All language subtitles for Backstabbing For Beginners [2018]

Subtitles by explosiveskull

My name
is Michael Sullivan

and I have a story I think
you're gonna wanna hear.

Michael Sullivan?

How long have you been in the
lobbyist at Belasquian Banks?

Uh, two years.

A lot of strategy,
research and support.

Hmm.

That's a good job.

You're not
happy there?

No, I just... I don't want to wake
up when I'm forty and discover

the only thing I've contributed
to the world is tax shelters,

sweatshops and
holes in the ozone.

You're an idealist?

You know for as long
as I can remember

I've wanted to
be a diplomat.

I want to make a
difference in the world.

Your father
was a diplomat.

Uh, yeah, U.S.
State Department, he...

Lebanon. 1983.

I'm sorry
for your loss.

My father passed
away when I was little.

He was killed in the bombing
of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut

when I
was 5 years old.

One of my earliest memories
is my father telling stories

about the founding
of the United Nations.

We'll find a
way to end war.

Made it sound
like modern day Knights

sitting around
the Round Table.

I wanted to follow
in his footsteps.

By the fall of 2002
I had applied for a job

at the United
Nations four times.

Hey!

Uncle Michael!

My sister says it's
because Foreign Service

is in
our family legacy.

Hey little brother,
how are ya?

Hey, good.
Sorry I'm late.

You look good.

And just
like my mother,

she married a guy she met
while interning at the U.N.

So I got you
something small,

but something else is
on it's way, okay?

Hey, Trevor.

Hey.

Nice cake Lily,
got enough Danish flags?

Yeah, yeah.

Well, did you
hear anything?

Uh, no.

I'll hear tomorrow.

But how'd it feel?

Good?

No, I was
too nervous.

Oh well,
it's their loss.

I'm sure you'll get it, you've
been working so hard for this!

Yeah.

And it's somebody's
birthday, so should we do cake?

Yes!

♪ Happy Birthday
to you! ♪

♪ Happy birthday
to you! ♪

♪ Happy birthday
dear Kate ♪

Best candidates
keep getting hired away

by fucking hedge funds.

Michael Sullivan.

I knew his father.

Danish passport.

His mother's 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 the
United Nations history.

I couldn't
believe my luck.

All I kept thinking
was, "Don't fuck this up."

The program is
called, "Oil For Food."

It's created in 1995.

By Security Council
resolution 986,

which has stated that the
UN would manage the sale

of Iraqi oil and use the profits
to provide humanitarian relief

in the country to
alleviate the hardship.

Which basically
means that our office

is in charge of
trying to feed an entire nation,

over 20 million people.

You have a little
reading to catch up on.

We are woefully behind schedule
on our funding status report

to the
Security Council;

Your immediate task will be to
help facilitate its completion.

Your predecessor
was due to brief

the undersecretary
tomorrow.

Tomorrow?

What happened to him?

A car accident in Iraq.

Jesus Christ!

Is he alright?

No,
he didn't make it.

A bullet-point
summary will do.

Pasha will be in
his office at nine.

Got a couple
of minutes, Michael?

Justin Cutter,
Central Intelligence.

Really?

Yeah, we come in
all shapes and sizes.

Okay, can I help
you with something?

Listen, we think Oil for Food is
being gamed for private gain

by a bad guy or
bad guys unknown.

Possibly with help
from the inside,

which is where
you are, so...

Look I-I just
got this job.

I'm not gonna-
I'm not gonna spy for you.

Oh God, no.

No, 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
that the Oil for Food program

had become something
of a political football.

The program budget was
10 billon dollars a year.

The entire rest of the UN
operational budget was only two.

There was crazy
money to be had.

Special interest
circling like buzzards.

The program was simple.

Because of the
economic sanctions imposed

against Saddam Hussein

after the first Gulf War,
Iraq's economy had crashed.

People were
starving and dying

from lack of basic
medicine and staples.

The Oil for Food program
was designed to provide

Iraqi 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,

Iraqi oil was 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 sorted it as
always, a solution.

Now we-we charted
a load of taxis, filled them,

that should last
the outlying villages

till we get
the trucks back.

You call
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 uhh, decreased
the malnutrition rate,

reduced child mortality,
we've also uhh,

made big strides in access
to water and electricity.

There are
however some umm,

systemic distribution failures
particularly in the North.

The Kurds are getting shorted
uhh, 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 uhh,

in the contracts.

I'm pretty sure
they're kick-backs.

If you wanna take a look, I uhh,
highlighted and aggregated them

on page 26 to 29.

It's a lot
of money, sir.

In some places it's
as much as 30 percent.

Sit.

Kid.

Sit down.

The first rule of
diplomacy is that

the truth is not
a matter of fact,

it's a matter of consensus,
now consensus right now

is that
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
it's warts and flaws.

Sir, you do
not need to...

The second rule is to keep
your mouth shut and listen.

Then if it suits,
you can talk.

With discretion.

Otherwise, keep your
cards, close to your vest.

Yeah.

Your father
was a good man.

You should be so lucky
as to have his heart.

Yeah, so
I've been told.

We crossed paths
a couple of times.

Must have
been 79', 80'.

What a tragedy.

Beirut.

Fuck, I'm sorry.

That 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 the red-eye.

Uhh...

What?
You have other plans?

No, I don't.

Of course not.

Thank you.

I was swept up
in the romance of it,

I mean,
this is what I wanted.

High adventure
and a worthy cause.

It's like
Baghdad was my Casablanca.

More or less sketchy,
crazy dangerous and stranger

than I could've
ever imagined.

The country lived in a state
of permanent self-occupation.

Our Baghdad office is
going to present a problem.

Okay.

We can't let this
director sabotage the report.

Why-why would he
sabotage his own report?

She.

So the Security Council will be
forced to lift the sanctions,

and everybody can cash in on the
deals they made with Saddam back

before he rolled into
Kuwait and pissed off the world.

Jesus H. Christ, kid.

Gonna have to fucking teach
you everything from scratch.

Every six months we have to
justify our continued existence.

Our job right now is to write a
report for the Security Council

emphasizing all the good in
the Oil for Food program

whilst minimizing
the challenges.

Not to lie.

No, never lie,

but to choose 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.

Hey, Michael Sullivan.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Did you get the
documents I sent you?

I did, I've even
printed them up for you.

Oh great.

You write well.

60 percent of the Iraqi
people are solely dependent

upon our
suppliers for survival.

Wheat, grain, milk, medicine,
essential infrastructure.

During our last ten months, we
have decreased malnutrition rate

amongst children
in Iraq by 50 percent,

thereby reduced
child mortality significantly.

Okay, thank you very much,
photographers come through.

We're gonna have a photo
opportunity with Madame Dupre.

It's hard to
overstate how badly Saddam

was abusing
his people.

Friends of the regime could
get easy access to the medicine.

Others less fortunate
were left to die

from even the
simplest of diseases.

They send bad drugs.

Dump on us their
out-of-date prescriptions.

Thank him for uhh,
bringing this to me

and tell him I will
definitely look into it.

He says there's at black
market with Oil for Food pills.

Or 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,

it's dignity.

That I can't
explain, no.

She asks
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 P.R., Christina, everyone
in the field is working so hard.

Well, my reporter for
The Security Council

is going to
tell the truth.

Just so you know.

Your report.

The program
is a failure.

The sanctions
aren't working.

How is the
program failing?

Medicine is
getting through!

At what cost!?

People are
getting basic staples.

At what cost?

Everybody is
grifting the system.

Corruption grows
like a cancer.

It'll never be
perfect and surely,

it's better than
doing nothing.

Michael,
what's the delay?

Uhh, sorry, there's a
small security issue.

We'll be on our way
in a few moments.

I know
what you're doing.

You want me to sign off
on your moral relativism

so you can throw me under
the bus when it all unravels.

You are mistaken.

I'm just trying
to feed a country.

Enough spin,
Costa, enough!

The facts will
speak for themselves.

My report with
The Security Council

is going to
tell the truth.

Baghdad is the centre
of the universe now, kid.

And this,
Al Rasheed is ground zero.

Boiler room of diplomacy.

Pasha!

Nice to see you again.

Mr. Mohammed,
my assistant.

Michael Sullivan.

Count your fingers after you
shake hands with this one.

All major intelligence
agencies are here,

and all
rooms are bugged.

Everyone trying
to barter in their secrets

and their services.

Information is everything;
the currency, the power.

Look. Listen. Learn.

Everyone has their
own agenda, huh?

Baby Bush thinks Saddam
disrespected his papa.

American neocons?

They're convinced democracy will
bloom here like a fucking flower

...good luck with that.

Putin wants Bush to fail,
China wants the new markets,

half of Europe
couldn't care less

whether Saddam gasses
civilians or builds a bomb

Big Oil simply wants
an end to the sanctions

so they can
suck at the Iraqi teat.

So, about what the
doctor told me today.

The grifted medicine,
missing supplies.

I smell a setup.

It didn't really
feel like a setup.

More nonsense
from Madame.

She's not just ineffective,
she's actively inventing proof

of the
program's failings.

If we don't do something, this
reports gonna be a disaster.

Don't you
get the final say?

Sadly, no.

UN protocol requires the
regional director sign off

on the report.

And what's our agenda?

Our agenda?

That little girl.

At the hospital.

God help anyone
who gets in our way.

Yeah.

I had a son once.

Died of
the flu, just a baby.

Can you
believe that?

And my wife, we
couldn't make another.

Sorry.

Thirty years ago.

How did you put it?

I had my cry.

Flu.

You tired?

No.

Youth.

Fuck.

You know, for someone who speaks
for other people for a living,

you don't talk much.

I couldn't help but notice
you were not surprised

when the doctor spoke of
black market medicine.

No I wasn't.

Will you
tell your boss?

Yeah, we already know there's
some corruption in the program.

Outside Baghdad
it's much worse.

Rations diverted,
power cut off.

Extortion, bribes.

I'll uhh, make sure
Pasha knows that too.

You have something
you want to ask me?

Is it
about Madame?

That your boss wants you
to find the secret button

he can push to bend
her to his will?

I can tell you:
it does not exist.

I'm just trying
to do my job.

But your
predecessor Abhek...

His car accident was
not an accident.

That's a pretty big
accusation to make.

Why are you
telling me this?

He was murdered because
of something he uncovered.

Something in
Oil for Food?

I don't know.

Maybe.

He was fearful of
someone inside United Nations.

A facilitator
of corruption.

You need to be
very, very careful.

Good evening.

Please.

The Mukhabarat, you see,
were concerned to inspect

your sleeping chambers
for the existence

of any
surveillance 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 puts...

Why don't you
get to the point?

You will find on
the bureau behind me

an envelope containing
a small honorarium.

We greatly admire the work you
are doing for the Iraqi...

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.

What about what the
interpreter said about Abhek?

I don't believe it.

Maybe she's a spy for
Saddam sent to rattle us.

You look
like shit, kid.

Fuck,
eat something.

I'm sorry.

Excuse me?

I'd been warned,
but I was still shocked

by the criticism from UN staff
against the sanctions.

Pasha was right, every
department had an agenda.

They were working
across purposes.

They 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 the Iraqi people,
if we fail to continue...

You violated...

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 a hard
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.

As long as Saddam was
in power it was gonna take

all of Pasha's considerable
diplomatic skills

to keep the Kurd's from
undermining the report.

The rations, when they come, are
always half what was promised.

The North is a protectorate,
so unfortunately...

They had been hurt
harder under the sanctions

than any other region
and while Oil for Food

was providing
some relief,

it had helped sustain the very
regime that oppressed them.

The Kurds have plenty
of money to buy their own food,

from that
black market oil.

Minister, if you
would allow me...

The Kurdish
conflict with Iraq goes back

nearly a century.

Saddam Hussein took
it to a whole new level.

Forced displacement,
mass detention and torture.

And then, when that didn't work,
he resorted to landmines

and cluster bombs,
sarin gas

and nerve agents Killing
tens of thousands

and crippling tens of
thousands more.

A reign of
terror that included

the worst single act of chemical
genocide ever committed

against a
civilian population.

Kurds are dying for
simply being Kurdish.

And in a shuttle
diplomacy between

two sworn enemies,
I watched Pasha work his magic.

...About how the
most beloved food to Allah,

is that which is touched
by many hands.

Fuck!

This is all I need.

The Kurdish Minister's
right though,

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 lid on it.

The choice can't be to
feed everyone or feed no one.

It has to be to feed
as many as possible.

I have to go back to
New York tomorrow.

I need you
to stay focused.

Of course.

Here's your
travel itinerary.

You are connected to
Kuwait, you land in JFK at 5 PM.

Dupre is going to freeze
you out for the final report.

Her opus
indictment of Oil for Food.

Okay, then why am
I staying here then?

In a few days, you'll
receive some photographs.

You'll 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're asking
me if I'll...

A trap, yes.

She'll fall into it,
and we'll be rid of her.

Kid,
it's diplomacy,

which sometimes requires
removing obstacles

that stand in the way of
successful outcome.

Can I trust you
again with this one?

I mean, how big of a lie
am I gonna be telling?

Not lie.

Just the opportunity to
draw a wrong conclusion.

Morning.

Just so you know, Madame says
you won't be reading the report

until it's finished
and she sign off on it.

Well, Pasha said he
wants me to help.

People in hell
want ice water.

We're just ponds in a
bigger game, you and me.

Sorry, Michael.

Hassan.

At least you can help me arrange
an interpreter for a field trip.

I wanna open one of these boxes
and check the expiration dates.

He says he's the
company representative.

Tell him I wanna 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,

the out of date
medicine needs 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.

Well, I guess we should
split the check then.

You can't really
just have a date

with an un-chaperoned
woman in Iraq.

There are rituals
and traditions.

Do you wanna
call it off then?

Did you tell your boss
what I said about Ahbek?

Yeah I did, he uhh...

He thinks you might
be a government spy.

So are you?
A spy?

Is that
a serious question?

Well, that's a
pretty evasive answer.

No.

Now it's
my turn to ask you.

Okay.

What are you
doing here?

Well umm, I'm doing
a status report

for the Oil for Food program
and then I'm gonna...

I mean today, with
the spoiled medicine.

What you did had nothing to
do with writing your report.

You took action.

It was risky
and rather brave.

Was that just
to impress me?

I'm not here to
just be a functionary.

I took this job for a reason
because I wanna help people

and I wanna
make a difference.

Make a difference?

Exactly.

I'll drink to that.

Cheers.

They're not
gonna bomb Baghdad,

not without getting
The UN staffers out first.

Mr. Sullivan?

Yeah?

This has
come for you.

Thanks.

Lil, I gotta go.

Who sent this?

It was left on the
night desk, sir.

Are those
Oil for Food trucks?

Yeah, but I don't know
the source of them.

If they're real, they're
proof that we're being gamed

by Saddam's regime.

Yeah, If, I still don't
think we should trust them.

Using our trucks to deliver
weapons, I mean, what the fuck?

I'm just gonna pack them up
into a courier pouch,

see what Pasha says.

No, no, no.

Let me show
Christina first.

No, no, no chance.

It's okay,
what do you call it?

"Chain of command."

Okay.

Hi.

Hey.

I need to show
you something.

Okay.

They are friends.

Okay.

So, this place
isn't here, officially.

These are the graves
of Kurdish civilians that

Saddam Hussein one day decided
no longer needed to live.

Gas,
Sarin, Tabun, 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, active in PUK.

Killed in Halabdja.

I'm sorry.

Nobody in Baghdad knows
I'm Kurdish, Michael.

If Saddam's
police find out.

They will
disappear me.

My friends, they helped Ahbek
uncover a criminal conspiracy

Saddam is using to skim billions
of dollars from Oil for Food.

Ahbek claimed there is a
whole system of corruption that

reaches to the highest levels of
the same Western government

that supports sanctions.

Okay, how did
Ahbek know this?

There is
a rumor of a list.

A list that contains names
of people and organizations

all over the world who are all
getting paid off by Saddam

to keep
this system running.

And Ahbek
had seen it.

Did you bring it?

Yes.

May have
had it on his computer.

You sure
nobody saw you?

The office was empty,
everyone had 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
resources to decipher 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
delivers the list.

No one can accuse you
of being Partisan

or of having any
agenda but the truth.

I'm not gonna
front 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.

Then, together we
can decide what to do.

Shit!

It's the Mukhabarat.

Are you fucking
kidding me, Jesus!

There must be
a mistake, I'm a UN official.

The young diplomat.

You know it's very
dangerous for you to be in this

god forsaken
desert unescorted.

The Mukhabarat were concerned
that you might have been

kidnapped by
nefarious individuals.

Consider this a courtesy.

Your Papers.

I tell you this, with all
humility, Mr. Sullivan

because 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,

were to decide such inspections
were no longer necessary.

She is my interpreter
alright! I told you!

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.

Nashim Huesseni.

- Where is the girl?
- What girl?

The Kurdish girl?

- I don't know what you're talking about.
- You're lying!

- I-I don't know what you're talking about!
- Don't lie!

I don't know
where she is.

We saw you
with her!

Yeah, I know, but I don't
know where she is, okay.

Let me just...
Let me just make a call.

I don't know
where she is.

Get out!

You have no
jurisdiction here!

Out!

It's Michael Sullivan with
The Baghdad Oil for Food office.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I need to arrange a UNLP
for one of our staffers.

Mhm.

And the name is
Nashim Huesseni.

Hey.

I took all
I could carry.

This will get you
into the U.S.

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 U.S.

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.

Thank you.

Would you please
come to my office?

Immediately.

Did you really expect me
to fall for these...

These, I don't even know
what to call them.

Garbage.

What was the plan?

Trick me into
releasing them?

And then force me out when the
evidence comes that it's false?

I'm at a loss to even know
what you're talking about.

Madame, I was sent some
documents and Hassam

wanted to show them
to you, that's it.

You are finished in
the UN, do you hear me?

Your career is over!

What would 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 digital,
watermarked, time, 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.

The Security Council
will make their decision

based on the facts.

She's not budging.

Well, fuck.

Nothing more for
you to do there, kid.

Take the next UN
flight and come home.

Don't worry about it.

Excuse me sir,
can I see your passport?

Uh, yeah sure.

Mr. Sullivan?

I'm gonna need you
to come with us.

Michael,
how're you doing?

I have
nothing for you.

No, that's okay,
I got something for you.

Christina Dupre is dead.

They found her a few
hours ago alone at home.

Heart attack.

At least that's
what they're saying.

Wait, w-what do you mean,
"That's what they're saying?"

What do you think
happened, Mike?

I-I-I don't...
I have no idea.

How would I...?

Your boss,
what does he think?

If 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 wanna tell me right now?

No.

Thanks.

Hello?

You're home.

Yeah,
yeah I just got in.

Did you hear
about Madame?

Yeah.

Terrible.

Terrible.

We had our
disagreements, but...

This just
breaks my heart.

And, uh...

And the report?

Hassan assures me
that he doesn't share

Madame's determination
to blow up the program.

He'll sign off...

...as her successor, on whatever
we need to get re-funded.

Madame was wrong.

Being fucking dead
doesn't change that.

You've got two days
to clean this up.

What-what do you mean I've
got two days to clean this up?

I've been
thinking I might need you

to present
the oral summary.

Wait.

You want me to
present the report?

To the whole
fucking Security Council.

Isn't that breach
of protocol, Pasha?

I can do what I like.

Besides, they should be
hearing from somebody close

to the ground, and whom
else can I trust to do it?

Okay, yeah.

Hm.

Are you kidding me?

This is such
a big deal.

For somebody at your
pay grade to stand

before
The Security Council?

Yeah, no I know,
it's a great opportunity.

What?

Where did
you get this?

A friend in Baghdad.

Uh no, I mean
I can't crack this.

Do you know
anyone who can?

Do you even know
what's on the drive?

Uh, no.

Do you know anyone
who can crack it?

I'll give it a try.

Do you mind if
I hold onto this?

Yeah, keep it.

Hi, yeah I was given this as 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, uh,

gets back to me if you
hear anything at all.

Madame Dupre's death

hung over Oil For Food
like a cloud.

But Pasha had a clear
path to what he wanted.

I focused on
writing the report.

I didn't want anyone to
doubt that I deserved

to be in that room.

I couldn't help
thinking about my father.

Whether he had stood before
the council like I would.

Whether he would think that
what I was doing was right.

You okay?

I'm okay now.

They have 100 percent fucking
certainty WMD's in Iraq,

and zero percent
certainty where they are?

Let me call
you back.

Finished.

Pending your review
and Hassan's sign-off.

That's my boy.

Good work.

I got a call from oversight
about your UNLP request

for our sexy
little translator.

They asked me
to look into it.

I believe she's
in New York now.

Right.

She's Kurdish.

She needs asylum.

The D-4 were after her.

They killed two
of her countrymen.

Kurds don't
have a country.

She makes friends
like you everywhere.

Oldest trick
in the book.

The honeypot...

CIA calls it
the "dangle" now.

Seduce the mark,
tell him fairy tales.

It's not the Russians, notice:
CIA, MI5, Interpol...

Girl has
a big following.

Pashmerga sent her to school in
England, got her phony papers

and a job at
The Baghdad UN.

What did she
want you to do?

Nothing.

I bet she's highly
skilled in the soft arts.

What you did is
stupid and illegal.

I'll make it go away.

But 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, okay, I am guilty
of taking a job in Baghdad

and trying 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 of help,

but I didn't sleep with
any of them, okay?

I didn't have to.

Nashim, you have asked me
to risk my life for a list that

I don't even know where
the fuck it came from.

This is...

I'm sorry,
but this is who I am.

Do you
want me to leave?

Hi.

Hey.

Came to
wish you luck.

Hey, man.

Knock 'em dead.

Thank you.

Michael.

Ready?

Yeah.

You'll do great.

Relax.

Thanks.

In an unusual
move at todays 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 uh, Oil For Food program
continues to achieve

it's core mission of providing
humanitarian relief.

The request for
continued funding comes in the

wake of the sudden death of
Baghdad field director,

Christina Dupre who was a
vocal critic of the program.

And against the backdrop
of intensified efforts

to find Saddam Hussein's
suspected caches

of weapons of
mass destruction.

Continuing resolution 986, the
council has voted unanimously

to extend funding for
another 180 days.

Michael Sullivan
addressed the press after

The Security
Council vote.

I don't understand why he
would want to invite me.

I know.

Me neither.

Let's get
a drink, okay?

Here you are.

My protégé.

Michael Sullivan.

Timur Rasnetsov.

Costa insists you are
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 tucked 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.

Nice to meet you,
pleasure.

I'm Melina,
Pasha's wife.

Ah, of course,
yes, yes.

Pasha gushes about you, and
Pasha doesn't gush about anyone.

Well he certainly
taught me a lot.

It can never work.

Is that a proud papa over
protecting his surrogate son?

Don't patronize me.

Is it 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 will spin.

You know what,
I have to um, I have to go.

My apologies, I have
to deal with something.

How-how long have
you known that guy for?

He came with a
delegation, we just met.

Why?

He was the one that tried to
bribe me in my hotel in Baghdad.

Huh.

Apparently he's
very well connected.

Could be useful.

I 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.

Uh, you're not
gonna believe this.

Um, Saddam has been selling oil
vouchers at a discount

to people who turn around,
resell the vouchers

at the going oil peak rate
for a huge profit.

Saddam gets a kickback,
a share of the difference

between his discount
and the going rate.

How much
did he make?

Could be over
a billion dollars.

Jesus Christ.

Do we know
if these are real?

They look real.

And it looks
like a system.

There's a list of
all the major players...

politicians,
businessmen, bankers,

we're talking highly-placed
people at the very heart

of most first
world governments,

and they are taking millions
of dollars in bribes.

This is real.

Of course,
it's real.

Well, to prove it you're
gonna need records

of the
actual transactions.

You need to give
this to Pasha.

This is a 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 started to
scroll through it,

but it's all pretty
much the same.

Zoom in.

Scroll back.

I knew it.

I fuckin' 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.

And then all we do
is destroy The UN.

We need to find someone
to start asking questions.

The media,
your congress.

The truth
will come out.

Look, all these powerful
interests at play...

they will decide
what the truth is.

Pasha will be the sacrificial
lamb and my career is over.

You're not
part of this.

Of course I'm
fucking part of this.

I just gave a speech about
the integrity of Oil For Food.

What are you saying?

Do nothing?

I don't know
what I'm saying.

What's going on?

Michael! Stop it!

Michael!

Hey man, you okay?

Yeah, yeah.

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're 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 runs him?

Highest bidder.

Moscow, Beijing, Saddam,
Hedge funds, mafia, greed.

Rasnetsov is the bridge
between politics and reality.

And whose side
are you on, Pasha?

Ah, I thought
I heard you come in.

Sit down
Michael, please.

I'll make the call.

Coffee?

Uh, yeah, thanks.

Did you enjoy
the party last night?

Yeah we had a
great time, thank you.

You left so early.

I wondered.

Uh, yeah,
my friend, uh...

she wasn't
feeling too well.

It's flu season.

Yeah.

Well,
I'll leave you to it.

They've handed her
over to immigration.

Okay, well
she has papers.

I think you'll
find they're missing.

She's become
an irritation.

If she gets
deported to Iraq

they will execute
her for treason.

They'll send her back to Baghdad
where I still have some sway...

No, you call him
back and tell him

I'm not gonna give up the list
until Nashim is set free.

That's not
how it works.

You need
to trust me.

I did trust
you, Pasha.

I trusted you and you
fucked me at every turn.

Look
where we are.

Committing crimes
and taking bribes.

The crime would have
been to do nothing.

To watch
innocents suffer and die.

What about Dupre?

What about Abhek?

What was the
justification for that?

We didn't
make the storm.

And we can't
control the storm.

All we can do is plot
our course, set our sails,

and try to
do our best.

As we did,
and we do.

Best for who, Pasha?

Best for you.

Not best for Nashim.

Not best
for her people.

Ah, look, maybe
you love this spy, fuck.

Who am I to argue
with the 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, and the
new truth is 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 carpetbaggers
and craven governments

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
American in Coalition forces

are in the early stages
of military operations

to disarm Iraq,
to free it's people

and to defend
the world from grave danger.

Over the next 24 to 48
hours perhaps as many as 3000.

3000 tomahawk
cruise missiles,

satellite guided
precision bombs,

laser guided bombs would
be dropped on various targets.

Not only in Baghdad...

among Baghdad, but
elsewhere around the...

Six weeks after the
invasion I was back in Baghdad

to work on Pasha's
plan to put The 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 a voice,

and oil would
pay the bills.

Pasha still had
strong connections.

And he kept
his promise to me.

Nashim Husseini.

It's nice when
we're together.

Blank pages.

I missed you.

I have
something for you.

A new passport
and a visa so here.

You can stay as
long as you want.

And what
about the list?

I gave it to Pasha.

You traded
the list for me?

Yeah.

Why?

I didn't exactly
have a choice.

I made a
judgment call, okay?

And what do you think is
going to happen with 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, okay?

Consensus has changed,
and with Saddam gone

we can actually
do a lot of good.

Finally...

Just by thinking you
can work with the criminals

to take what you
want you are lost.

Well, it wasn't exactly a
fight we were gonna 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 wanna
be a part of this.

I can't.

Nashim, Nashim,
wait, wait, wait.

Nashim!

I'm told you aren't
answering your phone.

What the fuck?

Yeah, I've been busy.

Yeah.

I heard.

Your Kurd
took a walk.

Relationships are
a train wreck.

Come on, kid.

You wanted a
career in diplomacy.

Well, you're missing
your golden moment.

See you
at the office.

Pasha I have those medical
contracts for you to...

I was on
my way out.

Pasha.

Abiento.

It's good to see
you again, Michael.

You think I like it?

He's got the world
in his pocket, kid.

All the major fucking
players in the reconstruction.

I don't understand.

When did he
get back into this?

He never left, he just
moved into the shadows,

as the stakes
got higher.

There's no one else.

We've been
through this, Michael.

I'm not gonna
fucking deal with him.

What?

This is
how it works.

The optimism of
liberation was short lived.

It turned out nobody
had made plans for

what to do after
Saddam was gone.

The Americans
had purged everyone

who had been loyal
to the regime,

which meant there
wasn't anybody left

who knew how
to run the country.

Renetsov and all the other
fixtures like him filled

that vacuum of power, and out
to control the game again.

Iraq spiraled into
anarchy, chaos, and terror.

All those
countries that had been

scamming Oil For Food
before the war,

well, they got ready
to carve Iraq up.

Like it was
one big pie.

And me?

I was going
through the motions.

I'd lost
my faith in it.

Hello?

It's Nashim.

Hey.

You okay?

I need to see you.

Can you
come downstairs?

Sure.

Michael,
good to see you.

Yeah.

I got someone
you gotta meet.

We need
your help, Michael.

Michael Sullivan,
Mr. Shaswar Rauf.

Yeah,
we met before.

He will play a
central role in a New Iraq.

You ever heard of a
guy named Resnetsov?

Yeah.

Yeah?
You ever met him?

A few times, uh,
before the invasion.

How 'bout after?

No I didn't.

Well now him and his criminal
gang from Oil For Food are back,

and they're
creating a mess in Iraq.

Yeah.

You know there was a list
of, uh, individuals and

organizations that were helping
Saddam fleece Oil For Food.

You guys know
about that, don't you?

Yeah, but there was no way
to prove what was on it.

No, proof was in
the Iraq Oil Ministry.

Official files that were
taken by the US troops

after the
government fell.

Proof that is probably still in
the basement of the UN

somewhere if anyone
cared to look.

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's a coalition of
the fucking greedy.

No one gives
a shit about Iraq.

Everyone just wants
the money and the crude.

Yeah, and that's why
we need to stop Resnetsov.

And Pasha can
give him to us.

Michael we have strong Intel
that your boss is involved.

Pasha's never
gonna help you.

Well maybe he just
needs a little push.

And we're hoping that
maybe you can convince him.

You think I can
convince Pasha?

Pasha's never gonna do it,
he's never gonna listen to you.

We can protect the UN
from any unpleasant blow-back.

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 isn't
it the same?

We have the
momentum now.

The Kurds are going to be an
important part of making...

Kurds have been
fighting the same war

for pretty
much 7000 years.

You really think this is
gonna change anything?

Who can say?

But for sure it's not up to
you to decide that for us.

Come with me.

I can't.

Neonatal medicine.

Yeah, they're
new vendors.

French Canadians.

They want
exclusive rights

to the whole of
The Northern Region.

That's fairly greedy,
especially for the Canadian's.

Well I can...

They'll need to be
willing to pay

a hundred grand
to make it happen.

You, um,
do the legwork

with the Kurds and the
Provisional Authority,

I'll handle the
rat, we split fifty-fifty.

Fifty thousand dollar
pay 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?

Ah, you must be one
of the Canadians.

Uh, Cutter, sir.

No.

Ah, American.

I wasn't, um...

you didn't tell me the
Provisional Authorities

would be sending someone
for such a routine agreement.

They didn't.

We're not exactly here
about medicine, Mr. Passaris.

They'll need to be willing
to pay a hundred grand

to make it happen.

You, um, do the
legwork with the Kurds

and the Provisional Authority,
I'll handle the rat,

we'll split fifty-fifty.

Oh, kid.

Fifty thousand
dollar pay 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 we'll have to drag you
and the United Nations

through a scandal
of historic proportion.

This happens with or
without you, with or without me.

Rasnetsov is 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 was not bought

and paid for?

We paid
with our lives.

If that's
what you mean.

What you call corruption is
simply the growing pains

of a new democracy.

And you
are indeed fools

if you think you can put
the brakes on it now.

Let's let the
politicians 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
for the Canadian deal.

We'll catch
him red-handed.

What the hell?

Not bad, kid.

Well played.

He's late.

Yes?

Fucking country.

Is it okay
if I join you?

I'll be stepping
down, going home.

I've lost
my taste for it.

I wanted you to
hear it from me.

I've recommended you
for a position in UNESCO.

Special Assistant.

You'll be the youngest
one in the whole UN.

Did you know?

Oh kid.

How can even
you think that?

These fucking lunatics, they're
killing each other every day.

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.

I realized everybody
knew about the corruption.

They just didn't
want it exposed.

Every permanent member
of The Security Council

had something to lose,
someone on the list

who could
embarrass them.

It would all
be covered up.

But 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 would be here into tomorrow,

but in his forty years
of service to the cause

of world peace and our
humanitarian mission,

the crowning achievement
would have to be

his successful implementation
and operation

of Oil For Food.

Hi. I'm Trevor Owen
from Oversight.

I spoke to
John earlier.

Saddam's Palace Files.

Right, yeah.

Which boxes?

All of them.

They're 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's cleared
his desk, sir.

I think I found it.

You know what we're
gonna have to do?

Fuckin' family.

My name
is Michael Sullivan,

and I have a story I think
you're gonna wanna hear.

These are the raw numbers for
how much money was involved,

and that is billions,
not millions.

Jesus.

And this is a list of everyone
who received vouchers there,

bribes and kickbacks.

You can corroborate the names
with the deposit records

right here with the list
of contracts on file.

This is massive,
Jesse.

You realize the minute
this breaks

you'll have
a lot of enemies.

Yeah, I know.

We, uh,
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 it
up to consensus

I have to own it.

We begin this evening
with the United Nations,

the Oil For Food controversy,
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

of Costa Passaris.

The former undersecretary
who a whistleblower claims

was behind the Oil For Food
scandal that has rocked

the United Nations,
and implicated a long list

of prominent businessmen,
and political figures

across the world.

Incompetent
and corrupt.

Weaknesses in the Oil For Food
program raises

serious questions about
the United Nations'

ability to enforce
sanctions and administer

a humanitarian aid
program in the future.

The documents The Telegraph
have come up with

were reportedly found
in Iraq's foreign Ministry

in the anarchic
days after the US lead invasion.

The Wall Street Journal
reports having documentation

of kickbacks and
bribes in the form

of oil vouchers
worth billions of dollars.

But according to
federal authorities,

Passaris himself
has fled the country.

I'm with The Wall
Street Journal.

We're doing a follow up on
the Oil For Food scandal.

I've 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, okay?

Make sure
you write that.

Not hiding
from anybody.

And yet here you are in
a place without extradition.

It was difficult.

Write that.

Complicated.

Messy with
Saddam's ugly nonsense

and the usual
first world duplicity,

but we
did more good than bad.

I don't care what
anybody fucking says.

And the
kid did great.

The choice as I see it
is between cynicism and candor.

You know if everyone cared so
much about Iraq as they said,

then this story would
have been celebrated

as a conspiracy
of saints.

But the truth...

the truth isn't about
the lies we told each other.

It's about the lies
we told ourselves.

More than
two thousand companies

from fifty-six different
countries took bribes

or paid kickbacks
to Saddam Hussein.

Over twenty billion dollars
got diverted

from the
Oil For Food Program.

Implicated were
some of the most

prestigious corporations
in the world.

One hundred and seventy two
organizations and individuals

highly placed in their
governments received bribes.

My name is
Michael Sullivan.

My father
was a diplomat.

I tried to follow
in his footsteps.

Subtitles by explosiveskull