The West Wing

Shareef Operation

Presidentially Authorized Covert Lethal Operations

Description

President Bartlet authorized the Shareef Operation, a covert action targeting Qumari Defense Minister Abdul Shareef. Bartlet accepts full responsibility for it during Oval Office corridor debates with Leo, Fitzwallace, and Nancy. The operation sparks controversy over culpability as Qumar fabricates evidence like an Israeli parachute. Bartlet rejects disowning it or scapegoating advisors, rallies the team, and directs them to the Situation Room to manage diplomatic fallout.

Event Involvements

Events with structured involvement data

1 events
S4E2 · 20 Hours in America Part II
Owning the Ship: Bartlet Refuses to Disown Shareef

The Shareef Operation is the covert action at the heart of the dispute; Bartlet's signed authorization is its legal/ethical anchor, and the operation's exposure via a staged parachute claim compels the administration to respond.

Active Representation

Represented through Bartlet's verbal ownership of the operation and the signed authorization he references.

Power Dynamics

Operates as both the cause of the current crisis and a lever of presidential accountability; it shifts power toward those demanding answers and away from those seeking deniability.

Institutional Impact

Exposes the fragility of covert operations under public scrutiny and forces debate over accountability versus pragmatism within executive institutions.

Internal Dynamics

Creates a fault line between those who favor protective deniability and those who insist on moral/presidential ownership; tests loyalties and chain-of-command discretion.

Organizational Goals
Preserve the operation's intended strategic outcomes Limit reputational and diplomatic damage from exposure Protect personnel and intelligence sources implicated by the operation
Influence Mechanisms
The legal/administrative paperwork (signed authorization) that implicates leadership Operational secrets and the risk of exposure that force policy response Institutional loyalty among those who executed the operation

Related Events

Events mentioning this organization

2 events
S4E2
Owning the Ship: Bartlet Refuses to Disown Shareef

In the Oval Office corridor Bartlet and his senior team confront an escalating diplomatic provocation: intelligence indicates Qumar will claim to have recovered an Israeli-made …

S4E22
Upper Press Room Lead — The Pen and the Pivot

A small, humanizing moment — Margaret presents Leo with a gift-wrapped pen for Zoey — is abruptly undercut when C.J. bursts in with a lead: …