The Dogs of War (The West Wing)
Encyclopedia
Plot
Leo McGarryLeo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...
meets a friend (Angela Blake) in a parking garage, where they discuss the ramifications of President Bartlet's decision to invoke the 25th Amendment during the kidnapping of his daughter, Zoey
Zoey Bartlet
Zoey Patricia Bartlet is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Moss on the television serial drama The West Wing. Zoey is the youngest of President Josiah Bartlet and Abbey Bartlet's three daughters, and is more prominently featured in the series than either of her sisters.Zoey and...
. Afterwards, Leo sits in on a meeting with the ambassador of Qumar and the U.S. Secretary of State Lewis Berryhill (William Devane
William Devane
William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...
). While the ambassador conveys that there is concern in Qumar over the assassination of a Qumari minister, Leo becomes more aggressive in demanding that Qumar take more proactive actions against terrorist elements of Qumari society. Leo eventually states that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is bombing terrorist training camps in Qumar as they speak, which the ambassador is notably unhappy about.
Amy Gardner
Amy Gardner
Amelia "Amy" Gardner is a fictional character on the American television series The West Wing, portrayed by Mary-Louise Parker. Politically skilled and a strong advocate on feminist causes, the character holds various jobs throughout the timeline depicted on The West Wing, both in public-advocacy...
, the First Lady
Abbey Bartlet
Dr. Abigail Anne "Abbey" Barrington Bartlet, MD, is a fictional character played by Stockard Channing on the television serial drama, The West Wing. In the show, she is the First Lady of the United States, the wife of President Josiah Bartlet.-Overview:...
's Chief of Staff comes in to talk with Josh
Josh Lyman
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...
about the Republicans appointing Congressman Jeff Haffley
Jeff Haffley
Jeffrey Haffley, played by Steven Culp, is a recurring fictional character on the American television show The West Wing. A staunch Republican, Jeff Haffley replaces Glen Allen Walken as Speaker of the House early in the fifth season...
as Speaker of the House and their attempts to resume their legislative agenda, regardless of Zoey's rescue or not. Toby
Toby Ziegler
Tobias Zachary 'Toby' Ziegler is played by Richard Schiff on the television serial drama The West Wing. For most of the series' duration he is White House Communications Director.-Creation and development:...
and Andy are with their newly-born twins discussing their future plans together, while C.J.
C. J. Cregg
Claudia Jean "C. J." Cregg is a fictional character played by Allison Janney on the television serial drama The West Wing. From the beginning of the series until the sixth season, she is White House Press Secretary in the administration of President Josiah Bartlet...
announces the attacks against Qumar that were ordered by President Walken
Glen Allen Walken
Glen Allen Walken is a fictional character on The West Wing played by John Goodman....
. Reporters immediately ask what effect this will have on Zoey's kidnapping. This prompts the Bartlet women to walk out of the room where the family is watching news updates together.
Josh tries to continue some amount of normalcy, discussing with Toby and Leo about the Republican moves in Congress. Josh argues that Bartlet needs to reclaim his position as president and Leo responds that Bartlet has other issues (Zoey) to worry about. Josh explains that's why Bartlet's staff needs to be worrying about politics and Leo instructs him to continue the search for a vice president to replace the resigned Hoynes. Toby and Will go on to argue about the wording of Bartlet's press conference if/when Zoey is rescued.
In the Oval Office, President Walken, Leo, Fitzwallace
Percy Fitzwallace
Admiral Percy "Fitz" Fitzwallace, played by John Amos, is a fictional character on the television series The West Wing. In the universe of the show, he is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff....
, and staff discuss plans for the Middle East, including Qumar and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. The meeting comes to an end and Leo brings up concerns with Walken about the Republican agenda. Leo and Walken argue, ending with Walken offering that Leo recuse himself temporarily until Bartlet is reinstated if he is uncomfortable serving Walken.
In the White House residence, Leo and Bartlet discuss the current situation of the Middle East, such as how the United States has contributed to the situation by supporting the certainty of despots over the uncertainty of developing democracies. Bartlet's citation of Martin Luther King, Jr. indicates he may be considering changing American policies in the Middle East.
Josh, Donna
Donna Moss
Donnatella "Donna" Moss is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama The West Wing. Donna is a recurring character during the first season, although she appears in every episode, making her a de facto regular...
, and new assistant Ryan Pierce
Ryan Pierce
Ryan Pierce is a fictional character from Season 5 of the television drama The West Wing. Portrayed by Jesse Bradford. Ryan appears in nine episodes as Josh Lyman's wisecracking intern....
walk through the White House, continuing with their daily business and making small talk. As Ryan asks, "Do you guys always walk so fast," he trips and falls. Meanwhile, in between calls to the families of soldiers killed in the operations in Qumar, Walken discusses the presidency with Debbie, asking, "When do I get to the fun part of being president?" Debbie answers, "The fun part Sir?" to which Walken replies, "Yeah flying round in Air Force One
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
, getting a good tee time at Hilton Head." When it turns out that they are both fans of President Truman, Walken mentions that he "never wanted to be President of the United States", to which Debbie responds, "Neither did Mr. Truman."
Josh confronts one of Walken's staff about the Republicans apparently testing sound bites for future elections. The Republican staffer indicates that Bartlet's sacrifice (resigning his office to an opposing party's leader) shows a tremendous amount of patriotism and that only someone playing politics would think the Republicans were going to dishonor that sacrifice.
Shortly after, Al-Jazeera releases a tape of Zoey expressing the terrorists' demands in typical terrorist language. More importantly, the tape indicates a 24-hour deadline to remove American forces from Qumar before Zoey is executed. As night falls, Bartlet is in Toby's office where he reviews the speeches Toby is writing for Bartlet's return to office. Bartlet asks to see the speech he'll give if Zoey is killed and he is visibly shaken before stepping out of the office, taking the speech with him.
In the FBI Command Center, a staff member walks into the office of the agent in charge and says, "I think we may have something." Shortly after, the situation room of the White House is informed that the FBI believes they've found Zoey. President Bartlet and the First Lady are put on Marine One
Marine One
Marine One is the call sign of any United States Marine Corps aircraft carrying the President of the United States. It usually denotes a helicopter operated by the HMX-1 "Nighthawks" squadron, either the large VH-3D Sea King or the newer, smaller VH-60N "WhiteHawk", both due to be replaced by the...
and taken to the scene, where Zoey is sitting in an ambulance and her parents rush to her. She has been injured (a broken clavicle, cuts, and bruises) and drugged, but is otherwise okay, while the terrorists were all killed during the rescue.
Back in the White House, Bartlet walks into the Oval Office and signs the letter reclaiming the presidency from Walken. Bartlet offers to campaign for Walken if he runs, but Walken says, "I'm not sure if that'd be a plus in my district." Bartlet resumes the presidency and prepares for his press conference, where he gives Will's speech prepared in case of Zoey's death, rather than the triumphal one Toby wrote for her safe return. The president's speech serves as the background to a scene of the Bartlet family at Zoey's bedside in the hospital. The episode closes with the first lady staring out the hospital window.
Title
"The Dogs of War" is a reference to the speech in William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's 'Julius Caesar', and Antony's line "Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war!"