At approximately 0600 Moscow time, the Russians launched a massive artillery strike...

Revell: At approximately 0600 Moscow time, the Russians launched a massive artillery strike against Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. The shells contained an experimental chemical weapon known as the Novichok binary nerve agent. Saturation, you can see it on those infrared sat photos, took 20 minutes. After which, every man, woman, and child inside a radius of roughly 12 miles was rendered helpless by symptoms approximating acute, late-stage cerebral palsy. Secretary of State Sidney Owens: Oh, my god. President Robert Fowler: How many dead? Bill Cabot: Best guess... 80%. Becker: Which means Nemerov just launched the most massive attack in the history of chemical warfare. President Robert Fowler: Let's talk response. Secretary of State Sidney Owens: Worst thing we could do is nothing. Becker: I agree. If we let him get away with chemical weapons, what's next? Biological, nuclear? President Robert Fowler: Okay. Short of gassing the Kremlin, what's the strongest response we can make? Secretary of State Sidney Owens: We send in peacekeepers. Becker: Chechnya's not sovereign. Secretary of State Sidney Owens: Look, they requested recognition, so we recognize them. Not full diplomatic recognition; provisional. That may get the Chechens to request emergency international assistance, and we send in peacekeepers. President Robert Fowler: How do you get 'em in there? General Lasseter: The fastest way would be to fly 'em in from Turkey. Becker: Over Armenian airspace? Revell: To screw Russia, they won't complain.

At approximately 0600, Moscow time, the Russians launched a massive artillery strike against Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. The shells contained an experimental chemical weapon known as the Novichok binary nerve agent. Saturation, you can see it on those infrared sat photos, took 20 minutes. After which, every man, woman and child inside a radius of roughly 1 2 miles was rendered helpless by symptoms approximating acute, late-stage cerebral palsy. Oh, my God. How many dead? Best guess, 80%. Which means Nemerov just launched the most massive attack in the history of chemical warfare. Let's talk response. -Worst thing we could do is nothing. -l agree. lf you let him get away with chemical weapons, what's next? Biological? Nuclear? Okay. Short of gassing the Kremlin, what's the strongest response we can make? -We send in peacekeepers. -Chechnya's not sovereign. Look, they requested recognition, so we recognize them. Not full diplomatic recognition. Provisional. Then we get the Chechens to request emergency international assistance, and we send in peacekeepers. How do you get them in there? The fastest way would be to fly them in from Turkey. Over Armenian airspace? To screw Russia, they won't complain. Let's do it. Nemerov can choke on it. Bill? -Dr. Ryan. -Yes, sir. What do you think? Mr. President, conventional wisdom would suggest that Nemerov is playing the traditional Russian role, "Be aggressive, flex your muscles, dare the world to stop you." But Nemerov isn't conventional. He walks like a hard-liner. He talks like a hard-liner. Yes, but with all due respect, l don't think he is one. He just gassed the capital of another country, Doctor. With all due respect, you're wrong. So what are we wasting our time for? What if he didn't order the attack? What if Nemerov didn't order the attack? What if it was a rogue general or a splinter military unit frustrated they couldn't get the rest of the rebels out of the city? Have you any reason to believe he didn't order it, or are you just floating this? You don't know. l don't think he did it, sir. l would bet he didn't do it. lf l could ask senior staff to remain behind for a few minutes, please. I'm sorry, Roger, we're going to have to interrupt you right now, because we're going back to Moscow where Russia's newly installed president, Alexander Nemerov, has just begun to address the state. We join him in progress. For 10 years now, we have contended... Excuse me, sir. Would you mind turning that up just a little? ...toward innocent Russian citizens. Finally, every nation has a right to defend itself.