Come on. Yeah.
Hurry up. Hurry up.
My name... Li Pang.
I want to be good engineer...
like Mr. Martinson.
Very good, Li. Very good.
You're gonna be talkin' like an American before ya know it.
- Mr. Martinson? How you call? - That's a wrench.
"Lench"? In Sarkhan: Kun dje luen.
Kun dje luen. "Lench".
No, not "lench". Wrench. Rh-h!
I know that's a hard sound for you to get...
Look out!
What happened?
Punjit? Punjit?
- Yes, sir? - What happened to the truck?
Mr. Martinson. Came from up there.
Was he in it? Yes.
I work no more this road! Drunk man in truck.
Drunk man kill.
- Punjit, who saw this happen? - Me. I see.
Drink too much whiskey, then truck kill Johnny Sumpat.
You not give one big damn what happen to poor Sarkhanese people!
We all feel bad about this.
But that kind of name-calling is not gonna help anybody.
I quit! I work no more for American imperialists!
His neck's broken. He couldn't have felt a whole lot.
Was he really drunk?
I don't remember ever seeing him take a drink, Homer.
Mullins, there's something weird going on around here.
Come on. Let's get him back to the base.
Punjit, that guy quit. Get him outta here.
I told them the autopsy proved that our truck driver wasn't drunk,
and I asked for a retraction.
Did they retract it? They did not. They just changed it around.
This may be your last chance to set the record straight.
One clear, sane statement about why we're building Freedom Road.
Those reporters are willing to listen. They'd like to know.
It's not that simple.
I've been sitting here trying to put it into words, but what's the use?
Those reporters twist everything I say.
I know that Freedom Road is good for them,
and you know it, and Bing knows it.
But how do you tell these Sarkhanese people?
They don't really want to know anyway.
All right. I'll go down and tell them you're sick.
Mr. Ambassador, I understand what you want.
I'll ad-lib something.
I'll take the seriousness out.
Don't worry, Grainger. Everybody loves Joe Bing.
- And thank them for coming. - Yes, sir.
You're not going to see them at all, are you?
I've only a couple of days left in this assignment, Grainger.
We should wait till the new ambassador comes.
MacWhite has been named as ambassador.
If the Senate confirms him tomorrow, he'll be here in a couple of weeks.
I shouldn't start something I'm not going to be here to finish.
So... we do nothing again.
Then you gentlemen will report back to the committee...
on Tuesday at 11:00 for a continuation of this hearing.
Is the ambassador-designate to Sarkhan next?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. MacWhite in the room.
Mr. MacWhite. Right.
Keep your vest pulled down.
Mr. MacWhite.
Mr. MacWhite, we are glad to have you say...
why you think we should act favorably on
your nomination as ambassador to Sarkhan.
Mr. Chairman, Senators,
I have about 15 pages here which I wrote last night...
in explanation of my qualifications.
As I read them over this morning, they sound so much like my own eulogy...
that I've decided to let my mother publish them privately after I'm dead.
So if you don't mind, I would just
prefer to answer the questions.
Have you any speaking knowledge of the Sarkhanese language?
- Yes, a little. - Will you say something, please?
Khor santiseek chong mee kas prachachen tua lak.
- What does that mean? - Roughly that means...
"May there be peace among all peoples of the world".
You were vice president of MacWhite Publications...
in charge of the foreign office, isn't that so?
That's right. Headquartered in Paris.
Would that background qualify you for this position?
One of the functions of my job, Senator, was to interview world leaders.
You probably know what it's like to be interviewed.
I think you can appreciate that a good reporter...
has to win the confidence and trust of people...
if he's to write anything perceptive about them.
I've never read anything perceptive about me.
Well, I... I haven't interviewed you.
I will now yield to my distinguished friend...
from the nation's dairyland, Senator Macon.
Sir, I thought this was a very poor nomination when it came down,
and I still do.
Mr. MacWhite, let's get into your war record.
You were in Sarkhan during the war?
Yes, my plane was shot down, and I bailed out.
Why'd they give you the Silver Star?
- As you know from the citation... - I don't know anything.
The record's blank until you fill it in.
The award was given for sabotage activities behind enemy lines.
Sarkhan was under Japanese occupation at the time,
and I fought with the Sarkhanese underground.
Nothing personal in my attitude, Mr. MacWhite.
I just wanted to see if you'd fly off the handle.
I know Senator Brenner has to leave shortly,
and he's anxious to question this nominee.
I yield to him and leave the rest of my interrogation until he's finished.
I appreciate the senator's generosity
and with the chairman's kind indulgence...
I will attempt to curb my oratory and make my questions brief.
Now, I think you mentioned reporting and sabotage...
as things you do very well.
Is it your belief that all reporters are qualified to be ambassadors?
No more than all ambassadors are qualified to be reporters.
Is it your belief that all men skilled in sabotage,
who happen to be in Sarkhan during the war,
are qualified to be ambassadors?
Unless I haven't been properly briefed, Senator, I wasn't aware...
that sabotage was one of the qualifications you were looking for.
Serious answers would be more to your benefit.
I beg your pardon, Senator.
I didn't take your line of questioning as having a serious intent.
According to your dossier, your chief qualification...
seems to be your friendship with this man Chai Keong.
- Beg your pardon, sir? - Chai Keong.
The name is Deong, sir.
It's pronounced with a "D."
- Deong. - Yes.
This man was your wartime buddy,
an ordinary rice farmer who helped you blow up bridges.
He was a rice farmer, Senator.
I think "ordinary" has very little to do with Deong, however.
An extraordinary rice farmer. The record stands corrected.
Does this man hold public office?
He was offered the prime ministership...
which he felt he didn't have enough education or polish to accept.
So he stepped aside after he led his people to revolution.
The answer is no.
Can you say why your friendship with this man who has no say...
in his government's policies should qualify you?
Yes, I think I can, Senator.
Deong is as important to Sarkhan as de Gaulle was to France...
before he resumed the presidency.
He may be the single most popular man in his country today.
He has a profound influence on his people.
When was the last time you saw him?
Seven years ago in Hong Kong.
We spent a day together.
The time before that was 1948 in, Bangkok.
I think it was a weekend. I'm not sure. We...
We'd been celebrating our reunion with a touch of rice wine, as I recall.
Both times were before Sarkhan gained independence.
That's right. What'd you talk about?
- I don't know. Personal things. - Don't you remember?
I think we discussed whatever good friends talk about, personal things.
I think we discussed life,
the ladies...
I think we spent most of our time laughing.
But not politics?
I don't recall. We might have touched on the subject.
- Do you write to each other frequently? - Yes, so do our wives.
You influence his thinking?
Yes, I would say so.
In the same way good friends always influence each other.
During the war he was very curious about democracy. I gave him my views.
Does he share them?
To a large extent. In his own way, Senator.
I would say so. Yes.
- That still prevails? - Our friendship prevails.
As I say, we haven't discussed politics for quite some time.
So in your own mind, this warm friendship still prevails?
You share and respect each other's views?
You feel this common ground will enable you
to present the position of this country...
to a sympathetic and influential popular leader?
You agree with my conclusions?
I think you've summed it up admirably, Senator.
Thank you, Mr. MacWhite.
I present the following document for the committee's edification.
"The United States has again taken up the cudgel of colonialism.
"I warn America! Our multitudes are pledged...
"as one man, one voice, one heart...
"to resist the imperialist tide to the end...
and beyond the end."
That sounds Red to me!
Not only is that speech out of context...
Do you respect and share those views?
No, I do not share them! Yes, I do respect them.
I resent the senator's...
Do you deny that Deong is an out-and-out Communist...
I deny that emphatically, Senator.
Furthermore, I would like to point out to you that...
that speech was made at the Afro-Asian Conference in Bandung...
April 18, 1955, which was three months after
Deong had led his people to independence...
and after the United States had postponed
recognition of that independence...
and after you, sir, on the senate floor...
spoke out clearly against any foreign aid to his country.
I submit that Deong had cause for passion,
but those are not the views he holds today.
Here's a picture taken just last spring, Mr. MacWhite.
Take a look at it.
Deong at the May Day Parade in Peiping...
shaking hands with Chou En-lai.
I can show you countless photographs of the
president shaking hands with Khrushchev.
On those grounds, are you willing to call the president a Communist as well?
I'm willing to call you not well-informed
enough to represent this country.
I called Castro a Red in 1958 when people like you...
were clapping hands over every move he made, and I say it about Deong.
What have you to offer except blind faith that Deong is not a Communist?
What I have to offer, Senator,
I think has been clearly documented in this hearing.
But if faith in Deong's beliefs were the only thing I had to offer,
I would be proud and confident to stand on that alone.
We must not be the grass...
beneath the fighting elephants...
of East and West!
We do not want...
the American military road!
We do not want to be in the Cold War!
But our Prime Minister Kwen Sai...
has pushed us into it!
We have no voice!
We have no vote!
But...
a new American ambassador is coming tomorrow,
a dear friend of mine from long ago.
When he hears us say,
"We do not want the road,"
he will listen.
I'm not welcome in official circles.
I have not been invited to greet him.
But you can go to the airport without an invitation!
Stand quiet with your banners and your signs.
Be peaceful.
Welcome him, but let him know...
what we insist upon!
Sarkhan for the Sarkhanese!
Come on. Let's go.
- Nick Grainger, Mr. Ambassador. - How do you do?
Joe Bing.
It's a little noisy this Sunday, isn't it?
There's a riot starting. I think we better hurry.
- Come on. - Let me help you, Mrs. MacWhite.
Tragedy. Rioting. Bloodshed.
Everything went wrong.
MacWhite? Is he safe?
Yes. The army came.
And our people? Did our people take part?
Not at first, but it spread.
It spread. It was madness.
I'm Ambassador MacWhite. I've met the chiefs of section.
I'll get to know the rest of you as we go along.
I realize we weren't expected to start business until tomorrow,
so please accept my apologies for interrupting your day of rest.
- Is there a Mr. Jacobson in the room? - Over here.
I had lunch with your father the other day.
- He sends you his best. - Thank you, sir. He wrote me about it.
Well, here's a gentleman looking for a lost tennis ball.
I'm sorry, Mr. Ambassador, but I didn't have time to change.
That's perfectly all right. Glad you got here as quick as you did.
- Buchanan, political section. - Good. Fine.
Now...
I'd like to discuss the riot... at the airport.
The what?
Boy, talk about your wild men from Borneo.
It's a miracle that we got out of there alive.
How many of you knew that there was a riot?
Could I see a show of hands?
How many of you knew there was going to be a mass demonstration?
Is your hand up, Jacobson?
One, two, three, four, five.
Mr. Ambassador? Johnson.
We heard rumors there was going to be
some kind of a peaceful protest march.
That's why the police were at the airport.
But they said it was supposed to be limited.
- Who? - "Who" what, sir?
Who said? The Foreign Office.
- You checked that out? - Not any further than that.
Weren't there any signs of preparation? No movement or...
They dig a tunnel to the airport and pop up like gophers?
Mr. Ambassador, nobody wants to wriggle out of a mistake.
Admittedly there was one.
But we, the chiefs of section, were at the airport.
We couldn't very well keep an eye on the city streets.
And on Sunday, everybody usually takes the day off.
On Sunday, Mr. Jacobson, they bombed Pearl Harbor.
Mr. Ambassador, if I may?
Most of us live in the American compound.
That happens to be located way the other side of Haido.
All right. Who were the people at the airport?
Communists. No!
There must have been 6,000 people out there.
What about Deong?
I don't think Deong's a Communist. I never have.
I've been watching Deong longer than anyone here.
When you've got that many people... No! I can't buy that either.
He's a neutralist.
Neutralist, nationalist. Call him anything you like.
Deong's been traced to Munsang seven times in the last month.
And Munsang is the leader of the Communist Party!
I would like to interrupt to point out...
that the only thing that is clear so far is that there is no clarity at all.
If you don't mind, we'll stop this squabbling,
and I'll present you with facts.
Yes, sir.
About three hours ago...
there was several people trampled to death.
A policeman was pistol-whipped until his face looked like raspberry jam.
And the man who represents the person of the president of the United States...
was almost killed,
along with his wife...
and other members of his party.
Now, I... I don't mind telling you that I was afraid out there this afternoon.
But I didn't know what fear was until this meeting got started.
You gentlemen have given me something to think about.
Now, here's something for you.
Confusion, ignorance...
and indifference will cease as of this moment.
Information about everything that happens
in Sarkhan will be kept up-to-date,
and that's seven days a week.
That's seven days a week, gentlemen!
And Sundays included, and I don't give a damn where you live!
The next time there are 6,000 people that begin a riot,
or six people,
without this embassy being aware of it,
those responsible will be on the first plane out of here...
with my personal recommendation they be dropped from the Foreign Service.
Are there any questions?
Will there be any questions of any kind from anyone at all?
I want to see your files on every anti-American
incident over the past six months.
I want to see all progress reports from all departments...
and everything issued by the U.S.I.S.
Kindly be back here as soon as you finish. That's all.
This note just came. They said it's important.
Thank you. Would you please call Mrs. MacWhite?
Yes, sir.
Grainger, I think we should have food sent in. We'll be here late.
Mac, you really told them. You really shook 'em up.
Bing, I don't like bootlicking.
And, I don't like your coarse manners.
Now, you get yourself together or you get out.
Right.
Bing, don't call me Mac. Yes, sir.
Mr. Ambassador, as the man in charge of this embassy
since Ambassador Sears left,
I've got to accept responsibility for what happened today.
That's right, Grainger. You've got the responsibility for that.
Now, today's today.
But I'm going to be very anxious to see what you carve out of tomorrow.
Yes, sir.
All right. That's all.
Now let's repeat lesson one.
Your first word in Sarkhanese: Sawad-di.
English: Greetings.
Sarkhanese: Sawad-di krop. English: Greetings, sir.
Now try it yourself.
Sawad-di. Sawad-di krop.
And now the word for thank you: Kop-chai.
Sarkhanese: Kop-chai. English: Thank you.
Kop-chai.
How do you know I want that foot covered up?
Well, actually I just...
I just looked at it and rejected all other possibilities.
- How are you feelin'? A little better? - Much better.
Really?
Look what Deong sent us. Isn't it beautiful?
Read the card.
"This is the spirit-god of happy homes.
He comes to yours with my love. Deong".
He sent those flowers too.
You know, this is so like Deong to do something like this.
Can you come to bed now?
No, I wanna run over and see him now.
So you get some sleep. I'll be back a bit later.
I've been trying to sleep,
but it's a little difficult with all those lizards all over the ceiling.
I keep wondering when they're going to fall off.
Don't pay any attention to them.
They're absolutely harmless. Really.
Just be sure to keep your mouth shut at all times. You'll be all right.
I'll see you later. Thanks for dropping by.
Yang ngai puen, old buddy.
Mac!
How are you?
Are you all right?
I got my kneecaps on backwards,
but outside of that, I'm a complete wreck. Thanks.
Sawad-di.
Mac, I've been worried to death about you and Marion.
I wasn't there.
It got out of control.
It was a brute. But, listen, I don't want to talk about that now.
I just want to have a little grog and listen to the frogs...
and meet your wife. OK.
- She still up? - Yes. Come and meet her.
Marion loved the flowers you sent. They were beautiful.
And that little stone-god was exquisite.
Only a small thing, Mac.
- You shouldn't spend your money on us. - Who else should I spend it on?
Rachani. This is Mac.
Chan deechai mahk tee dai pop.
Welcome to our home.
Thank you, Rachani. I am...
I am very happy to be here.
I've looked forward to this for so many years.
I never believed it would happen.
Come. Let's sit down.
You know when I first believed it?
When I was kicking the snow off my shoes just before I got into the airplane.
I realized I wasn't going to have to have cold toes for a long, long time.
- I'm so anxious to meet Marion. - Marion is dying to meet you.
She wanted to come tonight,
but I thought after all the fun she had at the airport...
this afternoon that she ought to have a night's rest.
If you're not doing anything tomorrow night,
how about let's have dinner?
Wonderful. Good.
We have some palm whiskey.
Rachani got especially for you. I hope you still like it.
Well...
I was always so drunk when I drank it,
I can't remember whether I like it or not.
Here's the rest of the family.
Mac, this is Sawad.
One of my worst assistants. He's lazy. He eats too much.
And he's unpatriotic.
If he's all that, he sounds like my kind of man.
I'm very pleased to meet you, sir.
This is a great honor for me.
Your name has been a legend in this house.
That's fine. You can finish your speech tomorrow.
Sawad came to me during our revolution.
And I'm glad to say, he's never left my side.
- Sawad, will you please help me? - Yes.
Nice kid. Yeah.
Well, you're doin' all right, buddy.
Nice house. Who ya been stealin' from?
It's my prize for being a great national hero.
I figured.
One man got the Coca-Cola franchise.
Another got the Grand Hotel. Yeah.
And... I got this.
All right. Here we go. Thank you, Rachani.
Well. OK.
What have you got here, a kosher pickle?
Homemade. That's a kosher pickle.
Good.
Life and the ladies.
Boy. I forgot what good gasoline tastes like.
Welcome home.
♪ Have forgot
♪ Will be
♪ And for Bonny
♪ Annie Laurie
♪ I would lay
♪ Me doon
♪ And dee ♪♪
- Hey, Deong. Get a load of this guy. - What?
Things get a little rough, he goes back in his shell...
and slams the door, and he's out to lunch.
Let's have a drink?
OK, but just one for medicinal purposes.
Pardon me, sir. Did you want your hamburger with everything on it?
I wish I'd been a turtle this afternoon. I don't mind tellin' ya.
When I left here in 1945,
everybody was there and smiling faces and...
and nice people and...
I practically got buried alive in flowers.
Then this afternoon I just got buried alive.
Something's changed in 15 years. I don't know.
Mac.
I sent those people to the airport this afternoon.
You lost me, kid. I don't follow you.
I don't know what to do, Mac.
All day I wanted to be dead.
You mean you sent...
6,000 people to demonstrate against me?
Just to demonstrate, Mac. It wasn't supposed to be a riot.
Do you know what happened out there today?
A battering ram missed Marion's face about seven inches.
Six people almost got killed.
And you're tellin' me that there wasn't supposed to be a riot?
Please, try to understand.
I have to wear two faces now.
One face said to my people,
"He is my friend, my dear friend".
But the other face belongs to Sarkhan.
And it had to say, "He is American.
Let America know what we insist upon".
You could have come to me yourself.
I mean, we don't see eye-to-eye on everything.
Friends never do. That's what they sent me here for!
We're supposed to be able to talk to one another.
Do they know I'm against Freedom Road?
Yeah, they got a pretty good idea of it.
And where do you stand on that, Mac?
Where do I stand?
Do you still hate warmongering as much as ever?
What's warmongering got to do with Freedom Road?
China and North Sarkhan complain all the time about it.
They say it's an act of American aggression...
against peace-loving people.
I thought Freedom Road was just supposed to benefit the economy.
Whose economy? Kwen Sai's?
That puppet you keep in the Government House?
The common people have nothing!
Not an egg! Not a piece of fish!
What are you yelling at me for? I didn't put him there.
Not you. Of course not.
But I really get mad...
when I hear the talk about the economy.
Mac, Freedom Road is power.
Power for Kwen Sai, that's all.
Power to use against us...
with the army the Pentagon trains...
and the tanks that Wall Street sells.
The tanks... that Wall Street sells.
Boy. This is beginning to sound like a...
Like a what? I don't know.
I don't know, kid. I...
Listen, I'm just wiped out, kid.
There's nothin' gettin' through.
Let's call it a night. OK. I'm tired too.
- We'll see each other tomorrow. - Good. OK.
Listen, where are my shoes?
In the house. I'll fetch them.
OK.
We go round city two times now, sir.
Where we go now, please?
Just, drive around again.
I'm sorry to get you out of bed, kid.
Come in.
I didn't mean to wake everybody up.
That's all right, Mac.
What's wrong?
I got to talk to you.
Come on. Let's go in the house.
No, I don't want to disturb Rachani. Why don't we just sit over here?
It's just as good. All right.
What's happened?
I don't know. It's...
It's a hard one to get ahold of.
Maybe it was the palm whiskey.
But some of the things you were saying here before...
just kept flapping back to me out of the night.
What things did I say, Mac?
Well, American aggression,
warmongering,
tanks that Wall Street sells.
I didn't make them up, Mac.
You can hear them all over.
That's right, but the point is they're not true, not accurate.
I think they are true.
You don't actually believe that America has...
aggressive aims in Sarkhan?
Yes, I do.
Deong,
my staff tells me that you've been seeing a lot of this...
local Communist leader, Munsang.
Is that true, Deong?
Is one of the magazines going to write an editorial about me?
No.
I'm serious, kid. So am I.
And I don't think you want to ask me these questions.
Deong,
do you remember before when we were talking?
You said to me, "Mac, I gotta wear two faces".
You remember that?
Well, I gotta wear two faces too.
You don't know how they've been sniping at me about you.
The people in Washington, the people in my embassy.
Now, I'm not accusing you of anything.
I'm just asking for a little reassurance.
I'm asking for your reassurance too, Mac.
All the people in Sarkhan are united...
against the American military adventure here,
and we will not be compromised.
What military adventure?
Freedom Road!
Freedom Road symbolizes development here.
Once that happens,
North Sarkhan can't take this country over,
because it's very difficult to subvert people that have...
enough to eat and a capacity to defend themselves.
Deong, if this doesn't begin to sink in pretty soon,
this country... Sarkhan... is going to end up just the way Cuba did.
Cuba?
Cuba is what you made it.
You helped Batista, just as you help Kwen Sai against the people.
You always make dictators strong,
then wonder why you are not loved.
Deong, I don't approve of dictators any more than you do!
But if supporting dictators helps to keep
the Free World free, we'll support them.
Expediency!
We're not going to sit by and be spectators
to a Communist takeover in this country!
What Communist takeover?
America's putting the guns and tanks into this country.
America's building that damn military road!
I told you! It's not military!
Then force Kwen Sai to prove it's for my people.
Take your guns and tanks away from him!
The minute we take our guns and tanks out of here...
there will be a vacuum that the Communists will jump into...
faster than Hitler took Poland!
Now who's spouting slogans?
Where do you think you are? Little Rock?
And who do you think I am? Your "little brown brother"?
No. I'll tell you who I think you are.
I think you're a dangerously misinformed man...
with a sinister notion about what the United States stands for!
This is Sarkhan, not the United States!
We don't get down on our knees to the Stars and Stripes here.
You cheap, twisted ingrate.
I am damn proud of the Stars and Stripes,
and they've been pretty good to you.
Who do you think's been buyin' your groceries for the past seven years?
I'm not talkin' about the United States government!
I'm talkin' about the American people!
From Boise, Idaho, and Moline, Illinois!
People who've contributed millions of dollars out of their own pockets...
to Project HOPE to the CARE packages sent
all over the world to people like you!
You can't buy gratitude with your handouts!
We don't need your gratitude!
And we don't want you down on your knees to us!
Or to Russia or to Red China either!
Don't preach at me! I'm not your pupil anymore!
I'm warning you, Deong! For the last time you better listen...
I will not listen to your garbage anymore!
This is not your country! It's mine!
You're a Judas goat.
You're leading your people straight to the slaughterhouse!
Now, you listen!
You wouldn't care about us if the Cold War didn't exist!
Millions of us know it!
Wherever you've exploited us, cheated us,
abandoned us to tyrants like Kwen Sai,
wherever black or brown or yellow men can read the newspapers and know...
Get your hand out of my face!
Your democracy's a fraud!
It's for white people only!
I warn you.
If we have to die again, we will die again.
If we have to kill you, we will kill you!
But we won't let the Yankee imperialist bastards...
tell us what to do!
This is one Yankee...
that isn't even gonna try to tell you.
You're not a Judas goat, Deong.
You're just a Communist.
It's 6:30.
I thought you got... killed in an alley or something.
Sorry, babe.
What's the matter?
Ambassador MacWhite. I'd like to speak to Mr. Grainger.
Can't you tell me anything?
Grainger? MacWhite here.
We're in a political emergency.
I want you to do three things.
I want you to assemble the staff for an 8:00 briefing.
Get the code clerk out of bed and ask him to stand by.
I want to send a night action cable to the secretary of state.
I want to see Freedom Road this morning.
I'll fill you in at the embassy.
Mac, can't you tell me what happened?
Deong's a Communist.
A Communist?
Yeah.
Yep, every time he opened his mouth, right on the party line.
What about the present...
and the flowers and... and the note?
Doesn't...
Doesn't it mean anything?
Yeah.
That means we have an excellent chance of losing Sarkhan...
and then all the rest of Southeast Asia.
And that Senator Brenner was right about Deong, and I was wrong.
For 15 years,
I was wrong.
Homer Atkins. Guilty.
Very pleased to meet you. Heard a lot of wonderful things about you.
Thank you.
- I'd like you to meet my wife Marion. - How do you do, Mr. Atkins.
Call me Homer, for Pete's sake. Hello, Oscar.
- Fine. - American.
I just introduced you to 'em.
Sawad-di. Sawad-di-ka.
I'd like you to meet a colleague of mine, Punjit Chaka.
This is Mrs. MacWhite. How do you do.
Ambassador MacWhite. Pleased to meet you.
I want to tell you that it's impossible to ride on that road...
without realizing what a wonderful piece of work it is.
Thank you. We are honored you have come to see it.
It's our pleasure.
Punjit's the fellow that keeps the ball bouncing around here.
Let's go to the hospital and see Emma.
This is a children's clinic started by Emma
and Homer entirely at their own expense.
How marvelous.
We figured, who wants to be the richest people in the cemetery?
Actually, Homer, this is exactly the kind of thing we need.
It's worth $1 million in foreign aid.
- Hello, Murphy. What's the good word? - Save your money.
"Save your money" is right.
Hey, Emma. Here's our company!
Well! Hello. How are you?
- Welcome to Chang 'Dong. - Thanks very much.
Hello, Oscar, Punjit. Fine, fine.
I was just bedding the kids down for a nap.
This is Ti-Ti. Come now! None of that shy stuff.
Say hello, Ti-Ti. Hello, Ti-Ti.
Sawad-di.
That's all right. Sawad-di, Ti-Ti.
Isn't she heaven!
Why don't you girls go ahead and talk girl talk.
Mr. Ambassador, I'd like you to meet the village head man.
All right. Good idea. We'll see you later.
Certainly. Bye, Ti-Ti.
I'd just love to look around before they go to sleep.
Go ahead.
You get accustomed to sights like that after a while.
What's wrong with him? Starvation.
They have a lot of it here.
Gee, I... really admire you.
What brought you way out here?
Something Homer calls "unfinished world business".
I guess I feel that way too.
Once you've been a nurse, you can't keep your nose out.
You hear things, you see things.
One day, I was having a shampoo down by the river.
There was this woman watching me.
They bathe here all the time, but they can't afford soap.
Anyway, I knew she wanted to try.
I gave her the shampoo, and one thing led to another.
Midwives started coming around asking me how to bathe the new babies...
and how to cut the umbilicus with a decent knife instead of bamboo.
The tetanus here is simply terrible.
And, well, I don't know.
Looked around, and here it was,
and here I am.
Emma.
The head man is convinced of the fact...
and he says the people of Chang 'Dong feel that way.
Tell him we think that the accident that killed Johnny Sumpat...
was caused by people who do not want Freedom Road.
He says they are afraid.
People have come in the night to threaten them.
What people?
Tell him it would be very helpful if he could tell us who they are.
All right. I want to see everything now.
We get on some elephants, go see some jungle felling.
All right. Let's go.
When they bed down the equipment every evening,
they go right to work on the hospital.
They want a concrete ward.
Punjit's figured how to get electricity in there.
- What is it, Poona? - You show us where to build now?
- Be right with you. - Don't be strangers now.
If you can't come, send your wife. She has a talent with children.
- The kids can say my name already. - Thanks so much, Emma.
Bye-bye, dear.
- Emma, pleasure to meet you. - Bye-bye.
See you soon. Punjit, nice to see you.
Sawad-di. Sawad-di.
It's been a very instructive day.
Thank you for being interested enough to come down to see us.
We're interested, Homer.
There was one more thing.
How far can you pave in a day?
We can pave a quarter of a mile a day.
But I'm afraid we're gonna get slowed
down now with this Johnny Sumpat trouble.
We're not gonna get slowed down, Homer, by Johnny Sumpat...
or anybody else.
Yes, sir.
Be hearing from me. Thank you, sir.
So long, Oscar.
- Bye, Homer. - Bye.
What's this all about?
Deong began a fast this morning.
He has sworn not to eat until Freedom Road is stopped.
I guess he knew you'd be here, Mr. Ambassador.
The palace announced you'd be coming to present credentials.
Your Majesty, I have been charged to convey to you...
the very best wishes of my president and my government.
It is their earnest hope that the friendship between our two countries...
shall continue in peace and security.
May God have Your Majesty in His wise keeping.
We have the pleasure to receive you as ambassador to our government,
and we welcome the harmonious relations...
we enjoy with the United States of America.
You're a young man to be an ambassador.
Perhaps, but then the United States is still a young country.
Sarkhan is an old country with a young government.
May I present our prime minister, His Excellency Kwen Sai.
Mr. Ambassador,
I am happy you could accept my invitation for lunch.
I look forward to a frank exchange of views.
So do I, Your Excellency, and I appreciate your seeing me so soon.
Your Majesty, may I present my staff.
My deputy Mr. Grainger.
I don't flatter myself...
that I'm an expert in human behavior, Mr. Ambassador.
But I must say...
that your appraisal of Deong doesn't seem to coincide with mine at all.
I'm not frightened of Deong, Mr. Prime Minister.
As to his power, that's a fact. That's an odious fact.
I don't think it takes an expert on anything to realize...
that Deong won't stop at a riot, a hunger strike or anything else.
I think we must let the facts dictate future decisions.
Don't you agree?
Patience and moderation, Mr. Ambassador.
To overreact is often less effective than not to react at all.
Have another brandy? No, thank you.
I don't mean to throw cold water on your fervor.
I'm quite sure you came here with some kind of a countermeasure,
and I'd be interested to hear you out.
I recommend this:
Face Deong down while you still have time.
Do everything possible to split his following...
and move the majority to support your government.
How?
By proving to the Sarkhanese people...
that Freedom Road is something for their benefit,
and by making it clear to the Communists...
that you are going to put the pressure on and you're going to keep it on.
I think that this can be accomplished very simply.
Instead of the road moving east here to Ping Mei,
it should strike straight north...
all the way to the Sarkhanese border.
That would produce two dynamic effects.
One: It would open up this timber area for development
which would benefit the economy;
and it would drive a harpoon right into
the heart of the Communist concentration.
And point number three:
Provoke my enemies.
I'm afraid it would be too explosive.
My government feels that this is an extremely worthwhile plan.
Will your government stand by...
its military commitments to Sarkhan in the event of trouble?
The United States stands by its military commitments everywhere in the world.
There's no reason to regard this as a military situation.
It's a political maneuver.
That's your opinion.
I must know if your commitments would apply.
Well, these commitments, Mr. Prime Minister, work two ways.
Quite frankly, my government is still waiting to see...
some evidence of democratic reforms in Sarkhan.
Mr. Ambassador, the ideal of democracy...
has been the fountain of my life.
But I've told your government time and again,
to give freedom to a politically immature people...
is to put a dagger in the hand of a lawless child.
The lack of democracy is often a sharper dagger, Mr. Prime Minister.
And, as it stands now, your brother is,
commander in chief of the armed forces,
your cousin is director of public works...
And I would make my mother-in-law chief of police if she were qualified,
and sometimes I think she is.
You see, Mr. Ambassador,
we're starved for people with administrative training here,
and I haven't the luxury to pick and choose as your president has.
I grant you that.
But you must make a start somewhere, and I'm convinced...
that dramatizing the road could be the beginning...
of democratic reforms in Sarkhan.
I'm convinced that you're convinced of everything you say.
But before you go on,
have I America's absolute commitment...
to stand behind us in the event of trouble?
You have. Under the SEATO Treaty.
The moment that foreign troops with a hostile intent cross your borders,
you will have the full support of American military power.
All right. We are agreed.
Now, how do you propose we dramatize the road?
Next week is the anniversary of Sarkhanese independence, is it not?
Wednesday, yes.
I propose that the king cut the ribbon...
Sawad-di.
Thank you.
Now, would you mind getting your rhinoceros nose...
out of my drink and stop the snorkeling, if you don't mind?
Want a sip?
No, no. You meanie.
Man, that's coffee.
Hey! Who's that guy there in the monkey suit?
- Hello. How are you, Homer? - Fine, Mr. Ambassador.
Good to see you. Thank you.
Sit down.
Where's, Emma? Did you bring her down?
You can't get her away from that hospital.
She's got those kids, peerin' down their throats, makin' 'em all say "".
- Otra vez. - How about another beer, Homer?
I'll skip this round. Thank you.
Wait a minute, Homer. I rode your elephant.
- You're going to drink my beer. - That's right, Homer.
Fair is fair.
Mr. Ambassador,
my assistant Punjit...
that young man I introduced you to yesterday...
- Yeah? - He was murdered last night.
That young man?
Yes, ma'am.
How did it happen, Homer?
I brought you some pictures, sir.
They must've got him out in the jungle.
Good Lord. That's awful.
I'll take you up on that beer now, Mrs. MacWhite.
Yeah.
That boy and I have been together for two years.
Forgive me if I don't know what to say.
It's all right, sir.
The reason I came here to see you today...
You remember the head man telling us about those warnings?
Yeah.
This murder has topped the whole thing right off.
I ordered that security you requested, and I think that's going to help a lot.
No, it's not. Excuse me. It's not.
The people up there don't even trust their own neighbor anymore.
This road means a lot to me, and I know what it means to you,
but I think the thing for us to do is to stop work on this road.
Just ease off. Let everything settle down a little bit.
I don't think we can quit just because we have a couple of casualties.
We're not at war, sir.
We are at war, Homer.
And the more we back down, the more they'll attack.
Today I spoke with the prime minister, and we agreed that...
the best way to handle this is to drive Freedom Road straight up to the border.
The border?
Next Wednesday, the king is coming to Chang 'Dong to dedicate the road.
Mr. Ambassador,
with all due respect, sir,
that is the worst idea I ever heard.
I know these people.
They're not willing to die for Freedom Road.
I'll be honest with you.
I don't know what's gonna happen when we pull a stunt like this,
but it's gonna be bad.
Don't take my word for it.
Don't take Kwen Sai's either. Ask Deong.
He's neutral. He's honest.
If anyone can tell you what the people are thinking, he can.
Homer,
whether or not I talk with Deong, I think, is irrelevant at this point,
but I think it's a good idea,
and maybe my bones have more information than yours.
Please, Mr. Ambassador. Please call this party off, sir.
Give me $50,000, a little chicken wire.
Let me build a decent hospital for these people somewhere down the road.
You saw for yourself how much they love what Emma's doing.
They'll build that road themselves, if it'll take them to their hospital.
It'll give things time to quiet down a little.
That's the whole point, Homer.
There isn't any time, none.
There's only one way to go, and that's the way we're going.
OK, sir.
Good evening, ma'am. Bye, Homer.
We'll need a pavilion to keep the sun off the king...
and some exhibition stalls.
We'll send you the plans tomorrow.
All right, sir. It'll be done. Good night, sir.
Best to Emma.
What's the matter, MacWhite?
It's all upside-down, isn't it?
It's not upside-down. It's just tedious.
But it is upside-down.
You say Deong's a Communist.
Homer, he seems to think he's something else.
Homer says to build a hospital.
You say... I don't know.
I have the most awful feeling that nobody really knows...
what is going on or what we're up to...
Ever since I got here I've been receiving a lot of misinformation...
about the politics of this country from people
who are not qualified to talk about it.
Now, if you don't mind, I would just as soon...
not have to face that when I come home.
And if it's not a great sacrifice,
I would like to have a martini and dinner...
- And we will call it a day. - And, call it a day.
Deong.
Welcome to our little summit conference.
Are you surprised?
I admit curiosity, Ambassador Krupitzyn.
- Why did you ask me to come here? - Munsang did the inviting.
I'm only here to give moral support.
Gentlemen, this is Deong,
the great revolutionary hero.
And may I present Ambassador Wong of the People's Republic of China.
Comrade Reznikoff you know.
Colonel Chee of the People's Republic of North Sarkhan.
Colonel Chee and I have met.
Yes, at Bandung, 1955.
My associates, Paklit, Sawad.
Some water, gentlemen?
I don't know how you can drink that water.
I have to carry my own tea.
The perfect Soviet diplomat?
Colonel Chee. Nice to meet you again.
Well, Deong, it seems your friend Mr. MacWhite...
has decided to become... a man of destiny.
Yes?
He and Kwen Sai have changed the course of Freedom Road.
They are going to build it right to my border.
I've heard nothing about such plans.
It will be announced tomorrow in the newspapers.
They begin construction next week, two miles above Chang 'Dong.
Why do you all come to tell me this, if I can read it in the newspapers?
Because, Deong,
we think we can help you.
Help me or... use me?
What?
China, North Sarkhan, Russia, even Munsang.
Why?
Why do you all want to help me?
My friend, forget your cynicism for five minutes.
The local bickering of Sarkhanese politicians
and American ambassadors...
is not important to us.
What is important, to us and to you, is peace.
To get rid of tension on the border, to get rid of reactionary governments.
To remove Western interference from Southeast Asia.
That's important.
That's important, yes.
What else?
Kwen Sai and MacWhite...
have given you the signal to lead your people...
in a crusade to real independence.
The country will never be more united against them than tomorrow...
when the news will become public.
Break your fast.
If you want help, we will help you.
If not, all right.
We'll drink some tea and...
forget it.
- What kind of help are you offering? - Colonel Chee.
Guns, food, medical supplies.
And no soldiers from North Sarkhan would cross our border.
No volunteers? None.
If there is a revolution,
only Sarkhanese should do it...
and with as little bloodshed as possible.
Munsang, would you put your cadres under my command?
I would.
There are many things to consider.
I will study the newspapers tomorrow.
Then I will decide.
Hey! Hey, you guys!
You better have plenty of film in that camera.
That's a real king we got comin' there.
Come on! Come on! Get the king shakin' hands.
Attaboy, Your Majesty. That was a nice smile.
Hey! Get the king with the priests!
- Bing. - Sir.
Report to me as soon as you get back. You're all through.
In the name of our subjects, I dedicate this good work...
to the people of our land.
May they and their children prosper and find relief...
from life's suffering in this great highway, Freedom Road.
What happened?
Never mind her. She's dead!
Mr. Ambassador, the prime minister is anxious to see you.
There you are, Ambassador.
I have very grave news.
My radio reports a major coordinated attack.
Villages are being looted, guerrilla units are operating near the capital...
Is there any evidence of foreign troops fighting with Deong's forces?
I have reports of that,
and if those reports are confirmed, I'll have to invoke our treaty.
All right. I'll be in touch with the Seventh Fleet and the State Department.
Please let me know if it's confirmed.
Homer. Marion.
We have to evacuate all American personnel.
As soon as the ambulances get here, I want you and Emma to come along.
This is war. It's all over the country.
I'll get everybody out.
But for Emma it's not going to be that fast,
with all there is to do here.
Well, all right. Take care.
We don't have any security on the way back.
We don't have any choice.
How long before we get to Haido?
Another hour maybe.
Don't tell me it's impossible.
If we're not on the first plane outta here, there's gonna be hell to pay.
Mr. Ambassador. We didn't think you'd make it.
The road's been cut. Give me two minutes.
- What's happened here? - It looks like a plastic bomb.
I got a factory up north.
Was there anyone killed?
Gunderson, sir, and there's a woman in the hospital.
Not now. Grainger.
I want to talk to Washington right away.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, one moment, please.
In a few minutes, one of my staff will listen to your problems and requests.
Each of you will receive individual attention and care.
Meantime, we would appreciate so much your
being able to remain calm throughout this.
It would be a big help. Thank you very much.
Tell him to wait five minutes.
What's the most recent report on Deong's position?
He was headed toward Government House under a white flag.
That's the last we've heard.
We seem to have two separate wars going on.
This mob, destroying everything in its path,
and Deong's boys being welcomed with flowers.
The main stronghold in Haido is right here.
It's a radius of seven blocks around Deong's headquarters.
Mr. Ambassador.
Call Kwen Sai, please. Tell him we're on our way.
Grainger.
Deong will speak. Now let Deong speak.
My friends,
this is a moment of joy.
But more than joy,
this is a most crucial moment...
in the history of our country.
I ask you...
to keep this in mind...
as we prepare for the future.
Kwen Sai, I'm addressing you.
In the name of the Sarkhanese people,
I call upon you...
to transfer the government to me by midnight,
or we will take it by force.
MacWhite. Mr. Prime Minister.
- Did you have trouble getting through? - No. We...
Good. Excuse me a moment.
You know, in the last revolution, I was in that crowd,
shrieking the same demands.
It's rather like an overproduced version of Julius Caesar, isn't it?
I'm happy to see you're not intimidated by this little gathering.
I'm quite relaxed, actually.
When the worst part of a nightmare has been realized,
there's nothing very much to be afraid of, is there?
Besides, if my head ends up on a pike in the market square,
I want to be certain it's smiling.
Well, I admire your composure.
Now, I'll outline the situation for you.
Deong has given me until midnight...
to transfer my government to him, or he'll take it by force.
My troops refuse to fight against his people.
So it's a "fait accompli..."
unless your Seventh Fleet put men ashore in time.
We have here proof...
that hostile elements of a foreign power...
have invaded this country.
Now, take a look.
- Pictures of paratroops landing. - Grainger.
Communist weapons. They're all there.
You know, the whole situation's...
quite fantastic, really.
It's clear now Deong was never a Communist.
The poor, ignorant fellow was duped into leading this revolution.
- Duped? - Yes, duped.
- He wasn't duped, Your Excellency. - Yes, he was.
If you remember, Mr. Ambassador,
I had reservations about your opinion of Deong's...
I am thoroughly aware of your reservations, Mr. Prime Minister,
and everyone else's reservations about this matter,
but I cannot in good conscience accept them as valid.
Deong has created this situation.
It is a clear-cut situation,
and it must be dealt with in a clear-cut fashion.
Not that it's relevant, sir,
but you astound me, Mr. Ambassador.
I resisted you about Deong, but you were right.
I resisted changing the course of the road, but you were right.
And now my country explodes, and you still cling to your rightness.
It might upset you vaguely, sir, if I tell you that you are wrong!
Deong is not a Communist.
He has never been a Communist. And as Caesar was betrayed, so was he!
He knows nothing about his own situation,
nothing about the paratroops,
nothing about invasion.
And as soon as my government falls to him,
he is going to be assassinated!
And, Mr. Ambassador,
if you want a signed confession to that effect,
that gentleman with the lumps on his head will provide it.
Here is Colonel Chee of the North Sarkhanese invasion force.
If you want to prove to him how right you are, you're welcome to try.
I now make the formal request...
that the Seventh Fleet land troops here immediately...
to guarantee the integrity of this government.
In order for the Seventh Fleet to land troops here by midnight,
I'll have to notify them within two hours.
I'll take those two hours to try to find Deong.
Grainger'll stand by here.
He'll be in constant touch with Washington.
If you haven't heard from me by then,
well, he has the authority to begin landing operations.
I'd like to know the name of Deong's assassin.
I can't tell you that. Nobody knows.
And while we're in the field of errors, I better correct one of mine.
Democratic reforms are essential now, I agree.
And if you can find Deong, please tell him that.
Perhaps a coalition between us...
can solve this situation without further bloodshed.
Thank you.
Grainger, would you...
would you inform Mrs. MacWhite?
- I'll do that, Mr. Ambassador. - Thank you.
I must talk with Deong. It's very important.
Take the driver's keys.
- You are the American ambassador? - I am.
Come.
Deong, MacWhite is here to see you.
Please say why you have come. I haven't much time.
I'd like to speak with you alone, if I could.
Paklit will stay.
All right.
You've been betrayed. You're going to be killed.
That's interesting.
North Sarkhanese paratroopers have landed here.
Your revolution is now in Communist hands.
I see.
What else? Or have you finished?
No.
I could recite the... catalog of mistakes that I've made,
things that I have done to you, myself.
But there just aren't enough years left in my life...
to tell you what I feel...
or how to make it up to you.
You tell Kwen Sai I don't believe these lies,
and I'm not going to make my people put down their arms.
I'm not tricked so easily.
Kwen Sai wants to talk to you about a coalition, Deong.
He's willing to make reforms.
Kwen Sai has nothing to say to me.
We've gained what we wanted.
You haven't gained anything, Deong.
I understand that you don't trust me,
but you can trust your own people.
Call your northern outposts. Ask about the paratroopers.
Call Kwen Sai and ask to speak to Colonel Chee.
How do you know about Colonel Chee?
I saw him. He's a prisoner there.
You see Communists in your dreams.
Maybe, but when the Red flag goes up tomorrow...
and you're dead, it won't matter much, will it?
I am sorry. I have no more time.
Deong, if you don't call on that radio,
you will not only be throwing away your own life,
but you'll be killing Sarkhan.
Believe me.
Suppose it's true. What would you want me to do?
It's not my country, Deong. It's yours.
You said that you're not my pupil anymore,
and you're right.
Paklit.
What happened to us, Deong?
We used to want the same things for each other...
freedom, peace.
What happened?
Maybe the headlines got to us.
Fear, suspicion.
Ten thousand miles, and what do ya got?
A couple of political cartoons,
shouting slogans at each other, hating, not even trying to understand.
There's no immunity against a disease like that, not if it can happen with us.
And you catch it while you're lookin' the other way.
Kop chai.
Dar mai, kop chai.
I'm thinking of the people who followed me.
Some of them died today.
What... What have I done to them, Mac?
We can't save those who are already gone,
but we can keep others from dying.
You got little more than an hour to reach Kwen Sai.
Who's going to kill me?
I don't know, kid.
Please wait.
Don't react to what I say.
The revolution is betrayed. I'm to be killed.
Killed? How do you know?
Walk with me to the command car.
When I'm in, get those who have been with me longest.
I must get to Government House right away.
Yes, Deong.
Deong?
I have to get to Kwen Sai. Help me, Mac.
Come on. You better lie down. Get the doctor.
Tamoa! Tamoa!
Come on. No.
Come on.
Paklit. Yes, Deong?
You must tell the people about this.
Yes, Deong.
Make the new constitution...
with Kwen Sai.
Insist...
on our rights.
- You understand? - Yes, Deong.
Munsang is the enemy,
not...
not this man.
Easy, kid.
Please.
Sawad.
I-I can't believe it.
Good-bye, Mac.
Here's the ambassador. Get some pictures!
Mr. Ambassador. Tyler, sir, NBC.
Would you give us a statement for a
delayed telecast to the States, sir?
I'm sorry, Mr. Tyler. I have, no statement to make at this time.
The word is out that Deong has been killed. Is that true?
Yes, that's true.
We gonna lose this country, sir?
Well, we never had this country.
Mr. Ambassador, who killed Deong?
The, Communists.
The Communists killed Deong...
and, misunderstanding.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I've had a very difficult day, and I...
Mr. Ambassador?
How 'bout one more picture?
A couple of hours ago, Senator Brenner called your tenure here a total failure.
Would you agree with that?
Yes,
it certainly was a partial failure, Mr. Tyler.
When I...
When I said that, that misunderstanding...
helped kill Deong,
I meant my own misunderstanding.
See,
Deong had a kind of passion that, well, maybe all revolutionaries have.
It's kind of a feeling that it's easy for us to misinterpret.
We forget that the men who started our country...
had that same kind of passion that Deong had,
and that these other new leaders have,
and unless we recognize their fight for independence to be part of our own,
then we, we drive them to seek understanding in some other place.
Are you saying that America's losing the Cold War...
because we're pushing these countries into the hands of the Communists?
I'm not saying that.
I'm saying we can't hope to win the Cold War...
unless we remember what we're for,
as well as what we're against.
I've learned in a very personal way, Mr. Tyler,
that I can't preach the American heritage...
and expect to be believed if I act out of impatience...
or sacrifice my principles for expediency.
I've learned that the only time we're hated...
is when we stop trying to be what we started out to be 200 years ago.
Now, I'm... I'm not blaming my country.
I'm blaming the indifference...
that some of us show to its promises.
If the Cold War disappeared right now,
the American people would still be in this fight...
against ignorance and hunger and disease,
because it's right.
It's right to be in it.
And if I had one appeal...
to make to every American,
it would be that...
Sub source used: Fatima_N1 Adaptation: miclar1