Owning the Ship: Bartlet Refuses to Disown Shareef
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet questions the validity of Qumar's claims, and Nancy confirms they can fabricate evidence as long as the U.S. remains silent.
Bartlet seeks opinions on how to respond, with Nancy suggesting military retaliation and Fitzwallace proposing a third option to insulate Bartlet.
Bartlet reaffirms his responsibility for the Shareef operation, refusing to disown his order or insulate himself, and expresses loyalty to his team.
Bartlet and his team prepare to move to the Situation Room to address the crisis.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Measured and pragmatic; he seeks a solution that preserves military secrecy and protects the chain of command while retaining institutional credibility.
Fitzwallace counsels keeping military secrecy, counsels an 'admit but insulate the President' option, invokes the Chiefs' loyalty and practical ways to work around a signed authorization, and appeals to institutional honor and operational realism.
- • Protect the military's operational secrecy and minimize legal/political fallout
- • Offer a compromise that shields the President while preserving institutional integrity
- • Prevent hasty retaliatory decisions based on fabricated evidence
- • Operational secrecy is crucial for national security
- • The Chiefs can be managed to provide cover while preserving the President's stature
- • There are tactical workarounds to written authorizations when necessary
Pragmatically worried; she is risk-averse about political/military exposure and inclined to minimize presidential liability even if tactically messy.
Nancy argues against openly admitting responsibility for the operation, expresses pragmatic caution (including a flippant aside about nuclear posture), and presses for a defensive posture rather than moral ownership.
- • Avoid public admission that would politically and diplomatically harm the administration
- • Limit escalation or exposure of sensitive operations
- • Advocate for options that preserve strategic flexibility
- • Admitting involvement will provoke further political and military risk
- • Maintaining plausible deniability preserves strategic options
- • Nuclear posture and broader deterrence calculations matter when considering escalatory responses
Resolute and defiant on the surface, proud and protective of his team, carrying the burden of responsibility rather than shirking it.
Bartlet strides into the Oval, listens to Leo's intelligence, rebukes tactical hedging, claims ownership of the Shareef operation aloud, defends his advisors, uses dark humor about 'Holland,' and orders immediate action toward the Situation Room.
- • Prevent his staff from scapegoating each other or distancing him from the operation
- • Reassert presidential ownership and moral authority over covert actions
- • Convert debate into decisive action by moving to the Situation Room to manage diplomatic fallout
- • A president must accept responsibility for covert operations he orders
- • Loyalty between leader and advisors is essential to institutional integrity and trust
- • Admitting responsibility is morally preferable to dishonest denials or scapegoating
Concerned and focused, balancing alarm about the diplomatic risk with loyalty to the President and the need for rapid, coordinated response.
Leo delivers the crucial intelligence about the Qumari rescue team's planned claim, supports the president, frames the practical next step (Situation Room), and stands as both counsel and logistical pivot to move from argument to response.
- • Ensure the President has accurate intelligence and options
- • Keep the team unified and direct them to the Situation Room for crisis management
- • Mitigate reputational damage while preserving operational security
- • Accurate, timely intelligence is essential to avoid escalation
- • The Situation Room is where a coordinated, responsible response must be executed
- • Protecting institutional credibility matters as much as tactical gain
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The military-issued Israeli-made parachute functions as the central piece of fabricated evidence referenced by Leo; it is the narrative lever Qumar plans to use to claim Israeli or U.S. involvement. Its mention drives the discussion of denial, admission, insulation, and presidential responsibility.
Referenced verbally by Bartlet as 'a piece of paper' he signed; the signed authorization anchors his moral/ legal responsibility for the Shareef operation and constrains proposals to fully absolve him. It is the tangible proof that prevents easy deniability and forces the ethical dilemma central to the event.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The East Colonnade functions as the transitional exterior corridor through which Bartlet and his team move into the Oval Office. It sets the tone for movement from arrival to concentrated decision-making and underscores the shift from informal approach to formal presidential action.
The Situation Room is referenced as the immediate action hub — the destination Bartlet directs the team to after asserting responsibility. It represents the operational center where intelligence, military counsel, and coordinated state response will be mobilized to manage the Qumar provocation.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Israeli Military figures here as the nominal manufacturer/source of the parachute Qumar plans to claim it recovered; it is invoked to make the fabricated evidence more believable and to widen the geopolitical stakes.
The Sultanate of Qumar, as a state actor, is implied to be orchestrating the probe and the rescue team's staged discovery to politically pressure the U.S. and exploit the Shareef operation for diplomatic leverage.
The Joint Chiefs are present in the background of this debate through Fitzwallace's role and the invocation of military secrecy and counsel; their institutional weight influences options discussed (secrecy, insulation, operational workaround).
The Qumari Rescue Team is the active antagonist in this event: intelligence indicates they will announce recovery of the Israeli parachute as a staged piece of evidence to implicate Israel/U.S., thus intentionally escalating the diplomatic crisis and forcing a White House reaction.
The Shareef Operation is the covert action at the heart of the dispute; Bartlet's signed authorization is its legal/ethical anchor, and the operation's exposure via a staged parachute claim compels the administration to respond.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Nancy McNally's initial suggestion to attack Qumar escalates into a broader debate about how to respond to their fabricated evidence, reflecting the growing tension and stakes."
"Nancy McNally's initial suggestion to attack Qumar escalates into a broader debate about how to respond to their fabricated evidence, reflecting the growing tension and stakes."
"The revelation of Qumar's fabricated tape sets up the later discussion about how to respond to their claims, maintaining narrative continuity on the international crisis."
"The revelation of Qumar's fabricated tape sets up the later discussion about how to respond to their claims, maintaining narrative continuity on the international crisis."
"Bartlet's reaffirmation of responsibility for the Shareef operation aligns with Toby's vision of leadership requiring vision, guts, and gravitas, both emphasizing accountability."
"Bartlet's reaffirmation of responsibility for the Shareef operation aligns with Toby's vision of leadership requiring vision, guts, and gravitas, both emphasizing accountability."
"Bartlet's reaffirmation of responsibility for the Shareef operation aligns with Toby's vision of leadership requiring vision, guts, and gravitas, both emphasizing accountability."
Key Dialogue
"LEO: We have reason to believe that in the next 48 hours, the Qumari rescue team will announce that they've recovered a military-issued Israeli-made parchute."
"FITZWALLACE: Well, I'm with Dr. Strangelove on keeping our military secrets secret. But Nancy and Leo and I think there's a third option, which is to say it was us but insulate you."
"BARTLET: You brought them to me. And you talked Leo into Shareef and he talked me into it. It was my order and you executed it flawlessly and I stand by it. I stand by you, I stand by you all. I stand by it till I die. Plus, I'm going to need some cell mates in Holland. So, what do we do now?"