Bartlet Orders Haiti Fly-By and Diplomatic Ultimatum
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet enters the Oval Office, greeted by Nancy and Josh, immediately diving into a discussion about a potential military display of force against Haiti.
Military officers outline a plan to buzz Port-au-Prince with F-18s, ensuring safety with an E-2 Hawkeye radar dome, while Bartlet questions the effectiveness.
The team debates sanctions versus military action, with Josh highlighting the humanitarian costs of sanctions and Nancy warning of a looming refugee crisis.
Bartlet decides on a diplomatic message to Canada and a military fly-by, dismissing further questions with a weary sigh.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Unseen but implied iron control fracturing under pressure
Referenced repeatedly as coup architect targeted by proposed fly-by buzz, Canadian ultimatum demanding withdrawal to restore Dessaline.
- • Maintain junta grip on Haiti
- • Resist U.S.-backed restoration
- • Military displays bluffable
- • Sanctions evade true power
Guarded realism from historical precedents
Confirms State exploring sanctions but cites past Haiti failures hurting innocents, receives co-order with Nancy for Canadian PM message to Bazan on Dessaline restoration, stands to exit.
- • Report sanctions viability honestly
- • Execute backchannel ultimatum
- • Prior sanctions backfired on vulnerable
- • Diplomacy via allies tests junta without direct escalation
Implied precarious exile
Invoked as democratically elected leader ousted to USS Enterprise safety, focal point of U.S. restoration intent via ultimatum.
- • Regain presidency via U.S. support
- • Survive coup violence
- • Democratic mandate justifies intervention
- • Allied navies shield legitimacy
Wary fatigue masking strategic vigilance
Greets President via VO, questions shoot-down risks on planes, lingers post-meeting to caution on invasion optics linking to MS distraction and re-election strength show, agrees on careful public posture with Toby while leaning exhausted on desk.
- • Mitigate political fallout from Haiti action
- • Coordinate messaging to preserve diplomatic flexibility
- • Actions risk MS scandal deflection perception
- • Public posture must avoid tainting options
Weary pragmatism amid team fatigue
Remains post-meeting to echo Josh on optics risks of MS distraction and commander strength ploy, advises Josh's team on guarded Haiti public posture, leans silently on desk acknowledging exhaustion.
- • Warn against optics poisoning policy
- • Enforce messaging discipline on invasion
- • Political timing invites skepticism
- • Diplomacy exhausts before force
Determined resolve edged with annoyance at perceived weakness
Enters Oval Office decisively, probes advisors on force displays and sanctions via opened file, nods thoughtfully to military tech assurances, issues crisp directive for Canadian ultimatum and fly-by consideration, sharply rebuffs Josh/Toby's political cautions, grabs papers and exits abruptly amid rising frustration.
- • Authorize calibrated military/diplomatic response to restore Dessaline
- • Dismiss political optics to prioritize moral imperative
- • Sanctions fail against corrupt Haitian structures
- • Democratic legitimacy and prior attacks demand U.S. action
Concerned precision amid escalating humanitarian crisis
Greets President via VO, affirms need for force display to alert Bazan, warns urgently of refugee cutter incidents off Florida Keys risking Guantanamo overload, receives direct orders for Canadian message relay, stands to exit post-meeting.
- • Advocate fly-by to pressure Bazan
- • Highlight refugee perils to hasten resolution
- • Display of force grabs junta attention
- • Delayed action floods U.S. borders
Focused operational zeal
Proposes aggressive Alpha strike of five F-18s buzzing Port-au-Prince to showcase U.S. might against Bazan, sits amid discussion, stands to thank and exit post-directive.
- • Pitch calibrated show-of-force option
- • Align military proposal with presidential resolve
- • Airpower buzz intimidates without full invasion
- • Sanctions impotence demands kinetic signaling
explains use of E-2 Hawkeye with radar dome to detect weapons signals before F-18 formation reaches Port-au-Prince
- • ensure safety of US aircraft during fly-by
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Military Officer details E-2 Hawkeye's radar dome detecting weapons signals pre-flyby arrival over Port-au-Prince, assuaging Josh's shoot-down fears and enabling safe F-18 Alpha strike; it embodies tech safeguard in high-stakes show-of-force calculus.
Mosley proposes five F-18s in Alpha formation buzzing Port-au-Prince to intimidate Bazan; Nancy affirms attention-grabbing, Bartlet greenlights consideration post-ultimatum—narrative fulcrum for resolve without invasion, threading military edge through refugee/moral pressures.
Bartlet nods and opens the file splaying sanction breakdowns, Haiti dispatches, refugee projections, and Bazan analyses, using it to pivot discussion from penalties to fly-by resolve; it anchors Oval debate, fueling decisive shift from diplomacy to calibrated force amid MS shadows.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Nancy cites 12 cutter interceptions of Haitian boats, heightening refugee urgency to force swift Haiti resolution; transforms distant straits into immediate border pressure on Oval decisions.
Nancy warns of overload from prolonged crisis, linking Haiti delay to naval base strain; amplifies stakes, pushing Bartlet from sanctions to action amid capacity collapse fears.
Target of proposed F-18 buzz by Mosley, E-2-monitored for threats; evokes coup chaos where Bazan crushes democracy, pulling Oval strategy into its volatile streets as fly-by tests U.S. menace.
Crisis epicenter dissected via sanctions history, police graft, prior U.S. shootings; Peter's 'down that road' invokes repeated failures, framing fly-by as bold pivot.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Shelters exiled Dessaline per Bartlet's rationale, symbolizing U.S. asylum steel; contrasts elected leader's displacement with Bazan's impunity, fueling restoration imperative.
Peter voices sanctioned explorations' past flops hurting innocents; Bartlet tasks him/Nancy with Canadian PM relay demanding Bazan restore Dessaline or face options—manifests diplomatic muscle threading resolve through backchannels.
Bartlet lambasts as contraband profiteers evading sanctions, enriching amid Dessaline ouster; underscores policy futility, justifying shift to fly-by coercion.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet's concern for civilian casualties in Haiti parallels his later questioning of military plans for Haiti."
"Josh and Toby's warning about political perception of Haiti parallels Bartlet's dismissal of those concerns in favor of principled action."
"Josh and Toby's warning about political perception of Haiti parallels Bartlet's dismissal of those concerns in favor of principled action."
"Josh and Toby's warning about political perception of Haiti parallels Bartlet's dismissal of those concerns in favor of principled action."
"Josh and Toby's warning about political perception of Haiti parallels Bartlet's dismissal of those concerns in favor of principled action."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: "All right, let's go here. Nancy, Peter, get a message to the Canadian prime minister - we intend to restore Dessaline. The Canadians should tell Bazan if he doesn't move out we're willing to move forward with military options. In the mean time, I'm willing to consider a fly-by.""
"JOSH: "We should bear in mind that if we end up invading Haiti there'll be a belief...""
"BARTLET: "That it was politically motivated.""
"BARTLET: "Sanctions aren't going to work - you said it yourself. The Haitian National Police will get rich of the contraband. Dessaline was democratically elected and instead of sitting in his office he's sitting on the USS Enterprise. To say nothing of the fact that they shot at us, and you don't get to do that.""