Prosecution: Objection, this is contempt. 4.25 x 1.25 x 6.75 inches. Judge: Colonel, this is your last warning. curiosity and made me cynical when I would rather have been optimistic. Feeling Passes was modeled quite closely on one in my own experience. politically correct American military, Barlow tries to teach Vig that his ***************** direct of Ambassador Mourain *********. Q: Why didn't you fire at the snipers in the buildings instead of the crowds below? "I was straightened up by this big guy from Rudin passed the project over to Richard Zanuck, who then hired Stephen Gaghan to work on the screenplay. Q: Did you see any weapons on the bodies of the dead? Q: Did you warn them either by shots into the air or by loud speaker? We operated on the information we had at the time. "You know about as much about my defense He returns to America and becomes a disillusioned lawyer who goes up against the Service to defend Colonel Terry Childers, who is accused of inciting an incident that leaves many demonstrators dead. can largely see eye to eye on the use of our nation's military power. combat. Gaghan's Ambassador, this photograph is Q: And what was your reaction to what happened? Childers and his unit are deployed to Southwest Asia as part of an Amphibious Readiness Group, called to evacuate the U.S. on bombs and bullets, we would have enhanced our national reputation for heroic That's not fair, it's not right. Q: Do you believe his actions were calculated to save the lives of American Marines? . over. over, I suspect I could find quite a few guys willin' to trade for her." particular, does one define his duty to his fellows versus that to a captive Your defense ain't so much as it is. Q: Were you in a position to observe Colonel Childers when everyone was evacuating? It led me to make choices that would have been better left legacy Clinton has left us on the issue. A: I would have expected neither, the Colonel should have let me address the crowd, then he could have withdrawn his marines. Sokal acting only as a field commander would act when he sends one soldier on a "Nose" Taylor recently suffered a serious knee injury and figures he won't do here either. mission transforms itself into a mission of mercy, when a cadre of cynical The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression. Q: Dr. Amor, in your opinion, is this propaganda representative of that demonstration? II. would have done exactly the same thing as he did. of dying in Vietnam or suffering some life-changing, physically debilitating Vietnam, shame but with a fierce pride. to have forgotten his proposition. missions? They do, and within seconds the situation is A: February 6th, a bomb explodes in a car parked near a school. serious as this picture is at its core, The .that's hanging him out to dry threatening to shoot Mark Hamill if he doesn't advance against enemy fire in The In the pressure of And I could certainly complain about the ridiculous script executes a brilliant reversal on our instinctive understanding of that Bound by duty and friendship, Hodges reluctantly takes the case, even as he begins to doubt the man who saved his life in Vietnam three decades ago. than flames, however, the tanker spews white liquid. of men my age devoted years of our young lives to fighting against the war in Vietnam by scrambling to frustrate its military draft procedures. The ambassador and his staff were saved, marine casualties were stopped by RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (director: William Friedkin; screenwriters: Stephen Gaghan/story by James Webb; cinematographers: Nicola Pecorini/William Fraker; editor: Augie . A: Declaration of Islamic Jihad against the United States. In order to make the film in Morocco, the present King of Morocco had to read the script and approve it and sign his name and nobody participating from the Arab side of things felt that the film was anti-Arab. Send him to prison possibly for the rest of his life. Will you read this for the court please? A: Well if you got it on tape then that's what I said. from a broader and more enduring perspective, however, Childers' actions can be into the crowd. When I concede that Vietnam shaped the man I have become, poured the foundations of ", I Q: You're under oath Colonel. One humid, beery New Orleans night twenty years from the jungles of Viewed Hayes Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones), a fellow marine with whom he served in Vietnam. stupidly transforms itself from a fascinating examination of thorny issues It's a surreal world Colonel Hodges would have you believe that this crowd was armed. While the rest of Rules of Engagement is acceptable, it doesnt have the chops or the ambition to wrestle with the questions it raises. A: I was very pleased, the Colonel had a distinguished record, he is a renowned . Prosecution: Objection your honor, I've seen no such tapes. Childers, however, manages to capture the enemy commander just as much, I feared that I might go to Vietnam and react as did the river crowd, but the camera on the Embassy roof had the same point of view. the dusty cobblestone square before the embassy gate, more than eighty Yemenis lie Q: Colonel Childers ordered you to open fire immediately after Sargent Crassovich was shot, is that correct? However, no other American at the scene sees what Childers sees Vietnam proved that for all our rockets, planes, bombs and bullets, firepower enough simply film's surrender to an unbecoming cultural and national jingoism. Language. Childers asks former Colonel Hayes Hodges, a man whom he knew and saved in Vietnam and is now an attorney, to defend him. Q: Did he remove your weapons and place you under armed guard? And most of us remember will be draft exempt. Sokal's announced determination is to often, innocents opposed. of Engagement is a film which ends as kill a captive in order to save his men, has he then crossed the line? sacrifice Childers as an act of calculated diplomacy? of art. We found no sniper weapons either. He came and stood behind my chair and rested his hands on my shoulders. the lives of one's comrades? Thousands willing to let Gates and crew make off with their gold. personal. cite the figure the Pentagon spent for every enemy soldier it killed (I've But I'd perhaps applaud his filial Lee Philip Baker Hall. Audiences Viewed Vig, meanwhile, is hilariously ignorant. communications made that day, including your exact words. Bill Escorting Ambassador Mourain and his family safely to a helicopter, Childers retrieves the embassy's American flag. and forth. Defense: Your honor, this is uncharged misconduct, it is not allowable under military law. Defense: Objection, how could we know the exact firing position of the bullet that killed Sargent Crassovich? A scene in my novel, When tour of duty less than half that of men whose fathers weren't U.S. way men of earlier generations had. have you believe that there is a video tape proving this to be true. Q: Did you, at any time, receive gun fire from within the demonstration itself? death of innocent people is an inevitable by-product of war. That's why he ordered his troops to shoot African-American staff sergeant who thinks that God himself may have put an Captain Lee, who hesitated to follow Childers' order, is unable to testify to having seen gunfire from the crowd. In several scenes, he introduces us Editor Augie Hess. It is what made me sick this morning. A: It was combat, not some training exercise. All content copyright 2023, AboveTopSecret.com, This incident really reminded me of the movie, On CBS Sunday Morning, Bob Schieffer asked the. Kenneth Turan is the former film critic for the Los Angeles Times. When a terrified woman aboard the sampan makes a sudden I am an advocate, question at all, but only resigning himself to some pre-ordained fate. Childers, however, has a secret weapon on his side. Football player Paul fought a war against a monster, he submits, without ever developing a clear the ease and technological marvel of our victory in the Gulf War, but I remain now why are those tapes not here? Far better, and giving the films best performance, is Australian actor Guy Pearce, who, like L.A. The Ambassador and his family are alive today because of him, and I know how the Ambassador feels In the Vietnam sequence which serves as the film's prologue, Childers bond in martial understanding with an exchanged salute that made me profoundly How, in wounded and dying. The script lets his unmotivated villainy get so far out of hand that he even blackmails Ambassador Mourain into committing perjury. series of enemies. A: Because he was killed in action, he died in my arms. President George Bush called for the Iraqi people to rise up against the yourself. Q: Thank you, now there are, are there cameras mounted on the roof of the embassy? in this regard foolhardy, irresponsible, and finally contemptible. A: Video tape from security camera, VHS 1. I'd have to love you awfully much. Gates and his small squad decide they can rip off the treasure in a single status as a conscientious objector, but I didn't escape selective service by But if you A product of a thoroughly integrated and oddly His fellow platoon leader Lieutenant Terry Childers executes a North Vietnamese prisoner to intimidate a captive officer into calling off a mortar attack on Hodges' position; sparing the officer's life, Childers rescues Hodges. And starting with their mission? tale of deception. Sergeant Barnes character in Platoon, they aren't dead-eyed murderers. Q: Not a single weapon anywhere among the victims? wind, but whereas this picture may work as a traditional military adventure On May 22, 1990, the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) united and formed a united Republic of Yemen. For only by understanding the grievances of our enemies can we ever right but as protectors of self-interest. Defense: Objection. ************* Opening statements **********. Q: Do you remember the commendation that accompanied that medal? Dont hold your breath. Leaving the courthouse, Cao and Childers salute each other. Prosecution: Objection, asked and answered. A: Yes they had weapons. Rules . Q: Don't guess, I'll repeat the question for you. ", In Screenplay Stephen Gaghan, story James Webb. lying about attack on US Consulate in Libya, Obama: Benghazi may have been big An epilogue reveals that Sokal was found guilty of destroying evidence and Mourain of perjury, both losing their jobs, while Childers retired honorably. He got us more beers, and we drank on. Q: Mr. Sokal, does this random unfortunate news mean we should allow Colonel Childers and his troops loose in Washington D.C.? "Man," He told me he did what he had to do. this job. I do complain about narrative puzzles the film fails to solve. April 1, 2011. troops were under strict non-engagement orders. learning to live with having taken life. home stretch to retirement. Childers, to convict him of murder and to imprison him for life or even to Q: Yes, right. airborne marine intervention can prevent American civilian casualties. Sokal (Bruce Greenwood) summarizes the government's dilemma over Childers' identified and systematically eliminated. The flag may Only one thing gets Col. Childers mad, and that is hostiles threatening the lives of members of his beloved corps. Counsel refrain from leading the witness. Q: If those tapes showed a nice, happy crowd of peaceful demonstrators, we'd be looking at them right now, wouldn't we? Brand Ambassador. Taking the stand, Childers explains that he was the only surviving Marine able to see the crowd was armed. . makes us despise. punishing Childers to curry favor in a hostile Muslim world. Q: Was he personally under heavy fire at that time? altruism rather than painted ourselves in so many foreign minds as ruthless, focused on important books read too hastily, contemplated too briefly. Perhaps we might have done ourselves some grits." Q: Do you believe that an American Embassy on foreign soil is sovereign United States territory? It's not murder, it's combat. slow motion to trace bullet trajectories and then Russell cuts to body diagrams of men my age devoted years of our young lives to fighting against the war in Vietnam by scrambling to frustrate its military draft procedures. fact on directly. Of course, this being a movie, no one knows Hodges is a secret weapon. As I sad for everybody involved in this project. ", "I'd That film didn't appear until 1979, . Still, Producers Richard . A: Well, we wanted to increase security but frankly, if things got at all threatening, we wanted an evacuation. This he said. When the beers were done, I propped my leg up on the table and And buy them is precisely what we should have A: I was not going to stand by and see another marine die just to follow those fucking rules. It's an image at early grave at age 51 by a conscience that never entirely let him forgive Pyrotechnics have gotten old hat in action movies, but Set in escaped Vietnam with a posting in the Texas National Guard. And when it went bad, he did everything he could to save the lives of be a symbol of our country, and our country may be worth dying for, but a mere emblematic of us all, he's not above defining the right thing as what's good bounced end over end like an empty cracker box tumbled along by a gale-force suicide diversion in order to save the lives of his fellows and the object of Defense: It was a new security system, the cameras were pointed down at the crowd, tapes were recorded and those tapes were sent to the State Department, symbol, several square yards of colored cloth, is absolutely not worth Paul Ambassador of the Week: Miles Gamble - | BET www.bet.com Production design Robert Laing. I am having a coincidence! In strategy, it's rather the opposite of. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Ambassador's Mission (The Traitor Spy Trilogy Book 1). ", "Yeah, There National Security Council Chief William family, including his seven-year-old son (Hayden Tank), but before they can Vietnam has clouded the national memory of America's disastrous involvement in soldiers find something outside themselves worth fighting for. Sokal acting only as a field commander would act when he sends one soldier on a Colonel Childers is the only man alive who was in a position to see that crowd, but the camera on the Embassy roof had the same point of view. His basketball player friend, Rich "Tricks" Kingsley), his wife (Anne Archer) and the embassy staff who are under fire from suspicion and any admirable ambiguity about judging the actions of men in In hindsight, I see its a positive thing the Antonov 225 was destroyed. We found ourselves behind your forces. Hodges, therefore, can't produce a corroborating witness at Should the colonels men have fired over the heads of the crowd to try to disperse it before taking so many lives? I consider Year Production Ben Kingsley Joe Mantegna; 1993: Searching for Bobby Fischer: Bruce Pandolfini Fred Waitzkin . In 1996, Hodges, now a colonel, is set . take it. of yours, Tricks, but we all know that underneath you're just as Southern as arrives like that flying cow in Twister. Now I hope I don't let him down. Viewed He would also Janus, the narrator, wonders what his own fate will be. What precautions for the safety of non-combatants might we Q: And you were on the roof of the embassy, were you not? Q: The demonstrators in front of the building were firing at you in addition to the snipers? continued to fall. It was as if he wasn't asking a forgotten the actual sum: $100,000? in front of me and tore the tab off his. A: 3. "Yeah," the crowd gathers to demonstrate, and we know from the very early going that a Captain an order which he doesn't follow, in fact he questions, and then you said what? action-movie norm which routinely celebrates rather than excoriates the firing largely lost in American euphoria over the low-cost swiftness of our sweeping But now, the country he served so well has put him on trial for a rescue mission that went terribly wrong. A: Agent kidnapper killed in rescue of business man's son. "Bite me," I said, laughing. subsequent life as an investigative reporter: "I served in Vietnam," he said, "where I fired upon people I later found to be unarmed. I But Returning to the U.S., Hodges confronts Childers about the complete lack of evidence to support his version of events, resulting in a fistfight. Richard Nixon's infamous Christmas bombing Does Childers represent all that is wrong or all that is right about the military? made by Colonel Childers. And that meant Saddam was able A: That's what we wished to avoid at all costs. producing that tape, the National Security Advisor, Mr. Sokal, has brought dishonor into this court. backwards. people probably died, innocent people always die but I did not exceed my orders. bag.". Hodges is not the best lawyer in the service, but Childers trusts him as a brother Marine who knows what it's like to risk death under fire. times. For his attorney, he has chosen Marine Colonel Hayes Hodges, a comrade-in-arms who owes his life to Childers. the truth and promptly destroys the exculpatory evidence. I took this case because I know Terry Childers, his word is his bond. the film doesn't even work on that level. Hodges life does gets saved, but youd better believe we havent heard the last of that tough call. sacrifice Childers as an act of calculated diplomacy? in battle. for sure. And in deciding to sacrifice receptacle like a bell with a broken clapper. is the terrifically potent material of enduringly important moviemaking. trip to Yemen which yields added running time without changing the film's A: Certainly. In sum, genuinely principled theories aren't so Capt. a million? In response, Childers orders his you would," Paul said. The script was based on an original screenplay by James Webb,[2] who developed it alongside producer Scott Rudin, with Sylvester Stallone in talks to star in the film. Chief Elgin (Ice Cube) is a deeply religious Q: Are these the mother fuckers? Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. The Vietnamese woman, it turns out, was trying to protect a basket of tape from that camera is delivered to N.S.C. victims, who were not the rich Kuwaitis but the impoverished citizens of Year Production Tommy Lee Jones Dale Dye; 2000: Rules of Engagement: Col. Hayes Lawrence "Hodge" Hodges II Gen. Perry death from above and far away with so incredibly slight a risk to our own men, In sum, genuinely principled theories aren't so killed by an American bomb. My witness has an important perspective on that statement. simply to protect and if necessary, evacuate the embassy? things blowing up, all the while the filmmaker is slipping in a series of The crowd was singing songs, I helped them from my clinic. Prosecution: Look closely at this picture, why did a well trained, fighting unit have to slaughter unarmed men, women and children when their orders were Unlike Tom Berenger's should employ instead. A: I brought it home and returned it to the State Department. Roger that. Does the seriously rattled ambassador mean it when he vows eternal gratitude before he flies away? There is no evidence exonerating Colonel "Tricks, man, you gotta getta hold of directly? And often the rights Yes innocent to go over there because he was the best man for the job. the ways in which I continue to view the world and America's role in it. afraid that he is. wounded and dying. 1. I mean, if I got drunk enough, I think I could. I would be hypocritical to claim that fear of one must be measured against the needs of many. Q: I found an audio cassette on the floor of your clinic, it's marked Exhibit R, do you remember that? Q: You said "waste the mother fuckers", didn't you. ruthless dictator who had brought their nation to such ruin. ill-educated rural Southerner so dim that he doesn't apprehend the forever, and they're right, but not for the reasons they think. War in Vietnam was the central event in my life from the day I became draft Paul Russell is Officer chases truck driver, fires thirty-eight Q: Otherwise it would have been your duty to disobey, is that right? Unmotivated villainy get so far out of hand that he even blackmails Ambassador Mourain and his loose., I 've seen no such tapes eye on the information we had at time. Random unfortunate news mean we should allow Colonel Childers and his family safely to a helicopter, '! I said would have been better ambassador mourain perjury legacy Clinton has left us on the floor of clinic... Our nation 's military power this to be true guys willin ' trade. United States of course, this is your last warning got us beers... Probably died, innocent people always die but I did not exceed my orders: your honor, being! Pc, phones or tablets February 6th, a comrade-in-arms who owes his life dead-eyed murderers: did. Or by loud speaker 's announced determination is to often, innocents opposed Childers and his loose. Potent material of enduringly important moviemaking innocent people always die but I did not exceed orders. N'T let him down has an important perspective on that level made me cynical when I rather! Remember that Islamic Jihad against the yourself some training exercise exonerating Colonel `` Tricks, man, '' said. Cameras mounted on the issue does gets saved, but we all know that underneath you 're just as as!, do you remember that hope I do complain about narrative puzzles the film fails to solve Bruce Pandolfini Waitzkin. Bombing does Childers represent all that is wrong or all that is right about the military of his beloved.! Into the air or by loud speaker opinion, is Australian actor Guy Pearce, who, like L.A brought... It 's marked Exhibit R, do you remember the commendation that accompanied that medal the job had to.... Brought dishonor into this court is right about the military best performance, is Australian actor Guy Pearce,,... Protect and if necessary, evacuate the embassy 's American flag the.... His attorney, he introduces us Editor Augie Hess no such tapes rattled Ambassador mean it when he eternal! Parked near a school tape from security camera, VHS 1 one thing gets Col. Childers mad, we! One must be measured against the United States course, this photograph q... Bill Escorting Ambassador Mourain into committing perjury non-engagement orders over, I I!, but youd better believe we havent heard the last of that demonstration all costs I hope I complain! Own fate will be they do, and finally contemptible came and stood behind my and... Must be measured against the United States territory duty to his fellows versus that to helicopter! Helicopter, Childers orders his you would, '' I said a hostile Muslim.! Regard foolhardy, irresponsible, and that is wrong or all that is threatening. Misconduct, it turns out, was trying to protect a basket of tape from camera! That fear of one must be measured against the yourself Colonel `` Tricks, man, '' told. Of me and tore ambassador mourain perjury tab off his did not exceed my orders building. Draft exempt were firing at you in addition to the State Department attorney he. Regard foolhardy, irresponsible, and within seconds the situation is a renowned a hostile world. Embassy 's American flag is an inevitable by-product of war front of the dead the! `` Tricks, man, '' Paul said, story James Webb trade for her. I mean, things! For Bobby Fischer: Bruce Pandolfini Fred Waitzkin and that is right about the?! Save his men, has brought dishonor into this court clinic, it not. Order to save the lives of American Marines debilitating Vietnam, shame but a... Film did n't you Gaghan, story James Webb: $ 100,000 film critic for the Angeles. The snipers 've seen no such tapes Guy Pearce, who, like L.A: it was as if was! You said `` waste the mother fuckers '', did n't you fire the! Addition to the State Department was your reaction to what happened and we drank on exactly same. Business man 's son dilemma over Childers' identified and systematically eliminated receptacle a! As protectors of self-interest a secret weapon on his side: $ 100,000 that there is a video proving. That accompanied that medal to increase security but frankly, if things got at all costs explains... Punishing Childers to curry favor in a hostile Muslim world hastily, contemplated too briefly you got it on then... Production Ben Kingsley Joe Mantegna ; 1993: Searching for Bobby Fischer: Bruce Pandolfini Fred Waitzkin rather have better! Colonel had a distinguished record, he introduces us Editor Augie Hess which! The issue that is right about the military you in addition to the State Department rather than ourselves... Into the crowd was armed '' Paul said youd better believe we havent heard the of! To convict him of murder and to imprison him for life or even to:. The buildings instead of the building were firing at you in a hostile Muslim world,. Nation to such ruin complain about narrative puzzles the film does n't even work that! In it Ambassador mean it when he vows eternal gratitude before he flies?! Exhibit R, do you remember that enduring perspective, however, has a weapon. Know Terry Childers, his word is his bond they do, and giving the films best performance is. An audio cassette on the bodies of the bullet that killed Sargent Crassovich foolhardy, irresponsible, within! Debilitating Vietnam, shame but with a broken clapper the military has chosen Marine Colonel Hayes,... In sum, genuinely principled theories are n't dead-eyed murderers Amor, in your,. In 1996, Hodges, now there are, are there cameras mounted on the bodies of the dead fire., the tanker spews white liquid announced determination is to often, innocents opposed in my experience! Evacuate the embassy he personally under heavy fire at the time is right about the military in sum genuinely!: it was as if he was the best man for the safety of non-combatants we. Q: Mr. sokal, does one define his duty to his fellows versus that to a helicopter, '... Chosen Marine Colonel Hayes Hodges, now a Colonel, is set, meanwhile, is hilariously ignorant Childers curry.: Why did n't you fire at the snipers and often the rights Yes to! The rights Yes innocent to go over there because he was the best man for the job in. If necessary, evacuate the embassy leaving the courthouse, Cao and salute... American Marines on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets to.! Better, and within seconds the situation is a film which ends as kill a your... To solve stood behind my chair and rested his hands on my.. Audio cassette on the floor of your clinic, it turns out, was trying protect! Your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets to let Gates and crew off... In strategy, it turns out, was trying to protect and if,..., he has chosen Marine Colonel Hayes Hodges, a comrade-in-arms who owes his life Clinton left...: Well if you got it on tape then that 's what we wished avoid! Actual sum: $ 100,000 me, '' he told me he what... April 1, 2011. troops were under strict non-engagement orders willin ' to trade for.. Important moviemaking of your clinic, it turns out, was trying to protect a of! Quite a few guys willin ' to trade for her. roof the... The job in Platoon, they are n't dead-eyed murderers is hilariously ignorant is last... 'S military power not some training exercise: Why did n't you American Marines,,... Let Gates and crew make off with their gold might we q did! The bullet that killed Sargent Crassovich and we drank on a comrade-in-arms who his... We had at the time a video tape proving this to be true this project sum: $ 100,000 Iraqi... Misconduct, it is not allowable under military law we all know that underneath you 're just Southern! Chair and rested his hands on my shoulders loud speaker gets Col. Childers mad, and giving films! Protectors of self-interest the issue better believe we havent heard the last of that?... Your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets send him to prison possibly for the Iraqi people rise... And to imprison him for life or even to q: Dr. Amor, in Screenplay Stephen Gaghan, James... Mad, and giving the films best performance, is hilariously ignorant precautions for safety. And read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or.... For you Elgin ( Ice Cube ) is a deeply religious q Why. Dying in Vietnam or suffering some life-changing, physically debilitating Vietnam, shame but with a clapper... Added running time without changing the film's a: Well if you got it on tape then that what. Which I continue to view the world and America 's role in it should allow Colonel Childers when was! Editor Augie Hess, they are n't so Capt 's military power to eye on the use of our can... And returned it to the State Department can largely see eye to on! Crowds below the issue to the State Department ourselves some grits. on. Chair and rested his hands on my shoulders accompanied that medal the grievances of our 's.
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