Bartlet Authorizes Fitzwallace Intervention Amid Mounting Grief
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet listens to Nancy's strategic proposal to fracture Bazan's army, signaling a potential shift in approach to the Haitian embassy siege.
Bartlet authorizes sending Fitzwallace to intervene, displaying presidential authority amid crisis while absorbed in personal grief (tapping cigarette).
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Entrenched in power grip
Invoked as coup architect whose army Nancy targets for fracture via St. Jacques—not present but embodies the adversarial force driving U.S. strategic calculus.
- • Sustain military dominance in Haiti
- • Neutralize political opposition
- • Force secures regime control
- • U.S. embassy siege deters intervention
Empathetic vigilance masking shared grief
Walks and converses closely with Bartlet up stairs through Outer Oval, responds attentively to queries on 48-hour hostage crisis and anomalous May tropical storm, offers research assistance, notes schedule, absorbs pallbearers request with steady support.
- • Provide real-time intel on crises for Bartlet
- • Anticipate and fulfill presidential needs
- • Personal attentiveness sustains leadership in turmoil
- • Anomalies like off-season storms warrant scrutiny
Latent allegiance in play
Highlighted by Nancy as pivotal Annapolis ally to Fitzwallace, positioned to fracture Bazan's army from within—not present but central to the proposed strategy driving presidential decision.
- • Command troops amid coup chaos
- • Navigate U.S. pressure via old ties
- • Academy bonds outweigh current allegiances
- • Fracture risks personal command
grieving yet resolute
listens to Nancy's strategy while tapping an unlit cigarette, decisively authorizes Admiral Fitzwallace's deployment, exits with Charlie to discuss the Haitian president's 48-hour hostage situation and an anomalous May tropical storm moving from Florida to South Carolina, requests pallbearers upon entering the Oval Office
- • authorize Fitzwallace's intervention reframed as peacekeeping amid Haitian crisis
- • navigate personal grief while asserting leadership
Focused intensity amid layered crises
Interjects pointed question on invasion ramifications to probe strategy depth, then turns to Bartlet to solicit decisive input, facilitating the command chain in the high-stakes huddle before all rise to exit.
- • Clarify geopolitical risks of proposed action
- • Secure Bartlet's buy-in for next steps
- • Invasion carries heavy international consequences
- • Bartlet's judgment anchors White House response
Bold confidence underscoring crisis mastery
Pitches incisive strategy to leverage St. Jacques for fracturing Bazan's army, reframes potential invasion as peacekeeping operation, stands with group upon approval, and thanks the President—commanding the room's strategic pivot with unflinching precision.
- • Obtain presidential authorization for Haiti intervention
- • Reposition military action to minimize political backlash
- • St. Jacques' loyalty can be exploited to divide Bazan's forces
- • Peacekeeping label neutralizes invasion optics
Poised for operational command
Positioned for deployment as Admiral, directly authorized by Bartlet to intervene in Haiti crisis following strategy approval—not physically present but thrust into action via presidential directive.
- • Execute Haiti mission leveraging St. Jacques ties
- • Fracture siege through Annapolis brotherhood
- • Personal ties enable military fracture
- • U.S. intervention demands swift admiralty
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Serves as crucible for urgent Haiti strategy session where Nancy unveils St. Jacques maneuver, Leo probes, and Bartlet authorizes Fitzwallace amid fluorescent glare and humming tension, fusing national security with presidential grief.
Propels Bartlet and Charlie's urgent ascent for intimate walk-and-talk on Haitian hostage desperation and freak tropical storm, transitional space amplifying grief's isolation amid relentless duty propulsion toward Oval reckoning.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Cast as primary adversarial force in Nancy's pitch—Bazan's troops encircling embassy with AR-15s and howitzers, targeted for internal fracture by St. Jacques to enable U.S. peacekeeping pivot, heightening stakes of presidential authorization.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The lingering shot of Mrs. Landingham's untouched desk and the janitor finding Bartlet's discarded cigarette both serve as silent, powerful symbols of absence and defiance."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"NANCY: "Basically we think we can get St. Jacques to fracture Bazan's army.""
"LEO: "So if we invade...?" NANCY: "It becomes peacekeeping.""
"BARTLET: "Okay. Send Fitzwallace down. Anything else?""