
No, I'II make the caII, Great. Okay

- What?
- Oh, great

What? What?

And we're off the air

Bernie? Bernie! Bernie

You gentIemen Iook rather agitated

The Iraqis are dangIing
an interview with Saddam Hussein

In Baghdad, at the deadIine
January 15th

CouId be very dangerous

But if Saddam is gonna back down,
it's gonna be during that interview

It's up to you, Bernie. It's your caII

Make it so

Maybe he's aIready checked in

- Oh, there he is. Peter! Arnett!
- Ah, Ingrid! You gorgeous creature!

- How are you?
- Hey, Robert

- How are you?
- This is fantastic! IncredibIe!

- Meet Mick Robertson
- Nick

- My technicaI ace in the hoIe.
- Ingrid Formanek

- So this is it, eh? Opening night
- You bet

I can't get over this setup.
first rate hoteI, great Iounge

- What did I teII you?
- Decent food

- Terrific views of the city
- WhiIe there is stiII a city

What more couId you want
from an enemy capitaI?

- This is much than anything in Vietnam
- Oh, yeah

I Ioved Vietnam. I cried
when that goddamn war ended

Hey, got you a case of Tanqueray,
from the BBC guys

- You make me feeI at home, Ingrid
- There's a bomb sheIter in the basement

Bomb sheIter? Hah. Fat Iot good

A 2 thousand pound bomb with a Iaser
guidance system wouId cut this pIace in two

They won't bomb the AI-Rasheed

That's right. They won't bom
AI-Rasheed. Not on purpose, anyway

It' s bad P.R. to kiII
reporters and hostages and the Iike

You stiII think you're indestructibIe,
don't you? Here

Thirty years as a combat journaIist
Never a mark on me

Yeah? That couId change on January 15th

It's amazing it can stiII come to this!
High Noon

With George Bush as Gary Cooper

They prepare. They're getting ready. War

What must be done, wiII be done

Not for you or for me.
For the greater gIory of AIIah

It is aII written in a book somewhere, yes?

Who wiII Iive. Who wiII die.
Who wiII awake in Paradise

- Do you beIieve in Paradise?
- No

Ah. We do

What's that phrase again, Mr. Robert?

The finaI seconds of the
countdown to possibIe war

ticked off on the Baghdad
raiIway station cIock this morning in Iraq

That deadIine has now expired
The mood here is somber

Iraqis are preparing as best
they can to defend their property

The famous Baghdad downtown
market is virtuaIIy shut down

Stores are Iocked up and shuttered as
shop owners wait fruitIessIy for business

Some commodities are in demand.
CandIes and protective tape for windows

Because of fears of
U.S. air strikes on the capitaI

Peter Arnett, CNN, Baghdad

He says: ''I want to shake
your hand'' I said: ''Why''?

He says: ''WeII...

...most guys just Ieave her hanging out...''

The kids have got the sniffIes.
We just got the caII from Washington

- Are you sure?
- Yeah

- Who's got the sniffIes?
- The kids!

- I'm outta here
- Shit. Come on, come on

- That deadIine has now expired
- Okay

- Naji says he's stiII working on it
- They're cutting it awfuIIy cIose

January 15th is just another day on the
caIendar. That's what the man said

- We'II get this interview
- Hey, guys, something's up

Everybody's saying we gotta get out
of here. Something about the sniffIes

- SniffIes?
- Yeah

- SniffIes. Bingo. They're coming.
- This is it

ABC and CBS are puIIing out.
BBC and ITN haven't decided

Most of the print guys Ieft Iast night,
NBC's on the fence

If the phones go out in Baghdad,
we've stiII got the fourwire

We couId be the onIy ones abIe to report

I Iost two reporters at the Times,
I'm not gonna go through that again

Excuse me, Tom. It's the White
House on Iine 2. It's the President

Hey, send the biII to New York
Hey, send the biII to New York!

AIright, we have a 727 with
one hundred and twenty six pIaces

I strongIy suggest you take
advantage of the opportunity

This wiII be the finaI evacuation

Look, I know this isn't a press conference...

Look, I'm gonna say this one
more time. We are puIIing out

Exit visas and other
domentation are your responsibiIity

Use your heads, peopIe. Stay in
Baghdad, you may find yourseIf dead

Look, it s a terrific opportunity Robert

but no story is worth risking your Iife

No, no story is worth risking your Iife

But... this is the story of a Iifetime

Look, I'm not teIIing you what to do,
I don't know what you shouId do

- What wouId you do, Ed?
- Shit, Robert. What do you want me to say?

I just spoke with President Bush. He's
taIking to me about taking you out of there

What about Ted Turner?

He said we're an internationaI news service,
and we'II continue to broadcast

Ed, can you pick up the phone?

What do you think, Robert?

I'm gonna stay. I'm gonna ride it out

Hey, this is my waIk on the moon

I've seen this panic before
Saigon. Same thing

White House spooked the shit
out of everybody

The reporters got the heIicopters
and got the heII out

Robert, you know what I'm taIking about

Course they don't want us here.
If we're here...

The White House can't controI the story
It goes to the worId Iive

But I say we stay, and report and prevaiI

Okay. Two things.
First of aII, remember where we are

We're within waIking distance
of the Iraqi ParIiament

The presidentiaI PaIace, the Ministry of
Defense, teIecommunications centers

AII of these are prime targets, every one

So what are we gonna do?

Okay. Second, the foIks at CNN say
the decision to stay or Ieave is ours

It s up to us. Each of us

- Great. So we're free to stay
- Or go

WeII, I'm staying, and that settIed
and any journaIist worth his saIt...

- Hey, Pete
- I'm in, no matter who's out. I'II be outside

Okay. Chartered pIane'II be ready to go in
the morning Bernie wiII be on it

He's the Washington anchor.
They want him in his chair Monday morning,

and that's where he's gonna be

It's pretty cIear
there's not gonna be an interview

As for the rest of us, it's your caII

- So?
- WeII, I'II stay. I just got here

I don't know. If you
reaIIy don't need me, I wouId Iike to...

I just, I got peopIe at home.
I got peopIe at home

AIright

Okay, so you're gonna
Ieave in the morning with Bernie

- Yeah
- Good. I'II stay

- What?
- I'm staying

No. Wait, wait, no

- Then I'm staying
- Why?

I, I thought we had to make a decision

Yeah, but you've done nothing
but compIain since we got here

I was venting. I'II stay.
I don't want to miss the fireworks

Nick's here. He can do your job

- Thanks for the ego boost.
- No, no, You've been great

I'm just saying that I think
we can afford to ... bareIy...

get aIong without you

AIright

- So you're Ieaving?
- Yeah

Good. John?

- I'II do what you do
- I'm staying

- Can I make an observation?
- No. You have nothing to say

You and I need
to have a private conversation

Can the rest of you, uh Ieave?
I need to speak with Ingrid

- How'd it faII out, gang?
- We're Ieaving

- We're staying
- We don't know about Ingrid yet

Oh, Iook at 'em run. Hurry!

- What's this about?
- You know what it's about

- You're gonna stay
- No, actuaIIy, I was gonna go

- You were?
- Uh huh

I'm not the suicidaI type.
I suggest you go too

Nothing you can do
to stop that, especiaIIy dying

I can't go

Saigon?

Goddamn it, Robert, that
was a different war, at a different time

I'm not gonna waIk away from
a great story. Not again

God. Egomaniac. This is not just
about you. You have a wife and kids

I have nothing. Look, you go and I'II stay

- That's not gonna work
- WeII then, we'II both stay

Listen to me

How many times have you caught
me before I hit the ground?

You've done nothing but protect me
since the time I met you. This is different

This is different

I want you to stay

But I'm asking you to go

- So?
- Oh, I'm taking that fIight out of here

I Iike shithoIes, not deathtraps

- You sure?
- Oh, Peter Look at me. I'm no hero

See you after the war

Oh! God!

- Wiener!
- You aIright?

Yeah. I'm totaIIy screwed!
You're stuck with me

This is it! This is it!

- The fourwire!
- I have it, Peter

- Are we stiII on?
- It's up

- TeII em what' s goin' down here
- HeIIo, AtIanta? AtIanta, come to us

- Phones are dead. Man, that was fast!
- There is something happening outside

- HoIy Christ!
- HeIIo, AtIanta, heIIo?

Camera in the window!
I need a camera in the window come on!

- Robert!
- ...in Baghdad something is happening

- Bernie's on the Iine
- Get a map up! Get a map!

Get a picture of Bernie up there! And teII
French that we are going Iive to Baghdad

Bernie's on the phone! He says
something's happening...

We have to go to Baghdad, Secretary.
We're going to Bernard Shaw in Baghdad

HeIIo, AtIanta.
There is something happening outside

Peter... Peter... Peter Arnett is here with me

Peter come join us
so we can describe to the viewers

what we're seeing outside the window

The skies over Baghdad
have been iIIuminated

Give me the sticks! Give me the sticks!

There are bright fIashes aII over the sky

- Peter, are we on?
- Let me get that other mic

WeII, there's antiaircraft fire
going up into the sky

Starbursts in the bIack sky.
Tremendous Iightning in the sky

A IightningIike effect

- I've got the night scope on
- Now sirens are sounding for the first time

Robert! Robert! We need
to get the crew down to the sheIter!

- The noise is just deafening
- Okay

AII of you, aII of you to the sheIter!

- Go with Ingrid !
- What are you doing?

- I'm staying
- Then I'm stayin too

Something Iike 200 guns firing
from the rooftops around us here

Now we can see expIosions in
the distance. Huge fIashes of Iight

Robert! Robert!
What are we gonna do?

Fuck! Everybody nonessentiaI get
down to that bomb sheIter myseIf incIuded!

- Right now!
- Come, Mick!

- Do it!
- Judy!

- I'II be back!
- Don't worry. The war'II stiI be here

This is extraordinary

The bombs are faIIing
and the Iights are stiII on. Ooh!

Camera's on automatic! And we're roIIing!

The Iights aII over downtown
Baghdad are stiII on

- Peter, Peter!
- We have John HoIIiman here

John, what can you see?

Good evening, gentIemen. Or rather
good morning. This is John HoIIiman

- That's it! The fourwire is dead
- We've Iost the Iine

- What happened?
- What's going on?

It's dead

Coming back to David French

We've Iost that for the moment.
Back to the Pentagon again

- Quick! PIug in a battery! Quick
- I think it's on this desk! John!

- Battery!
- I can't see!

- Where is it? Where is it?
- I got it! It's over the desk

- Know how to pIug it in?
- Yeah.

On the Ieft hand side, Bernie.
Can you see it?

- We're back up
- HaIIeIujah

- They're back up! Baghdad's back
- AIright. We're going back to Baghdad

Right now

This is John HoIIiman
reporting from Baghdad...

HoIy cow! That was a huge
air burst just fiIIing the sky

That was the buggest bIast of air so far

I'm, I'm, uh moving away
from the window now

If you're stiII with us you
can hear the bombs now

They're hitting the center of the city

What's that noise?

- Is that just noise on the Iine or the bomb?
- I don't know. I'm checking

Sounds Iike the goddamn hoteI is under
attack. Check on Wiener and the crew

- Are you aIright? Everybody here?
- Yeah, I think so.

Watch that girI! Keep your heads down!

Let us in! Let these peopIe in!

Just Iet these peopIe in, pIease
Come on! Go, go, go, go, go, go!

I gotta go! I gotta go, man! Go!

CouIdn't get the fIight

We, I gather, have a report now from the
America CabIe News Network

Their reporters, John HoIIiman
and Peter Arnett, are in Baghdad

The Iast expIosion was in the western part
of the city, near the Defense Ministry

- Bernie?
- If this is surgicaI bombing

I don't Iike being this cIose
to the operating tabIe

Good one, Bernie

You kiIIed us, Wiener!

You own this war

I have the sense
that peopIe shooting towards the sky

and they are not aware or they cannot
see what they are shooting at

Bet you wish you were up there

No

This is not about me

- Are you aIright, mate?
- Yeah, I'm aIright

We're seeing outside
the government buiIding downtown

At this moment there are
pIumes in the darkness

BIack smoke rising...

John!! Bernie! soIdiers! Hide!

- Bernie! get down!
- John! Get behind the desk!

- We've Iost Baghdad
- Go to Roth in TeI Aviv

We've been advised to wear these masks

However there seems to be
IittIe danger of gas at this time

This is Richard Roth

I'm sorry to inform you that we Iost contact
with the CNN reporters at the Rasheed HoteI

Fuck!

Let me through!
Let me through! Fuck!

Good evening, gentIemen!

Yes, that's aII weII and good
but, I do not speak Arabic!

You go to sheIter now

- SheIter?
- SheIter

No sheIter! No sheIter!
SheIters frighten me! It's better up here!

Can't you see? It's safe! It's good up high!

I feeI safe here! It's good up high
Don't you feeI it?

Or we can aII go up on the roof!

GentIemen, gentIemen, pIease!
We can go up on the roof!

No? WeII then, I'II Iight a candIe for peace

- Oh, dear! That was one for the Academy
- I thought you were insane

WeII, I must be,
or what the heII am I doing here?

- You guys aIright? We were worried
- Yeah, we're fine

- How's everyone downstairs?
- They're good. They're in the sheIter

- Robert, you aIright?
- Yeah

- Are we stiII on? The Fourwire!
- It's up. It's up

- We're back on the air now.
- We're back!

The Iast expIosion was
in the western part of the city

- Ed!Tom! Come Iook at this!
- Near the Defense Ministry

... fact that throughout the night, CNN was
the onIy, news operation in the country

that was abIe to hang onto its teIephone...

... the onIy teIecommunications
of there now continue to beIong to CNN

But what we have now, again
reported by CNN from Baghdad

The very enterprising Bernard Shaw,
representing the very enterprising CNN

The best reporting that I've seen on
what transpired from Baghdad was on CNN

CNN used to be caIIed
''The IittIe network that couId''

... but it 's no Ionger a IittIe network

I'm gonna stick this microhone
outside the window now

so you can hear some of these expIosions

and the antiaircraft fire that goes with them

Now, there's a very bright fIash
near a refinery buiIding

There's much activity on the ground there

Thick baIIs of bIack smoke arriving from
the city from government buiIdings

- ... BareIy a miIe away
- Eight to ten white sharp expIosions

ObviousIy aimed at destroying
that particuIar refinery

That was the expIosion cIosest
to the PresidentiaI PaIace

here in downtown Baghdad

See as though the waves of bombing
are coming every fifteen minutes now

It's... five am here at Baghdad

I honestIy don't know what time it is back in
the States but I imagine around this time

I wouId probabIy be on my desk eating
a turkey sandwich on whoIe wheat

Maybe a tweIvegrain bread and, uh...

And we can't assess the damage officiaIIy
There's no word from Iraqi officiaIs

But from our vantage point here
on the ninth fIoor of the AI Rasheed

the devastation seems formidabIe

What were buiIdings now are sheIIs, Iike
boxes crushed by someone's giant hands

Smoke rising everywhere

The streets are fuII of debris
and devoid of a Iiving souI

None of us here I am sure, wiII ever
forget this night or what happened here

This is Peter Arnett with
Bernard Shaw, John HoIIiman

Producers Robert Wiener
and Ingrid Formanek

and our crew of Judy Parker,
Nick Robertson and Mark BieIIo

Returning you to the reIative
tranquiIity of the United States

Ladies and gentIemen, we are off the air

What the heII was I taIking about?
A turkey sandwich?

You were making me hungry!

Don't worry, Bernie, it was reaI,
it was stunning. It was great. Great

FoIks, it's Ed here... And...

I think I can speak for aII of us when...

When I say...

... It was simpIy incredibIe...

And, you can rest
assured that you are the envy

... of every journaIist around the worId.
CongratuIations

There... I mean,
there reaIIy aren't words to...

I'II see you soon. Get some rest

- Great job, Robert
- Thanks, Bernard

We're gonna set up a rotation

Everyone's gonna need sIeep

Jesus

Hey Iisten, everybody.
I mean, it's great work

Thank you... Thank you. Oh, shit!

Move away from the equipments now!
Robert, I'm sorry but I have orders

You must stop your reporting immediateIy

You can record stories
but we must review them

Naji, that's just not gonna work
I mean, we're into it now, man

- Robert! These are my orders
- Baghdad, this is AtIanta!

- Baghdad. Baghdad, this is AtIanta
- Can I just...?

Baghdad, this is AtIanta. Come in.

This is John HoIIiman
reporting from Baghdad

Our executive producer, Robert Wiener
has an Iraqi officiaI here

Robert can you teII us
what's happening here?

Yeah. UnfortunateIy, we've been ordered by
the Iraqi government to cease transmitting

We've been informed that any
future reports are subject to censorship

Stop that!

Under these new reguIations we cannot
report that the Iatest attack is continuing

and that bIack cIouds
of smoke can be seen

on the direction of
Saddam InternationaI Airport

But the Ministry of Information
has informed us

that we cannot report any of this
without their approvaI

Stop it!

This is Robert Wiener, CNN,
reporting Iive from Baghdad

- That is enough!
- Okay. It's off. It's off

See? It's off

The caravan can't stop.
Do not Iet the driver stop

Air Force knows you're crossing,
but it's war. PeopIe forget shit

And if you have to pee, pee in a bottIe

- Yeah, but my aim's not that good
- The cars have to stay in order

It's white car, it's bIue car it's red car

BIue car, red car, white car

- What did I just say?
- Wiener, I'II be aIright

One minute

Thirty hours, I'II be home

Kicking back with a gIass of StoIi

Watching aII of this on teIevision

Thank you

Don't stay too Iong

- Your famiIy?
- They're safe. Thank you

- So, you're Ieaving?
- Yeah. It's time for me to go

- And we have become friends
- Yeah

You kept your word and you've been fair

- I can't ask for more than that from a friend
- And you got your story

- Yeah. Not the one I wanted
- Isn't it?

I wiII see you when this war is over