The West Wing
Object

Forced Depletion Report

Commander Jack Reese drafts this classified document at President Bartlet's direct order, projecting roughly 150 U.S. casualties for a peacekeeping mission in war-torn Equatorial Khundu. Bartlet labels it his forced depletion report in a tense Oval Office exchange with Leo, Charlie, C.J., and Danny Concannon, noting its potential for damaging press bylines. Leo waves it at Secretary Hutchinson in the Situation Room to dispute Wall Street Journal leak figures. Josh warns Bartlet of its exposure amid inauguration turmoil, as senators press Leo and staff scramble over its fallout.
13 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

13 moments
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Balls, a Bible, and a Leaked Doctrine

The Forced Depletion Report is the leaked classified analysis Leo admits was produced under Bartlet's direction; its exposure is the political fulcrum that turns a lighthearted pre-ceremony into urgent damage control and congressional confrontation.

Before: Held as a sensitive, limited-distribution classified report prepared covertly for senior decision-making.
After: Compromised: awareness of its existence has spread to Hill and press, triggering questions and blame.
View full event
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Leak in the Lobby: Doctrine, Khundu, and the Missing Bible

The Forced Depletion Report is the narrative fulcrum: created covertly at the President's direction, discovered, and then disclosed (per Leo) by Hutchinson, provoking immediate congressional questioning and political danger for the administration.

Before: Completed covert analytical product held within tight channels (produced under the radar by Jack Reese).
After: Exposed to outsiders/the press (leaked), fueling speculation and creating political fallout that staff must now manage.
View full event
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Found: The Donnie's Motel Bible

The Forced Depletion Report is referenced in surrounding dialogue (Leo and Josh) as part of the leak landscape that heightens the stakes and explains staff urgency—its exposure provides the political backdrop that makes the Bible scramble feel both comic and precarious.

Before: Classified, prepared covertly by Jack Reese; its contents have been exposed to others, creating political alarm.
After: Known to key staff and implicated in a leak controversy; remains a source of political fallout as the inauguration proceeds.
View full event
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Ordering the Forced-Depletion Estimate for Khundu

The 'forced depletion' report is ordered into existence here: Bartlet requests a classified casualty-modeling analysis to determine how many U.S. service members a Khundu peacekeeping mission might lose. Narratively, the object acts as the instrument that converts moral outrage into measurable military risk and institutional conflict.

Before: Nonexistent in present paperwork; only the idea/concept exists in Bartlet's directive.
After: Authorized/ordered: a discrete analytical task assigned through a trusted Pentagon contact (Jack Reese), to be compiled and returned to the White House.
View full event
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Forced-Depletion Report — Khundu's Human Cost Meets Rhetoric

The forced-depletion report is the catalytic document: Bartlet references its findings aloud, recounting the likely costs of engagement in Khundu, then physically hands the classified analysis to Leo. It converts a conversation about ceremony into urgent policy business and a moral test.

Before: In the President's possession or immediate briefing materials, recently completed by Jack Reese and available for presidential review.
After: In Leo's hands for review and political management; now circulating among top staff as a planning and messaging imperative.
View full event
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Edwards' Bible — Small Symbol, Large Consequence

The Forced Depletion Report is introduced as a confidential military analysis commissioned by the president and produced via Slattery and Jack Reese; Bartlet summarizes its blunt conclusion aloud and then physically hands the printed report to Leo, making it the catalytic prop that converts ceremonial talk into policy urgency.

Before: Completed, printed, and in the President's possession awaiting review.
After: Transferred into Leo's hands for further review and staff action; remains classified but now read by senior staff.
View full event
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Situation Room: Khundu Numbers and Interagency Blowup

The Forced Depletion Report is the evidentiary hinge: Leo invokes it as proof that realistic U.S. casualty estimates are far lower (150) than the inflated figures in the press. It functions as proof that contradicts the Pentagon's public posture and exposes a leak that reshapes political calculus.

Before: Classified/semi-restricted analytic estimate produced under presidential order and held within interagency channels.
After: Referenced aloud in a secure briefing and effectively 'exposed' within the room; its contents are a focal point in the dispute and implied to have leaked to the press.
View full event
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Exposing the Leak: Leo Confronts Hutchinson Over Khundu Casualties

The Forced Depletion Report is the evidentiary hinge of the exchange: Leo cites the document's 150 casualty estimate to contradict the Wall Street Journal's inflated numbers and to demand the President be given accurate figures. It functions as proof that the Pentagon's internal estimate is lower than public reporting.

Before: Classified analytical report existing within DoD/NSC circulation; produced earlier under Bartlet's order and accessible to senior staff.
After: Referenced and disclosed verbally in the Situation Room confrontation; its contents have been effectively leaked into the briefing's political atmosphere though physical custody is not explicitly described.
View full event
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
From Routine Briefing to Khundu's Moral Reckoning

The Forced Depletion Report is the background political tinder: its existence and Bartlet having seen it are cited in private Oval exchanges, and its leak/knowledge is implicated in Jack Reese's reassignment and Pentagon anger.

Before: A classified analytical product created under Bartlet's order; circulating in restricted channels and known to a small number of staff.
After: Its political consequences have manifested (Pentagon displeasure, Reese's reassignment); remains a sensitive document that has altered interagency dynamics.
View full event
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
When Words Become Images: The Khundu Atrocity Revealed

The Forced Depletion Report is discussed in private between Bartlet and Leo as a source of Pentagon ire and as background to Jack Reese's trouble — it contributes to the political stakes layered beneath the Khundu revelations.

Before: Classified analytical report produced under White House direction; in circulation among limited senior staff and Pentagon figures.
After: Exposed to Pentagon leadership and used as a pretext for personnel action; its existence fuels interagency tension.
View full event
S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Interagency Blowback — Reese Reassigned

The Forced Depletion Report is the catalytic, sensitive document referenced by Leo and Bartlet: its existence (and Bartlet's having seen it) provokes Secretary Hutchinson's ire, drives Pentagon retaliation against Jack Reese, and converts an intelligence exercise into a political scandal.

Before: Classified, recently produced under Bartlet's order and known to a small circle in the White House and the Pentagon.
After: Effectively exposed in interagency channels; used by Hutchinson to justify disciplinary action and to pressure the White House, resulting in Reese's reassignment.
View full event
S4E15 · Inauguration Part II: Over There
Bibles, Freemasons and a Warning Across the Bow

The Forced Depletion Report is referenced by Bartlet as the document that could be used in a damaging byline; it functions narratively as the tangible evidence that opponents might leak to frame Bartlet's policy choices as costly and politically reckless.

Before: Drafted at the President's order and understood within the administration as politically combustible if revealed.
After: Remains a latent threat—Leo warns it could surface in press coverage (Danny's byline), increasing urgency around leak control.
View full event
S4E15 · Inauguration Part II: Over There
Midnight Warning: Leo Flags NSC PDD Vulnerability

The Forced Depletion Report is explicitly mentioned by Bartlet as the document that angered Hutchinson and may have provoked retaliatory leaks; it functions narratively as the likely motive for the targeted shot Leo describes.

Before: Drafted at Bartlet's order and known to senior staff; it exists as a sensitive internal document estimating casualties for Khundu operations.
After: Implied to be at risk of public exposure or already used as fodder for a damaging byline; its existence fuels the leak narrative Leo warns about.
View full event