The West Wing
S3E5
· War Crimes

Leo Leverages Treaty Ratification to Isolate Adamley, Met with Defiant Refusal

In Leo's office, as the camera pans across a globe symbolizing global stakes, Leo strides to his chair and weaponizes the treaty's momentum—139 signatories, 35 ratifications, threshold at 60—to corner General Adamley on U.S. participation in the War Crimes Tribunal. He paints exclusion as diplomatic suicide. Adamley, embodying military intransigence, delivers a curt 'Absolutely,' crystallizing their ideological chasm on sovereignty versus international justice. This terse standoff escalates prior tensions, foreshadowing deeper confrontations over Leo's haunted past.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

2

Leo paces toward his chair, leveraging the ratified treaty threshold as a strategic play while emphasizing the consequences of being left out.

assertive to confrontational ["Leo's office, globe prominently placed by …

Adamley counters Leo's diplomatic pressure with flat refusal, signaling an entrenched ideological standoff.

confrontational to defiant

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Leo McGarry
primary

Determined command masking strategic urgency

Leo purposefully walks to his chair, sits with deliberate poise, and deploys precise treaty data—139 signed, 35 ratified, 60-ratification threshold—as a rhetorical hammer to corner Adamley, framing U.S. opt-out as catastrophic isolation in global affairs.

Goals in this moment
  • • Compel Adamley to reconsider military opposition by highlighting treaty inevitability
  • • Position U.S. participation as essential diplomatic leadership
Active beliefs
  • • Global treaties demand U.S. involvement to maintain moral and strategic primacy
  • • Exclusion risks irreparable damage to America's international standing
Character traits
strategic authoritative resolute
Follow Leo McGarry's journey
Alan Adamley
primary

Defiant resolve, armored against persuasion

Already seated on the sofa, General Adamley responds to Leo's pressure with a single, unyielding word—'Absolutely'—delivering curt refusal that shuts down negotiation and embodies military defiance without further explanation.

Goals in this moment
  • • Reject White House entreaties to preserve military autonomy
  • • Signal unbreakable opposition to tribunal entanglement
Active beliefs
  • • International tribunals threaten core U.S. sovereignty and military prerogative
  • • Participation invites Pentagon revolt and congressional backlash
Character traits
intransigent defiant stoic
Follow Alan Adamley's journey

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 2
Escalation medium

"Adamley's initial concerns about the War Crimes Tribunal escalate into a flat refusal, highlighting the entrenched ideological standoff."

Adamley Ambush: Tribunal Draft Ignites Military Fury
S3E5 · War Crimes
NARRATIVELY_FOLLOWS medium

"Adamley's quote of the contentious draft speech sets up Leo's later strategic play about the ratified treaty threshold."

Adamley Ambush: Tribunal Draft Ignites Military Fury
S3E5 · War Crimes

Themes This Exemplifies

Thematic resonance and meaning

Institutional Power Struggles
6
Cliff Calley's prosecutorial narration and oath intensification on Donna escalates to diary handover under mutual destruction threats, paralleling Leo's rhetorical broadening of tribunal scope and …

Part of Larger Arcs

Chief of Staff Leo McGarry clashes with General Alan Adamley over the administration's push to expand involvement in the international war crimes tribunal, pitting White House moral leadership against military concerns over sovereignty and autonomy.

Key Dialogue

"LEO: "139 countries have signed. 35 have ratified. Once 60 ratify, that's the ball game. You want to be left out?""
"ADAMLEY: "Absolutely""