The West Wing
S3E20
· We Killed Yamamoto

Leo Shatters Moral Absolutes, Bartlet Greenlights Assassination

In the Oval Office at 1 AM, Leo confronts a weary Bartlet, reversing his prior caution by rejecting trip cancellation. Through blistering ethical sparring—excoriating Bartlet's 'liberal' moral absolutism as naive amid terrorism's imperatives—Leo deploys realpolitik, insisting self-defense demands letting Shareef arrive for assassination. Bartlet's resistance crumbles in a turning-point reversal, uttering 'Make the call,' committing to covert killing and fracturing his principled core for national security.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

5

Leo enters the Oval Office, defying the late hour to personally deliver urgent counsel to President Bartlet.

surprise to urgency ['Oval Office']

Leo reverses his earlier decision about cancelling Shareef's visit, pushing Bartlet to keep options open by maintaining the Qumari official's travel plans.

resignation to provocation

The leaders engage in rapid-fire ethical sparring - Bartlet invoking Machiavelli's dangers while Leo counters with visceral realpolitik justifications for assassination.

intellectual debate to moral confrontation

Leo delivers the crushing argument - moral absolutism can't stop Shareef's future killings, forcing Bartlet to authorize maintaining the State Department contact.

defiance to grim acceptance ['State Department']

Bartlet's final three words - 'Make the call' - confirm the assassination protocol will proceed as Leo exits with military precision.

resolution to chilling finality

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3
Josh Lyman
primary

Neutral, as off-screen reference

Not physically present but briefly invoked by Bartlet questioning if Leo's visit is to 'stand in front of Josh,' implying prior tensions or Josh's involvement in trip cancellation decisions.

Goals in this moment
  • • Influence administration's crisis response indirectly
  • • Navigate welfare and foreign policy pressures
Active beliefs
  • • Pragmatic politics requires tough choices
  • • Loyalty demands confronting superiors when needed
Character traits
politically strategic loyal deputy
Follow Josh Lyman's journey
Abdul Lebin Shareef
primary

Unknown, as off-screen target

Heavily referenced as Qumar's Defense Minister and terrorist mastermind whose incoming flight must proceed uncanceled to enable U.S. assassination options, central to the debate's stakes without physical presence.

Goals in this moment
  • • Advance terror operations under diplomatic cover
  • • Evade international accountability
Active beliefs
  • • Power shields criminal acts
  • • Alliances mask true intentions
Character traits
cunning terrorist diplomatic deceiver
Follow Abdul Lebin …'s journey
Abigail Bartlet
primary

Weary and defensively absolutist, masking vulnerability with sarcasm before yielding to grim resolve

Seated or present in the Oval Office at 1 AM, weary from late hours, Bartlet probes Leo's midnight visit, debates ethical boundaries of assassination versus international law, references Josh suspiciously, and capitulates with the decisive order 'Make the call' to proceed.

Goals in this moment
  • • Scrutinize Leo's reversal and alternatives to avoid rash action
  • • Authorize self-defense measures only after exhausting moral scrutiny
Active beliefs
  • • Moral absolutes exist and must guide decisions even in crisis
  • • Slippery slopes like 'war scenarios' justify unchecked power
Character traits
principled idealist morally conflicted decisively resolute
Follow Abigail Bartlet's journey

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

2
The Residence

Referenced by Leo as the site he called to locate Bartlet, who had retreated there earlier, contrasting the intimate presidential sanctuary with the Oval's high-stakes confrontation—symbolizing duty pulling Bartlet from personal respite into crisis decision-making.

Atmosphere Implied quiet seclusion, now abandoned for Oval tension
Function Prior refuge before Oval summons
Symbolism Represents fleeting personal vulnerability yielding to public duty
Access Private presidential quarters, accessible to staff via call
Oaken hush and velvet grip of shadowed repose Summoned departure into crisis
Qumar

Its nearly 8 AM dawn and Shareef's plane departure are cited to underscore time pressure, framing Qumar as the volatile origin of the threat—its powder-keg status fueling the urgency to lure Shareef stateside rather than strike blindly.

Atmosphere Dawn-lit tension across time zones, evoking strategic chasm
Function Origin point for Shareef's flight and terror nexus
Symbolism Middle Eastern powder keg fracturing U.S. moral certainties
Dust-choked runways at 8 AM Yawning time-zone divide amplifying real-time peril

Organizations Involved

Institutional presence and influence

1
Sultanate of Qumar

Debated through Shareef's scheduled U.S. trip as Defense Minister, its arms-dependent alliance with America is weaponized in the assassination calculus—not canceling the visit preserves diplomatic facade while enabling covert strike against terror sponsor.

Representation Via Defense Minister Shareef's impending diplomatic visit
Power Dynamics Arms-recipient ally exerting leverage through terror-tainted immunity
Impact Exposes fractures in realpolitik alliances when terror intersects
Secure Shareef's safe passage under diplomatic cover Maintain U.S. weapons pipeline despite terror links Diplomatic protocols shielding key figures Arms trade dependencies constraining U.S. responses

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 3
Character Continuity

"Bartlet's initial frustration over insufficient evidence to indict Shareef evolves into his reluctant authorization of Shareef's assassination, showcasing his moral struggle and ultimate pragmatic decision."

Bartlet Rejects Circumstantial Evidence Linking Shareef to Terror Attacks
S3E20 · We Killed Yamamoto
Thematic Parallel

"Bartlet's graveside moment of personal vulnerability and therapy confession contrasts with his final, steely decision to authorize Shareef's assassination, underscoring his internal conflict between morality and pragmatism."

Bartlet's Graveside Therapy Confession and Shareef's Menacing Intel
S3E20 · We Killed Yamamoto
Thematic Parallel

"Bartlet's graveside moment of personal vulnerability and therapy confession contrasts with his final, steely decision to authorize Shareef's assassination, underscoring his internal conflict between morality and pragmatism."

Bartlet Presses Reluctant Leo for Shareef's Coded Terror Threat
S3E20 · We Killed Yamamoto

Part of Larger Arcs

Bartlet and his national security team struggle against legal, evidentiary, and diplomatic barriers to hold Abdul Lebin Shareef accountable for financing terror attacks, culminating in a moral pivot to assassination.

Key Dialogue

"LEO: Stop it. Just stop it already. This is the most horrifying part of your liberalism. You think there are moral absolutes."
"BARTLET: There are moral absolutes."
"LEO: Apparently not. He's killed innocent people. He'll kill more, so we have to end him. The village idiot comes to that conclusion before the Nobel Laureate."
"BARTLET: There are moral absolutes. Make the call."