Night Five except [TWW]
ANDREA
I don't get how you could do this without consulting people.
TOBY
Come on in.
ANDREA
I don't get how you think you can...
TOBY
[closing the door] We consulted plenty of people. What do you think, Sam and I create foreign policy around here?
ANDREA
I don't know. You, Sam, Abbott, Costello.
TOBY
We brought in... For three weeks...
ANDREA
Did you bring in anybody from State?
TOBY
Yes.
ANDREA
Who?
TOBY
The Secretary of State. Since when did you get to come in here?
ANDREA
I am the third ranking member on the damn committee.
TOBY
This is a Presidential address, Andrea, not a camel.
ANDREA
A what?
TOBY
A camel. A horse built by committee.
Andrea flips through the speech.
ANDREA
[reading] "Freedom must run deeper than the free flow of capital. Freedom must mean more than the free trade of goods and services. The world will be free..."
TOBY
I read it.
ANDREA
"The world will be free when we have freedom of speech for every nation..."
Toby sits down on the sofa.
TOBY
In fact I wrote it.
ANDREA
"The world will be free when there is freedom to worship for everyone. The world will be free..."
TOBY
Andy...
ANDREA
"...When we finally shake off the rusted chains of tyranny..."
TOBY
Yes.
ANDREA
"...Whether in the guise of facist dictatorships..."
TOBY
You getting nervous?
ANDREA
"...Or economic slavery, or ethnic hostility..."
TOBY
A little nervous?
ANDREA
"...Or..." Wait for it... "the crushing yoke of Islamic fanaticism." Gentlemen, start your engines. America doesn't have a monopoly on what's right. And even if we did, I think you're gonna have a tough time convincing the Arab world.
TOBY
Well, we'd like to talk to them about it.
ANDREA
That ought to do the trick.
TOBY
It's worth a shot.
ANDREA
The U.S. Constitution defends religious pluralism. It doesn't reduce all of Islam to fanaticism.
TOBY
Neither does the speech. It calls fanaticism fanaticism.
ANDREA
Toby...
TOBY
It's fanaticism whether we call it that or not, so were going to call it that. We respect all religions, all cultures.
ANDREA
To a point.
TOBY
Yes, to a point. Grotesque oppression isn't okay just because it's been institutionlised. If you ask me, I think we should have gotten into the game three, four decades ago, but they're coming after us now, so it's time to saddle up.
ANDREA
Toby...
TOBY
We do know what's right.
ANDREA
This is why they hate us.
TOBY
There's a lot of reasons why they hate us. You know when they're gonna like us? When we win.
He leans back against the wall.
TOBY
It took...
ANDREA
Wait.
TOBY
It took... Andrea, it took three days to get the language through NSC and the NSA.
ANDREA
Yes.
TOBY
It isn't coming out of the speech.
ANDREA
I didn't think it was.
TOBY
Then why were we here for an hour?
ANDREA
Several members have drafted an insert. Will you look at?
TOBY
[after a beat] Sure.
She goes over to her bag and pulls out a sheet of paper.
ANDREA
This will follow your paragraph.
He comes over to read it from her.
TOBY
[reading] "Our goal is neither to preach nor proclaim American values. We have deep respect for our Islamic brothers and sisters and we have a great deal to learn from the values of... tolerence and faith that are deeply held throughout the Islamic world." So this is your way of saying any resemblance the previous paragraph may have had to foreign policy is purely coincidental?
ANDREA
That's right.
TOBY
Guess what?
ANDREA
What?
TOBY
Our goal is to proclaim American values.
ANDREA
This speech isn't supposed to be about ideology. It's supposed to be about reality.
TOBY
I think the President will decide what the speech is suppose to be about, but the reality is, the United States of America no longer sucks up to reactionaries, and our staunch allies will know what we mean.
ANDREA
We don't have any staunch allies in the Arab world; just reluctant ones. We've a coalition held together with duct tape! A coalition without which we cannot fight!
TOBY
Nobody's blowing off the coalition, and that coalition will be plenty strong.
ANDREA
Oh, when we win?
TOBY
That's right.
ANDREA
What's Egypt going to think? Or Pakistan?
TOBY
That freedom and democracy are coming soon to a theatre near them, so get dressed.
He sits on the edge of his desk.
ANDREA
Toby... you guys are on a thing right now. And I'm behind you. You know I'm behind you; a lot of House Democrats are...
TOBY
Not enough.
ANDREA
And plenty of Republicans. But this one moment in time, you have to get off your horse and just... simply put - be nice to the Arab world.
TOBY
Be nice?
ANDREA
Yes.
TOBY
Well... How about when we, instead of blowing Iraq back to the seventh century for harbouring terrorists and trying to develop nuclear weapons, we just imposed economic sanctions and were reviled by the Arab world for not giving them a global charge card and a free trade treaty? How about when we pushed Israel to give up land for peace?
Andrea sits down, and puts a hand to her forehead.
TOBY
How about when we sent American soldiers to protect Saudi Arabia, and the Arab world told us we were desecrating their holy land? We'll ignore the fact that we were invited. How about two weeks ago, in the State of the Union when the President praised the Islamic people as faithful and hardworking only to be denounced in the Arab press as knowing nothing about Islam? But none of that is the point.
ANDREA
What's the point?
TOBY
I don't remember having to explain to Italians that our problem wasn't with them, but with Mussolini! Why does the U.S. have to take every Arab country out for an ice cream cone? They'll like us when we win!
He stands up and starts pacing.
TOBY
Thousands of madrassahs teaching children nothing, nothing, nothing but the Koran and to hate America. Who do we see about that? [beat] Do I want to preach America? Judeo-Christianity? No. If their religion forbids them from playing the trumpet, so be it. But I want those kids to... look at a globe. Be exposed to social sciences, history. Some literature. [beat] I'll like us when we win.
ANDREA
[after a moment] Okay.
She stands up and collects her things together.
TOBY
Let me take another look at the softer language.
Andrea takes it out of her bag and hands it to him, then leaves.