Bartlet's Discreet Communique to Iran

Bartlet orders this discreet communique in the Oval Office amid banter turning to crisis over the Ayatollah's son's heart-and-lung transplant flight. Sent through Swiss channels to Tehran, it frames the mission as purely humanitarian. Leo pushes to link it to missile test demands, but Bartlet rejects the idea outright. Charlie, C.J., Leo, and an aide stand by as he draws the line, refusing to bargain a life.

2 appearances

Purpose

Transmit U.S. position on humanitarian medical mission for Ayatollah's son to Iran via Swiss intermediaries

Significance

Crystallizes Bartlet's moral stance against politicizing aid, forces purely humanitarian framing, and heightens diplomatic stakes by preserving White House credibility

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Oval Banter and the Red‑Cross Line

Bartlet orders a discreet communiquÉ routed through Swiss channels: diplomatic paper to urge Iran to honor the Bahrain Agreement while ensuring the communiquÉ is not used to tie the medical flight to political leverage.

Before: Unsigned/unissued; the idea of a communiquÉ exists as a policy option.

After: Ordered to be sent through the Swiss channel with explicit instructions to avoid linking the medical mission to leverage.

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

You Don't Bargain a Life — Bartlet Draws a Humanitarian Line

Bartlet authorizes sending a discreet communique through Swiss channels — an instrument to press for compliance on Bahrain while explicitly instructed not to link it to the medical flight; the communique is ordered as a formal diplomatic step but framed to avoid coercion of the patient.

Before: Not yet dispatched; the idea of a communique is being debated in the Oval Office.

After: Authorized to be sent through Swiss channels with strict instructions to avoid any linkage to the flight; exists now as a directed diplomatic instrument.

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