NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER, 2003
My name is Michael Sullivan.
And I have a story, I think you're gonna want to hear
BASED ON A TRUE STORY
UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK OCTOBER, 2002
Michael Sullivan?
How long have you been in as lobbyist for Banco Belasquian?
Two years.
A lot of strategy, research and reports.
That's a good job.
You're not happy there?
No, I'm just...
I don't want to wake up when I'm 40 and..
discovered the only thing I contributed to the world is,
tax shelters, sweatshops and holes in the ozones.
You're an idealist?
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a diplomat.
I want to make a difference in the world.
Your father was a diplomat.
Ah yeah. US state department. He..
Libanon, 1983.
I'm sorry for your lost.
My father passed away when I was little.
He was killed in the bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut when I was 5 years old.
One of my earliest memory is my father...
telling stories about the founding of the United Nations.
We find a way to end wars.
He made it sound like modern day knights sitting around the round table.
I wanted to follow him in his foot steps.
By the fall of 2002,
I have applied for a job at the United Nations four times.
My sister said it's because foreign services is in our family legacies.
Hey little brother, how are you? Hello. Good.
Sorry. I'm late. You look good.
And just like my mother,
She married a guy she met while interning in the UN.
So I got you something small but something else is on its way, ok?
Hey, Trevor. Hey.
Nice cake, Lily.
Got enough Danish Flags? Yeah.. yeah.
Well..Did you hear anything?
Ah..No.
I'll hear tomorrow.
But how did it feel?
Good?
No.
I was too nervous
Oh well. It's their lost.
I'm sure you'll get it.
You've been working so hard for this. Yeah.
Somebody's birthday, So shall we do cake?
Yes!
Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you
Happy birthday, Dear Kate
These candidates keep getting harder than getting hedge funds.
Michael Sullivan.
I knew his father.
Danish passport.
His mother side.
But he's only 24 years old.
He'll do.
I thought I would start with some entry level assignment.
Instead I got a dream job.
Special assistant to the Under-Secretary-General.
Running the largest humanitarian program in United Nation's history.
I couldn't believe my luck.
All I could thinking was don't fuck this up.
The program is called "Oil for Food".
It was created in 1995.
By Security Council resolution 986 which is stated that
the UN will manage the sale of Iraqui oil
And he used the profits to provide humanitarian relief in the country to allieviate the hardship
which basically means that...
Our office is in charge of trying to feed the entire nation.
Over 20 million people.
You have a little reading to catch up on.
We are wholefully behind schedule now funding data reports to the security council.
Your immediate task would be to help facilitate its completion.
Your predecessor was due to brief Under-Secretary tomorrow.
Tomorrow?
What happened to him?
The car accident in Iraq.
Jesus Christ!
Is he all right?
No, he didn't make it.
A bullet point summary will do.
Pasha will be in his office at night.
Got a couple of minutes, Michael?
Justin Cutter, Central Intelligence.
Really?
Yeah, we come in all shapes and sizes.
Ok. Can I help you with something?
Listen. We think "Oil for Food" is being gained...
for private gain by a bad guy or by a bad guy's unknown.
Possibly withheld from the inside which is where you are.
I just got this job.
I'm not gonna,, I'm not gonna spoil it through.
Oh God no.
Leave that to the professionals.
I don't want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable, Michael.
Just keep your eyes and ears open. That's all.
For God and Country.
I was aware going in "Oil for Food" program
becomes a something of a "political football".
The program budget was 10 billon dollars a year.
The entire rest of the UN operation budget was only two.
It was crazy money to be had.
Special interests circling like buzzard.
The program was simple.
Because of the economic sanction post against Saddam Hussein
after the first Gulf War,
Iraqui ecomony hit crushed.
People were starving and dying from the lack of basis medicines and staples.
The "Oil for Food" program was designed to provide
Iraqui citizens with what they needed to survive.
While at the same time preventing Saddam from developing
his alleged Weapons of mass destruction.
Under UN supervision , Iraqui oil were being sold at market prices
to pay for humanitarian aid.
Our job was to keep it funded
by making sure everything went by the book.
I'm here to present the summary.
He'll be with you in a minute.
This fucking regime!
Unbelievable. Yes.
I solved it and dissolved it as a solution.
No, we charges the load of taxes that should last to outline villages.
They don't get the trust back.
You called this a "summary"?
Fucking "War and Peace"
Sorry sir. I was trying to be thorough.
Thorough?
Yes. Sir.
Fuck.
Well, just give me the highlights kid. Otherwise, we'll be here till spring thaw.
Yes. We have to decrease the malnutrition rate. Reduce child mortality.
We've also made bid strike in access to water and electricity.
There are however some..systemic distribution failures. Particularly in the North.
The Kurds are getting shortage. Wheat, Milk, diesel fuel
to the benefit of Tikrit who are getting seemingly more than their fair share.
Saddam's hometown. What a surprise.
Yeah.
There are also all these after service fees in the contracts.
I'm pretty sure they kickbacks.
If you want to take a look,
I'm highlighted and aggregated among page 26 to 29.
It's a lot of money, Sir.
In some places, it is much as 30%.
Sit.
Kid.
Sit down.
The first rule of Diplomacy is that the truth is not the matter of fact.
It's a matter of consensus.
The consensus right now is the sanctions are here to stay.
The Americans and the British will never lift them.
which means...
that if you want the people of Iraq to survive,
We have to keep "Oil for Food" running.
Even with all these wars and flaws.
Sir. You don't... The second rule is to keep your mouth shut and listen,
and then if it suits you, you can talk.
With discretion.
Otherwise, keep your cards towards your vest.
Yeah.
Your father was a good man.
You sure be so lucky as to have his heart.
Yes. I've been told.
We crossed paths a couple of times.
Must have been 79, 80.
What a tragedy.
Beirut.
Fuck.
I'm sorry.
It must have been hard a boy growing up without a father.
It was my normal.
I had my cry.
Good.
Fix your summary.
Go home and pack.
We leave for Baghdad on a red light.
What? You have other plans?
No. I don't.
Of course not. Thank you.
BAGHDAD, IRAQ
I was swapped up in the role I summoned.
I mean this is what I wanted.
High adventure and the worthy cause.
It's like Baghdad was my "Casablanca".
More or less sketchy, crazy, dangerous and stranger than I could ever imagine.
The country live in the state of permanant South occupation.
Our Baghdad's office is going to present a problem.
Ok.
The contracted director sarbotaged the reports.
Why? Why would he sarbotage his own report?
She.
So the Security Council will be forced to lift a sanction,
and everybody can cash in on the deals they made with Saddam...
back before he rouge into Kuwait and pissed off the world.
Jesus H Christ, kid.
I'm gonna have to fucking teach you in everything from scratch.
Every six months, we have to justify our continued existence.
Our job right now is to write report for the Security Council.
Emphasizing for the good in "Oil for Food" program
whilst minimzing the challenges.
Not to lie.
No. Never lie.
But to chose
our facts or truths with the utmost care
Right.
Can I trust you to do that?
Yes. Absolutely.
There she is. Madame Dupre.
Trying to backstab us.
Christina.
Hassan Ghazarian. Michael Sullivan.
Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.
Photo? Oui.
Did you get the documents I sent you? I did.
I even printed them out for you. Oh Great.
It went well.
Sixty percent of the Iraqui people
are solely depended upon our supplies for survival.
Wheat, grain, milk, medicines. Essential infrastructures.
During the last of ten months,
we have decrease malnutrition rate amongst children in Iraq by fifty percent.
Thereby reduce child mortality significantly.
Ok. Thank you very much.
Photographers coming through. We gonna have a photo opportunity
with Madame Dupre.
It's hard to overstate how badly Saddam was abusing his people.
Friends of the régime gets easy access to the medicines.
Others, less fortunate,
were left to die for even the simplest of diseases. Wait.
They sent back drugs.
Out of the prescriptions.
Thank him for bringing this to me. Tell him I'll definitely looking into it.
He said there's a black market with "Oil for Food" appears.
Oh this innocent child.
Please explain to her why she cannot have the stem cell therapy that could cure her.
Why she has to suffer because the West begrudges
Iraq its dignity.
That I can't explain. No.
She asked why you are crying.
I promise I will do anything I can to help your child.
It sickens me to have to stand there and listen to your lies.
It's PR, Christina. Everyone in the field is working so hard.
Well, my report to the Security Council is going to tell the truth.
Just so you know.
Your report.
The program is a failure.
The sanctions are not working. How is the program failing?
Medicines getting through. At what cost?
People are getting basis staples.. At what cost?
Everybody is grifting the system.
Corruption grows like a cancer. It will never be perfect.
And surely it's better than doing nothing.
Michael, what's the delay?
Ah sorry, It's just.. the security issues. We'll be on our way in a few moments.
I know what you are doing.
You want me to sign off on your moral relativism.
So you can throw me under the bus when it's all unravel.
You are mistaken.
I just trying to feed a Country. Enough spins, Costa. Enough.
The facts will speak for themselves.
My report to the Security Council is going to tell the truth.
HOTEL AL RASHEED BAGHDAD, IRAQ.
Baghdad is the center of the Universe, kid.
And this Al Rasheed is ground zero.
Boiler room of Diplomacy.
Pasha! Nice to see you again.
Mr. Mohammed, my assistant.
Michael Sullivan.
Cut your fingers off if you shake hands with this one.
All major intelligence agencies are here.
All rooms above.
Everyone try to bother in its secrets and services.
Information is everything.
The currency, the power.
Look. Listen. Learn.
Everyone has their own agenda, huh?
May be Bush thinks Saddam disrespected his papa.
American convinced democracy will bloom like a fucking flower.
Good luck with that.
Putin wants Bush to fail. China wants a new market.
Half of Europe couldn't care less about the Saddam. Civillians are built of bombs, big oil.
Simply want to end of the sanctions
so he can suck an Iraqui dick ...
So by the way, a doctor told me today.
The bits of medicines missing supplies.
I smell a setup.
It didn't really feel like a setup. No.
Nonsense. She's not just an effective.
She's actively prooving the program's failing.
If we don't do something, this report gonna be a disaster.
Don't you get the final say?
Sadly, no.
UN protocols require regional director signed off on the report.
What's our agenda?
Our agenda? That little girl
at the hospital.
God help anyone who gets in our way.
Yeah.
I have a son once.
Died from a flu. Just a baby.
Can you believe that?
And my wife..
we couldn't make another.
Sorry.
30 years ago.
How did you put it?
I have my cry.
Flu.
You tired?
No.
Youth. Fuck.
You know for someone who speaks for the people for a living
you don't talk much.
I couldn't help...
but notice you were not surprise when the doctor
spoke of black market medicines.
No, I wasn't.
Will you tell your boss?
Yeah. We already know and is approaching the program.
Outside Baghdad is much worse.
Rations diverted, power cut off.
Extortion, Bribes..
Well. I'll make sure Pasha knows that too.
You have something you want to ask me?
It's about Madame?
That your boss wants you to find the secret button
he can push and bend her his way?
I can tell you.
It does not exist.
I'm just trying to do my job.
But...
your predecesor, Abhek.
His car accident was not an accident.
That's a pretty big accusation you made.
Why are you telling me this?
He was murdered because of something he uncovered.
Something in "Oil for Food"?
I don't know. May be.
He was feared for that someone inside United Nations.
A facilitator of corruption.
You need to be very very careful.
Good evening.
Please.
Mukhabarat you see was concerned..
to inspect your sleeping chamber for the existence of any survillance device. This as a courtesy for your security of course.
Why don't you start by telling me who you are?
Are you enjoying your visit to Mesopotamia, Mr.Sullivan?
First one if I'm not mistaken, yes?
Such a difficult stressful time for everyone here.
The great satan keeps threatening to bomb the city
meanwhile the sanctions cut deep.
Baghdad .. Why don't you get to the point!
You will find on the bureau behind me an envelope containing a small fee.
We greatly admired the work you're doing for the Iraqui.
It's late. I'd like you to leave. Please.
No disrespect was meant by it.
Don't forget your envelope.
Can't blame them for trying. It's nothing.
You handled it perfectly.
Yeah.
What about what the interpreter said about Abhek?
I don't believe it.
Perhaps she's a spy for Saddam sent to rattle us.
You look like shit, kid. Fuck.
Eat something.
I'm sorry.
Excuse me.
I've been warned.
But I was still shocked by the criticisims from
UN staffs against the sanction
Pasha was right.
Every department had an agenda.
They were working across purposes
and played right into Madame Dupre's hands.
Shut up!
You sound like Saddam's puppets. All of you.
Do I need to point out the serious fucking consequences to Iraqui people
if we fail to.. Sir, your violations..
Are you fucking kidding me!
It's not our place to question the decisions of the Security Council.
We implement them.
Absent of all politics.
And yes, it's our fucking job sometimes.
But if you can't do it,
I suggest you turn in your fucking credentials and go home.
I knew from my research that
our biggest worry was Kurdistan.
KURDISTAN REGION, NORTHERN IRAQ
As long as Saddam was in power,
It was gonna take all of Pasha's considerable diplomatic skills
to keep the Kurds from undermining the report.
The rations, when they come, I always have half of what was promised.
The North is a protector, so unfortunately...
They even hit harder on the sanctions than any other regions.
while "Oil for Food" was providing some relief.
It had helped sustain the very regime that suppress them.
The Kurds have pits of money to buy their own food.
From that black market oil!
Mister, if you'd allow me,
The Kurdish conflict with Iraq goes back nearly a century.
Saddam Hussein took it to a whole new level.
Force displacement, mass detention and torture.
And then when that didn't work, resort it to land mines and cluster bombs.
Sarin gas and nerve agents,
killing ten of thousands and crippling ten of thousands more.
A reign of terror.
that included the worst single act of chemical genocide ever committed against the civillian population.
Kurds are dying for simply being Kurdish.
And in a shuttle diplomacy between two sworn enemies,
I watched Pasha worked his magic.
It's how the most beloved food Allah
is that which is touched by many hands.
Fuck. This is all I need.
Kurdish minister is right.
And from what I've been told, they're getting completely screwed..
I know he's right. It's in the fucking field reports.
But we have to keep a little bit.
The choice can't be to feed everyone or feed no one.
It has to be feeded to many as possible.
I have to go back to New York tomorrow.
I need you to stay focus.
Of course.
Here's your travel rights.
You are connected to Kuwait, lands in JFK at 5 pm.
Dupre is going to freeze you out of the final report.
Her oppose is inditement for "Oil for Food".
Ok then why am I staying here then?
In a few days, you'll receive some photographs.
You want Hassan to see them because you won't understand what they could mean.
Your task is to make sure he shows them to Dupre by insisting he shouldn't.
You asking me if I...
a trap. Yes.
She'll fall into it, and we'll be rid of her.
Kid.
It's diplomacy.
Sometimes require removing obstacles
that standing in the way of successful outcomes.
Can I trust you again with this one?
I mean what lie am I gonna be telling?
Not lie.
Just the opportunity to draw around conclusion.
Morning.
Just so you know,
Madame said you won't be reading reports until it's finished and she signed off on it.
I'll be by if she wants me to help.
People in hell want ice water.
We just ponds in the bigger game you and me.
Sorry, Michael.
Hassan.
At least she can help me arrange an interpreter for the field trip.
I want to open one of the boxes and check the expiration date.
He said he's the company representative.
Tell him I want to open one of these boxes.
These pills expired in 1999.
Sick people will get sicker or die because of these.
Every box needs to be checked.
And the out of date medicines need to be destroyed.
And the Manufacture will have to replace it at their own expense.
I should warn you.
Everyone here thinks I'm your prostitute.
All right. we should split the check up.
You can't really just ask for a date without chaperone for women in Iraq.
There are rituals and traditions.
Do you want to call it off then?
Did you tell your boss what I said about Ahbek?
Yeah, I did.
He thinks you might be a government spy.
So are you? The spy?
Is that a serious question?
It's a pretty evasive answer.
No.
Now it's my turn to ask you.
Ok.
What are you doing here?
Well, I'm doing a status report for the "Oil for Food" program and I'm gonna..
I mean today with the spoiled medicines.
What you did had nothing to do with writing a report.
You took action.
It was risky and rather brave.
Was that just to impress me?
I'm not here just to be a functionary.
I took this job for a reason.
Because I want to help people.
And I want to make a difference.
Make a difference?
Exactly.
I will drink to that.
Cheers.
They're not gonna bomb Baghdad.
Without getting the UN staffs out...
Mr. Sullivan? Yeah?
This has come for you. Thanks.
Ah... I've gotta go.
It was on my desk, sir.
Are those "Oil for Food" trucks?
Yeah. But I don't want to source them.
If they're real, they are proof that we are being gamed by Saddam Hussein.
Yeah. "If". I still don't think we should trust them.
Using our trucks to deliver weapons? I mean what the fuck?
I just gonna packed them up into carrier pouch..
and see what Pasha thinks. No, no.
Let me show Christina first. No.
No.. No chance.
It's ok. What do you call it?
Chain of command.
Ok.
Hi.
Hey.
I need to show you something.
Ok.
They are friends.
Ok.
KURDISTAN REGION, NORTHERN IRAQ
So this place isn't here officially.
These are the graves of Kurdish civillians that Saddam Hussein suddenly decided they no longer needed to live.
Gas, sarín, Tabún, Vx.
The smell of sweet apples..
He doesn't care about your sanctions or resolutions.
He's the angel of death.
Azrael.
You're Kurdish?
My parents were intellectuals.
Activists in UK.
Killed in Halabdja.
I'm sorry.
Nobody in Baghdad knows I'm Kurdish, Michael.
If Saddam spies find out,
they will disappear me.
My friends they have Ahbek uncovered on criminal conspiracies.
Saddam is using to scheme billions of dollars from "Oil for Food".
Ahbek claimed there's a whole system of corruption..
that reaches to the highest levels of the same invested Government that
support sanctions.
Ok. How did Ahbek know this?
There's a rumor. Office list.
A list that contains names of people, and organisations..
all over the world who are all getting paid off by Saddam...
to keep the system running.
And Ahbek had seen it.
Did you bring it? Yes.
They have had it on its computer. You sure nobody saw you?
The office has emptied. Everyone has gone home.
Ahbek, what's going on with you?
I'm going North.
Across the border.
It's not safe for me here.
He made a back up.
But it's encrypted.
We don't have the sources to decypher it.
Why didn't you take it to someone more senior in the UN?
I mean. Anyone? Madame Dupre.
Nobody would listen to her.
It's important who delivered the list.
No one can accuse you of being partisan of...
having an agenda about the truth.
I'm not gonna hand this, Nashim.
I'm not gonna do that.
No. I don't want that.
I just want you to take it back with you.
And find someone who can break the encryption.
And then together we can decide what to do.
Shit!
It's Mukhabarat.
Are you fucking kidding me?
Jesus.
There must be a mistake. I'm..an UN official.
The young diplomat.
You know it's very dangerous for you to be in this God forsaken desert unescorted.
Mukhabarat was concerned you might have been kidnapped by these individuals.
Consider this a courtesy.
Your paper.
I'll tell you this with all humility, Mr. Sullivan.
Cos I'm sure it won't happen again.
Your recent visit to the pharmaceutical distribution service...
that was unnecessarily provocative. Yes?
It would be in everyone's best interest in the future
where you decide such inspections were no longer necessary.
They're armed!
She is my interpreter. Right! I told you!
Stop!
Go. Now. Before they change their minds.
Get in the car.
He kept my papers.
It's only a question of time now before they find out who I am.
Where is the girl?
What girl? The Kurdish girl.
I don't know what you are talking about. You are lying!
I don't know what you are talking about. Don't lie.
I don't know where she is. I saw you with her.
Yeah. I know. But I don't know where she is. Ok?
Let me just.. Let me make a call.
I don't know where she is.
Get out!
You have no jurisdiction here. Out!
It's Michael Sullivan from Baghdad of "Oil for Food" office.
Yeah.
I need to arrange an UNLP for one of our staffs here.
Yeah.. The name is Nashim.
Huesseni.
Hey.
I took all I could carry.
This will get you to the US.
The High Commission for Refugees will help you get a VISA.
I don't know. I can go to Kurdish part of Turkey. I have some friends there.
No. You'll be safer in New York.
We'll get you to the US. And then we de-encrypt the list together.
Go. You cannot be seen with me.
Whatever happens..
Just promise me you'll let me know.
Whatever happens...
happens.
Right?
Thank you.
Would you please come to my office immediately?
You really expect me to fall for these?
These.. I don't even know what to call them.
Garbage!
What was the plan? Shook me to releasing them?
And then force me out when the evidence comes this is false?
I'm at loss. I don't even know what you are talking about.
Madame.
I've sent some documents.
Hassam wants to show them to you that's it.
You are finished in the UN. Do you hear me?
Your career is over!
What will you have him do? He got some photos!
Shame on you.
Shame on both of you!
The report is finished.
It tells the truth about the failure of "Oil for Food".
The files are in digital.
watermarked, timed, date.
And I have secure copies.
So you can't change anything when it goes to New York.
The battle is over, Costa. And you have lost.
Security Council will make the decision based on the facts.
She's gone. Pasha.
Well. Fuck.
Nothing more for you to do there, kid.
Take the next UN flight. Come home.
Don't worry about it.
JFK AIRPORT, NEW YORK
Excuse me, Sir.
Let me see your passport?
Oh yeah.. Sure.
Mr. Sullivan? I need you to come with us.
Michael, how are you doing?
I have nothing for you.
No, that's ok. I got something for you.
Christina Dupre is dead.
They found her few hours ago alone at home.
Heart attack.
At least. That's what they're saying.
What do you mean "that's what they're saying."?
What did you think happen, Mike?
I... I don't..
I have no idea. Why would I?
Your boss.
What does he think?
You have questions for Pasha, you should just ask him yourself.
Did he ever mention anything about a list?
No. Why?
Michael.
Is there anything you want to tell me right now?
No.
Thanks.
Hello? You are home.
Yeah.. Yeah.. I just got in.
Did you hear about Madame?
Yeah.
Terrible. Terrible.
We have our disagreements but..
this has break my heart.
And the.. the report?
Hassan has shown me that he doesn't share the Madame's determination
to block the program...
He will sign off as her successor
I want everything to get refunded.
Madame was wrong. Being fucking dead doesn't change that.
You have two days to clean this up.
What do you mean I've got two days to clean this up?
I thinking I might need you to present the oral summary.
Wait. Do you want me to present the report?
To the old fucking Security Council.
Isn't that break your protocol Pasha?
I can do what I like.
Besides they should be hearing from somebody close to the ground
than whom else can I toss to do it?
Ok. Yeah..
Are you kidding me?
This is such a big deal.
For somebody, your pay grade stands before the Security Council?
Yeah. I know it's a great opportunity.
What?
Where do you get this?
A friend in Baghdad.
No. I mean I can't crack this.
Do you know anyone who can?
Do you even know what's on the drive?
No.
Do you know anyone who can crack it?
Yeah.. I'll give it a try.
Mind if I.. hold on to this?
Yeah. Keep it.
Yeah, I was given this was a possible contact number for her.
Yeah. Exactly. Michael Sullivan.
No. I understand, yeah.
Just.. the number I gave you. If you could make sure,
you or one of your colleagues gets back to me if you hear anything at all.
Madame Dupre's death hang over "Oil for Food" program like a cloud.
But Pasha had a clear path for what he wanted.
I focus on writing the report.
I didn't want anyone to doubt that I deserve to be in that room.
I couldn't help think about my father.
Whether he'd stood before the Council like I would.
Whether he would think of what he was doing was right.
You ok?
I'm ok now.
They are one hundred percent fucking certainty WMD is in Iraq,
and zero percent certainty where they are.
Let me call you back.
Finished.
Pending your review and Hassan signed off.
That's my boy.
Good work.
I got a call..
from Oversight.
About your UNLP request for our sexy little tr anslator.
They ask me to look into it.
I believe she's in New York now.
Right.
She's Kurdish.
She needs an asylum.
They killed two of her countrymen.
Kurdish don't have a country.
She makes friends like you everywhere.
All the tricks in the book.
The honeypot.
CIA calls it a "the tangle" now.
Seduce them up. Tell them fairy tales.
It's not just the russians, notice?
CIA.
MI5, Interpol.
Girl has a big following.
Pashmerga sent it to school in England.
Got a phoney paper and a job in Baghdad, UN.
What is she want you to do?
Nothing.
I bet she's hiding skills in the soft art.
What you did is stupid and illegal.
I'll make it go away.
In future if you're gonna do these things, you've got to come to me first.
Who gave you this? It doesn't matter.
You've been using me.
No. Yes.
You said you wanted to help.
Our meeting wasn't like that... I really.. Fucking bullshit, Nashim. I know how this works.
Do you? Yeah.
Yes. Ok. I''m guilty of taking a job in Bagdad
and try to find a way to help my people.
Get free of a dictator who wants to exterminate us.
And yes, I talked with men who might be off help.
But I didn't sleep with any of them, Ok?
I didn't have to. Nashim.
You have asked me to risk my life for the list..
that I don't even know where it fucking came from.
This is...
I'm sorry but..
This is who I am.
Do you want me to leave?
Hi!
Hey.
I came to wish you luck.
Hey, man.
Knock them dead. Thank you.
Ready? Yeah.
You'll do great. Relax. Thanks.
In an unusual move at today's United Nations "Oil for Food" vote,
Under-Secretary-General Costa Passaris..
yielded his chair to his executive assistant Michael Sullivan
to present the report on the status of the program.
The "Oil for Food' program continues to achieve its core mission of providing humanitarian relief.
The request for continue funding comes
in a wake of the sudden death of Baghdad field director
Christina Dupre, who is a vocal critic of the program.
And against the backdrop of the intensifying efforts
to find Saddam Hussein suspected cashes and
weapons of mass destruction.
Continuing resolution 986, the Council has voted unanimously.
to extend funding for another 180 days.
Michael Sullivan address the press after the Security Council vote.
I don't understand why you want here, like me? Why?
I know.
Me neither. Let's get a drink, ok?
Here you are.
My prodigy. Michael Sullivan.
Timur Rasnetsov.
Costa insists you were the hero of "Oil for Food".
And here is Nashim.
Lovely.
Welcome to the USA.
Thank you.
Where is your drink?
I think we even have some Arak tuck away.
So how have you been?
Fine. Thank you.
Great.
Well, enjoy your evening.
You must be the young diplomat Michael Sullivan.
My husband is always talking about you.
Nice to meet you. Plesure.
I'm Melina, Pasha' wife.
Of course, Yes.
Pasha gushes about you. Pasha doesn't gush about anyone.
Yeah. He certainly told me a lot.
It can never work.
Is that the proud Papa protecting his surrogate son?
Don't patronize me.
Is this so unthinkable that I could be in love with him?
You are what you are.
You cannot fool me.
You gave him the file on me.
Listen.
If you do anything to compromise the kid or hurt him,
I will have you deported so fast your hijab would spin.
No.. I have to.. I have to go.
My apologies. I have to deal with something.
How long have you known that guy for?
He came with the delegation. We just met. Why?
He was the one who tried to bribe me in my Hotel in Baghdad.
Paradics is very well connected. Could be useful.
I've gotta go.
What the fuck was that man doing at the party?
I don't know.
What did Pasha want?
He threatened me.
Your boss threatened me.
Hello?
Michael, my guy came through, you better come see this.
You're not gonna believe this.
Saddam. He's been selling Oil vouchers.
At that discount, the people who turn around, resell the vouchers with the going on pay grade.
For huge profits.
Saddam gets a kickback, shares the difference between his discounts on a going rate.
How much does he make?
Could be over a billion dollars.
Jesus Christ!
We know if these are real?
They look real.
And it looks like a system.
There's a list of all the major players,
Politcians, Businessmen, Bankers.
We're talking highly placed people..
at the very heart of most first world goverments.
They are taking millions of dollars and bribes.
This is real. Of course, it's real.
Well. To proove it, you gonna need records of the actual transactions.
You need to get this to Pasha.
This is an UN internal matter.
You do not want to be left holding the bag on this.
Amongst the encrypted documents, I found this video codec.
How long does it run for?
71 minutes. 71 minutes is a strange time.
I sort of scroll through a bit, it's pretty much the same.
Zoom in.
Go back.
I knew it.
I fucking knew it. I knew..
I knew that he was involved.
We need to make the list public.
We can't do that.
They'll just deny it.
Then all it'll do is destroy the UN.
We need to find someone to start asking questions.
"Media, The Congress", the truth will come out.
All these powerful interests in play, they will decide what the truth is.
Pasha will be the sacrificial lamb and my career will be over.
You are not part of this.
Of course, I'm fucking part of this.
I just gave a speech about the integrity for "Oil for Food".
What are you saying? Do nothing? I don't know what I'm saying.
What's going on?
Michael! Somebody!
Man, you ok? You need me to call 911?
Where is she? I don't know.
Call your friend. Tell him I will trade what he wants for Nashim.
He's not my friend.
Pasha, I have a video of you taking a fucking bribe from him.
You gonna come inside, kid or do we have to do this out here?
We gonna do this out here.
I take a cut. Sure.
Why not? Everyone else has.
I put my whole career on the line for this mission every fucking day.
Come inside, kid. It's cold.
Rasnetsov is a fixer.
He's a very dangerous man.
Nothing in Iraq runs. Nothing without him.
And who wants him?
The highest bidder.
Moscow, Beijing, Saddam, hedge funds, mafia, Greek.
Rasnetsov is a bridge between politics and reality.
And whose sides are you on, Pasha?
I thought I heard you coming.
Sit down Michael. Please.
I'll make the call.
Coffee?
Yeah, thanks.
Did you enjoy the party last night?
Yeah, we had a great time. Thank you.
You left so early. I wondered.
My friend.. She wasn't feeling too well.
It's a flu season.
Yeah.
Well, I'll leave you to it.
They handed her over to Immigration.
Ok. Was she has papers?
I think they find them missing.
She becomes an irritation.
If she gets deported to Iraq, they will execute her for treason.
I'll send her back to Baghdad, I still have some sway.
No, you call him back and tell him, I'm not gonna give up the list until Nashim sets free.
That's not how it works.
You need to trust me. I did trust you Pasha.
I trusted you and you fucked me in every turn.
Look where we are.
Committing crimes and taking bribes.
The crime would have been to do nothing
to watch innocence suffer and die.
What about Dupre, and what about Ahbek? What was the justification for that?
We didn't make the storm.
We can't control the strom.
All we can do is plot our course, set out sails and try to do our best.
As we did and we do.
Best for whom? Pasha. Best for you?
Not best for Nashim. Not best for her people.
Look. May be you love the spy. Fuck.
Who am I to argue with a heart?
Don't let her get you killed.
We can help her people. But we have to do it our way.
Bush's coalition of the willing is going to invade Iraq
in a matter of days now. Consensus is changing.
If it's truth, Saddam is history.
And "Oil for Food" can be successful framework
for rebuilding of a new free Iraq
in which the United Nations, not the carpet buggers and craven carvens
who created this nightmare. The UN can take the lead fucking role.
You and me, kid.
We can save the world.
And save your girl.
Trust me.
My fellow citizens.
At this hour, America and college enforces are
in early stages of military operations
to disarm Iraq, to free his people.
And to defend the world from grave danger.
Over the next 24 to 48 hours,
perhaps as many as three thousand.. three thousand missiles
Satellite guided precision bombs, laser guided bombs
would be dropped at various targets, not only in Bagdad or around Bagdad,
but elsewhere around the..
Since we started the invasion, I was back in Baghdad.
To work on Pasha's plan to put UN in charge of
rebuilding the new Iraq.
The sanctions were lifted.
The free market would power the country.
Free elections would give every citizen of voice.
And oil would pay the bills.
Pasha still have strong connections.
And he kept his promise to me.
Nashim Husseini!
The days burned together.
Blank pages.
I've missed you.
I have something for you.
A new passport and a VISA so
You can stay as long if you want.
And what about the list?
I gave it to Pasha.
You traded this? For me? Yeah.
Why? I didn't exactly have a choice.
I made a judgement call. Ok?
And what you think is going to happen to Pasha now?
Pasha can still do a lot of good in the UN.
You are dreaming. I'm not dreaming.
I'm not dreaming. I'm not. Ok. Consensus has changed.
With Saddam gone, we can actually do a lot of good..
Just by thinking you can work with the criminals to take what you want. You're at lost.
It wasn't exactly a fight we are going to win, was it?
I put all my fucking life on this.
Who are you to decide that for me?
You said it yourself.
It's very very fucking complicated.
No. Not this part.
This part is very simple.
I don't want to be a part of this. No, no.
I can't.
Nashim. Wait... Wait. Wait!!
Nashim!
I'm told you aren't answering your phone. What the fuck.
Yeah. I've been busy. Yah.
I heard.
Your Kurdish took a walk.
Relationships are trainwreck.
Come on, Kid.
You wanted a career in diplomacy.
Well, you're missing a golden moment.
See you at the office.
Pasha. Are those medical contracts...
I was on my way out.
Pasha.
See you.
It's good to see you again, Michael.
You think I like it?
He got the world in his pocket, kid.
All the major fucking players in reconstruction.
I don't understand. When did he get back into this?
He never left. He just moved into the shadows when the stakes got higher.
There was no one else.
We've been through this, Michael.
I'm not gonna fucking deal with him.
What?
This is how it works.
The optimisim of the liberation was short-lived.
It turned out nobody had made plans what to do after Saddam was gone.
The America has purged everyone who had been loyal to the regime
which meant there wasn't anybody left who knew how to run the country.
Rasnetsov and all the other fixers like him..
filled that vacuum with power and now they control the game again.
Iraq spirals into anarchy, chaos and terror.
All those countries that have been scamming "Oil for Food" before the war,
Well, they got ready to curve Iraq up.
Like it was one big pie.
And me..
I was going through emotions.
I lost my faith in it..
Hello?
It's Nashim.
Hey.
You ok?
I need to see you. Can you come downstairs?
Sure.
Michael. Good to see you.
Yeah.
I got someone you got to meet.
We need your help, Michael.
Michael Sullivan, Mr. Shaswar Rauf.
Yeah. We've met before.
He will play a central role in a new Iraq.
You ever heard of a guy named Rasnetsov?
Yeah.
Yeah? You've ever met him?
A few times before the invasion.
How about after?
No. I didn't.
Well now him and his criminal gang for "Oil for Food" are back.
And they're creating a mess in Iraq.
Yeah..
You know there was a list of individuals and organisations that were
helping Saddam with "Oil for Food". You guys know about that?
Yeah. There was no way to proof what was on it. No.
Proof was in Iraq, all ministry.
Official files that were taken by US troops
after the government fell.
Proof that is probably be still in the basement of UN
somewhere if anyone care to look.
Forget about the list. We don't want the list anymore.
You don't want the list? Too many powerful people.
Too political.
It is a coalition of fucking greedy. No one gives a shit about Iraq.
Everyone just want some money.
Yeah, that's why we need to stop Rasnetsov.
Pasha can give him to us.
Michael, we have strong intel that your boss is involved.
Pasha never gonna help you.
Or may be he's just need a little push.
And we're hoping that may be you can convince him.
You think I can convince Pasha? Pasha's never gonna do it. He's not gonna listen to you.
We can protect the UN for any unpleasant throwbacks.
Diplomacy.
What?
Diplomacy.
Something Pasha said to me once..
So now you're the one working with the criminals.
It's not the same.
Why it isn't the same?
We had the momentum now.
The Kurds are going to be in important part of making the new era..
The Kurds been fighting the same pretty much several thousand years.
You really think this gonna change anything?
Who can't say?
But for sure it's not up to you to decide that for us
Come with me.
I can't.
Neonatal medicine. Yeah.. There are new inventors.
French-canadians.
They want the exclusive rights to the whole of the Northern region.
That's very greedy. Especially for the Canadians.
Well, I can.. They need to be willing to pay hundred grand
to make it happen.
You do the preparations with the Kurds and the provisional authoritiy.
I'll handle the rest, we split fifty-fifty.
Fifty thousand dollars paid off? No, shekels.
Christ! Of course, dollars. What the fuck!
Thank you.
Pleasure to see you again, Sir.
And so much more favorable circumstances yes?
You must be one of the Canadians.
I'm Cutter, Sir. No.
Ah..American.
I wasn't..
You didn't tell me the provisional authoritiy
will be sending someone for such a routine agreement.
They didn't.
We're not exactly here about medicines, Mr. Passaris.
They need to be willing to pay hundred grands to make this happen.
You do the preparations with the Kurds and the provisional authority.
I handle the rest, we split fifty-fifty.
Ohh Kid...
Fifty thousand dollars paid off? - No, shekels.
Christ of course, Dollars, What the fuck?
It's like a surprise party without the cake.
What do you want?
Give us Timur Rasnetsov, and resign your job.
Or I will have to drag you and the United Nations through a scandals of a stark proportions.
This happens.
With or without you. With or without me..
Rasnetsov will be protected by multinational companies
who have governments who protect them.
Same people who just brought Saddam to his knees and put you here.
Holding court. Judging me.
You think your place at the table now is not bought and paid for?
We pay with our lives if that's what you mean.
What you called corruption is simply the growing pains
of the new democracy.
And you are indeed fools if you think you can put the brakes on it now.
Let's let the politician worry about that.
We will settle for the rat..
You want me to commit suicide.
We can protect you.
You know that's not true.
Well just set up a meeting.
Give him the envelope the Canadian's deal.
We catch him red handed.
What the hell?
Not bad, Kid.
Well played.
He's late.
Yes?
Fucking country.
Is it ok if I join you?
I'm stepping down going home.
I've lost my taste for it.
I wanted you to hear it from me.
I recommended you for a position in UNESCO.
Special assistant.
You'll be the youngest one in the whole UN.
Did you know?
Kid.
How can even you think that?
These fucking lunatics. They are killing each other everyday.
That's the truth of it.
That's your truth, Pasha.
And I'm not part of it anymore.
Don't. Don't do anything dumb.
You can't fight the storm.
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER, 2003
I realize everybody knew about the corruption.
They just didn't want to be exposed.
Every permanent member of Security Council
has something to lose.
Someone on the list who can embarass it.
It will all be covered up.
The UN couldn't survive these lies.
I had to do something.
Risk something.
To make a change.
If I tried to list his accomplishments, we will be here until tomorrow.
But in his forty years of service, to the cause of world peace and,
our humanitarian missions, the crowning achievement would have to be
his successful implementation and operation of "Oil for Food ".
Hi, I'm Trevor Owen from "Oversight".
I've spoke to John earlier..
Saddam's palace files.. Yeah..
Which boxes? All of them.
They sealed to the public, but as you're from "Oversight"
and as long as you don't take anything with you, go crazy.
Thank you.
Mr. Passaris. Job well done.
Thank you.
Where's Michael? He has cleaned his desk, sir.
I think I found it.
You know what we're gonna have to do?
Fucking family.
My name is Michael Sullivan.
And I have a story I think you're gonna want to hear.
These are the wrong numbers of how much money was involved.
And that is billions. This is not Millions.
Jesus!
And this is the list of everyone who received their vouchers,
their bribes and kickbacks.
You can corroborate the names with the deposit records.
They're here
with the list of contracts on files.
This is massive, Jesse.
You realize the minute this breaks you'll have a lot of enemies?
Yeah, I know.
We could protect you.
Cite you as "A confidential source."
No, anonymity is part of the problem.
If nobody takes responsibility for the truth, then we are leaving up to consensus.
I have to own it.
We began with this evening with the United Nations, the "Oil for Food"
controversies and scandal.
And the call on the part of the United States Senator for the resignation of Kofi Annan.
Obviously, these are serious allegations
which we take seriously.
The UN Secretary General today ordered an investigation on Costa Passaris,
the former Under-Secretary who has whistelblower claims
was behind the "Oil for Food" scandals that has rocked the United Nations.
And implicated a long list of prominent businessmen
and political figures across the world.
Incompetent and corrupt.
The weaknesses is in the "Oil for Food" program..
raises serious questions about the United Nations' ability
to enforce sanctions and administrated mandated program in the future.
The documents for the telegraph come up with
reportedly found in Iraq's foreign ministry archive.
days after the US led the invasions.
The "Wall Street Journal" report having documentations of
kickbacks, and bribes and forms of oil vouchers...
worth billions of dollars.
But according to federal authority,
Passaris himself has fled the country.
CYPRUS, MAY, 2004
I'm with the "Wall Street Journal".
We're doing a follow up
on the "Oil for Food" scandals.
I come to get your side of the story.
I don't have a side.
And it's the kid's fucking story.
I'm not running away. Ok?
Make sure you write that.
I'm not hiding from anybody.
Yet here you are in a place without extradition. It was difficult.
Write that.
Complicated.
Messy was Saddam's ugly nonsense and the usual first world duplicity.
But we did more good than bad.
I don't care what anybody fucking said.
And the kid did great.
The choice is I see it, it's between cynicism and candor.
You know if only we care so much about Iraq as said,
the story would have been celebrated as a conspiracy of Saint.
But the truth..
The truth isn't about the lie we told each other.
It's about the lie we told ourselves.
More than two thousands companies from 56 different countries
took bribes or paid kickbacks to Saddam Hussein.
Over twenty billion dollars got diverted
from the "Oil for Food" program.
Implicated some of the most prestigious coroperations in the world.
172 organisations and individuals highly placed in the government
received bribes.
My name is Michael Sullivan. My father was a diplomat.
I tried to follow him in his foot steps.
Edited by Miro JJ (I did it in a hurry so there might be some errors.) Enjoy~