Fabula

CIA

Description

The CIA supplies classified intelligence to President Bartlet and principals during crises. In Roosevelt Room briefings, it reports on global atrocities like those in Equatorial Khundu, using coded language for mass killings, and responds to demands for withheld data amid Pentagon tensions. During the White House lockdown after Zoey's abduction, the agency wires into the Ops Center, receives briefings, and delivers real-time input alongside FBI and Diplomatic Security to assess threats and coordinate responses.

Affiliated Characters

Event Involvements

Events with structured involvement data

5 events
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
From Routine Briefing to Khundu's Moral Reckoning

The CIA functions as the intelligence source whose reporting (phrased euphemistically at first) and visual materials prompt the President's demand for plain language and factual clarity about Khundu's atrocities.

Active Representation

Via on-scene intelligence briefers and the footage they supply to the Roosevelt Room.

Power Dynamics

Knowledge-provider to the President; holds the facts that constrain policy and moral action.

Institutional Impact

The agency's wording and evidence directly shape how the administration perceives and prioritizes the Khundu crisis.

Internal Dynamics

Implicit tension between cautious phrasing and the President's demand for plain speech; possible concern about releasing graphic material publicly.

Organizational Goals
Deliver vetted intelligence to policymakers. Ensure evidence is presented accurately to inform decisions.
Influence Mechanisms
Provision of classified intelligence and imagery Framing via analyst testimony and euphemistic language
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
When Words Become Images: The Khundu Atrocity Revealed

The CIA supplies the raw intelligence and imagery (delivered by an intelligence officer) that introduces the euphemism and the visual evidence; its reporting forces the White House to confront the humanitarian reality in Khundu.

Active Representation

Through an intelligence officer presenting findings and the televised imagery used in the briefing.

Power Dynamics

Knowledge-holder that shapes presidential perception; constrained by classification but powerful in agenda-setting.

Institutional Impact

Forces the administration to weigh moral action against political risk, exposing limits of euphemistic reporting and accelerating potential policy choices.

Internal Dynamics

Tension between delivering full, graphic evidence and the institutional impulse to sanitize language for diplomatic or operational reasons.

Organizational Goals
Provide accurate, timely intelligence to national leadership. Preserve sources/methods while informing policy decisions.
Influence Mechanisms
Delivery of classified reports and imagery Framing of intelligence through euphemism or sanitized language to manage impact
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Interagency Blowback — Reese Reassigned

The CIA (and its intelligence officers) supplies the blunt, euphemistic intelligence—'neighbors are swapping family members'—that reframes the briefing from conventional items to evidence of systematic atrocities, forcing moral clarity from the President and staff.

Active Representation

Through the voice of briefers (Clark) and the images shown on Roosevelt Room television.

Power Dynamics

Provides indispensable intelligence authority; its reports shape executive attention and can catalyze policy decisions despite interagency resistance.

Institutional Impact

Forces the White House to confront uncomfortable moral truths that challenge diplomatic and military calculations; intelligence wording affects subsequent policy framing.

Internal Dynamics

Tension between analytic bluntness and diplomatic sensitivity; analysts may phrase findings cautiously, affecting how decisively leaders respond.

Organizational Goals
Deliver actionable intelligence about potential mass atrocities. Alert policymakers to humanitarian crises requiring urgent attention.
Influence Mechanisms
Delivering classified reports and graphic imagery to senior policymakers Framing events with chosen language (euphemism vs. direct terminology) to manage political consequences
S4E23 · Twenty-Five
Lockdown and the President's Fracture

The CIA is being briefed and wired into the Ops Center to provide intelligence context beyond domestic leads, contributing to the strategic assessment that Fitzwallace invokes.

Active Representation

Via intelligence briefings and direct wiring into the Ops Center's feeds.

Power Dynamics

Provides international intelligence that can push civilian leadership toward strategic or military options; operates as advisory rather than command.

Institutional Impact

Elevates the incident from law enforcement matter to one with potential geopolitical consequences, shaping military and diplomatic options.

Internal Dynamics

Quick pull-together of foreign intelligence analysts to support rapid assessments; tension between speed and verification.

Organizational Goals
Correlate foreign intelligence with domestic evidence to identify external links Inform senior staff about potential international actors and timelines
Influence Mechanisms
Classified intelligence channels Reputation as the repository of foreign threat analysis
S4E23 · Twenty-Five
Low‑Tech Abduction, High‑Level Uncertainty

The CIA is described as being briefed and wired into the Ops Center; its intelligence capability is implied as part of cross-checking foreign links and contextual signals in the analytic debate.

Active Representation

Via real-time intelligence feeds and briefings into the Situation Room.

Power Dynamics

Provides classified intelligence that can validate or rebut field indicators; exerts soft power through information asymmetry.

Institutional Impact

CIA involvement raises the stakes—inputs can shift the incident from local crime to international crisis.

Internal Dynamics

Pressure to produce rapid assessments; potential tension between tactical intelligence and strategic interpretation.

Organizational Goals
Analyze international indicators and possible foreign connections Provide timely intelligence to inform the President's decision-making
Influence Mechanisms
Classified intelligence reporting Analytic assessments that shape threat framing

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