Bartlet Decisively Orders Seventh Fleet into Taiwan Strait
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Leo delivers urgent intelligence about Taiwan preparing to test-fire Patriot missiles, escalating tensions with China.
Bartlet probes for specifics on China's reaction, revealing unprecedented military exercises.
Leo suggests dissuading Taiwan from missile tests, but Bartlet doubts Taiwan's compliance.
Taiwan requests U.S. military presence in the Taiwan Strait, prompting Bartlet to assess worst-case scenarios.
Bartlet confirms the potential deployment of the largest U.S. naval armada since Vietnam, signaling a critical decision point.
Bartlet orders the Seventh Fleet into the Taiwan Strait, transitioning from deliberation to action.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Unified stoic professionalism
Joint Chiefs referenced by Leo as fully concurring with Nancy and Fitzwallace on Seventh Fleet surge, their collective assent compressing crisis into action.
- • Endorse presidential military pivot
- • Steady brinkmanship through precision counsel
- • China's exercises necessitate U.S. naval counter
- • Advisor harmony justifies escalation
Ironclad military resolve in absent endorsement
Admiral Fitzwallace cited by Leo in consensus on armada deployment, his military calculus invoked to greenlight Bartlet's order relayed to him directly.
- • Lock in Joint Chiefs' backing for naval thrust
- • Counter Taiwan Strait invasion simulations
- • U.S. armada rivals Vietnam scale if needed
- • Patriot tests demand forward-deployed response
Alert readiness to presidential command
Leo's driver, present in limo with Bartlet, receives direct barked order to 'Let's go' post-phone hang-up, poised to hurtle toward Sit Room amid mobilized crisis.
- • Execute immediate transport to command center
- • Maintain seamless access in crisis
- • Presidential directive overrides all
- • Speed bridges decision to action
Evoked warmth in recalled gesture
India's PM Rikki indirectly present via chess sets Bartlet mentions to Leo, symbolizing personal rapport invoked as strategic pivot before deployment order.
- • Leverage prior gifts for rapport
- • Anchor allied strategy amid Asia crisis
- • Chess metaphors illuminate grand strategy
- • U.S.-India ties bolster brinkmanship
Steely determination veiling strategic calculation and brinkmanship tension
President Bartlet, remote via phone in his limo, probes Leo with rapid questions on crisis scale, rejects Taiwan dissuasion, confirms advisor consensus, accepts dire naval risk, references chess sets metaphorically amid decision, issues Seventh Fleet order relayed through Leo, then commands driver to accelerate to Sit Room.
- • Commit U.S. naval power to deter Chinese invasion feint
- • Unify command chain with swift, irreversible order
- • Taiwan's test must proceed undeterred to assert autonomy
- • Consensus from military advisors validates high-stakes escalation
Professional assurance in reported consensus
National Security Advisor Nancy McNally invoked by Leo as concurring on crisis response, her alignment bolstering presidential resolve without direct presence or dialogue.
- • Reinforce unified advisory front on Strait deployment
- • Prioritize geo-strategic defense of Taiwan
- • Seventh Fleet surge counters China's unprecedented exercises
- • Taiwan's centrality demands U.S. hardware commitment
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Presidential limo secure phone facilitates the entire high-stakes briefing and order exchange between Leo's office and Bartlet, its shrill rupture initiating crisis dialogue; Bartlet vise-grips it, slams it down post-order, transforming instant intel into mobilized resolve with seismic finality.
Bartlet's sandalwood and boxwood chess sets from India's PM are referenced by the president during the call as 'beautiful chess sets,' serving as a wry strategic metaphor that humanizes the tension, pivots from grim naval calculus to personal alliance symbolism before the decisive order, underscoring geopolitical chessboard stakes.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Pingdong region's Taiwanese island base framed by Leo as site of imminent Patriot test-fire, its geo-strategic pulse igniting China's exercises and dragging U.S. into Strait showdown; referenced as flashpoint compressing deliberation into armada order.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Taiwan spotlighted by Leo for Pingdong Patriot test prep, provoking Beijing's blockade bluster; Bartlet rejects U.S. dissuasion, accepting ally's provocation as casus belli for Fleet surge, tethering American obligations.
Seventh Fleet positioned as Bartlet's climactic order target—vaulted from Oval edict relayed via Leo to Fitzwallace—its colossal armada thrust into Taiwan Strait as mightiest since Vietnam, embodying U.S. defiance against China's feints post-Patriot tests.
Joint Chiefs of Staff aligned in Leo's report as concurring with Nancy and Fitzwallace on armada risks, their high command gravitas fueling Bartlet's order and Sit Room assembly.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet's chess anecdotes foreshadow his strategic approach to the Taiwan crisis, linking intellectual gameplay to geopolitical maneuvering."
"Bartlet's mention of chess sets from India links to his later strategic teaching moment with Sam, reinforcing his role as a mentor."
"Leo's briefing on Taiwan's missile tests escalates to the Chinese Ambassador's ultimatum about CSS-6 missile tests, showing the direct cause-and-effect in diplomatic tensions."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"LEO: "We end up sending the largest US naval armada to South-East Asia since the end of Vietnam.""
"BARTLET: "That sounds right.""
"BARTLET: "Let Fitzwallace know I'm gonna order the Seventh Fleet into the Taiwan Strait.""