Qumar attribution and the fabricated tape — the White House must decide whether to retaliate, protect covert operations, and accept political responsibility for prior orders (Bartlet must 'own the ship').

In the Situation Room Nancy McNally bursts in, furious and blunt: “Let's attack.” Her impatience—born of repeated provocations—collides with Admiral Fitzwallace's grim, almost black-humored realism, as he graphically warns of …

In the Oval Office corridor Bartlet and his senior team confront an escalating diplomatic provocation: intelligence indicates Qumar will claim to have recovered an Israeli-made parachute, likely a fabricated piece …