The West Wing, Season Three

Admiral Fitzwallace:
I don't know who the world's leading expert on warfare is, but any list of the top has got to include me and I can't tell when it's peacetime and wartime anymore.

Leo:
Look, international law has always recognized certain protected persons who you couldn't attack. It's been this way since the Romans.

Admiral Fitzwallace:
In peacetime.

Leo:
Yes.

Admiral Fitzwallace:
The Battle of Agincourt...this was the French fighting against the British archers. This was like a polo match. The battles were observed by heralds, and they picked the winners. And if a soldier laid down his arms, he was treated humanely...

Leo:
Yeah.

Admiral Fitzwallace:
And the international laws you're talking about...this is where a lot of them were written, at a time and in a place where a person could tell between peacetime and wartime. The idea of targeting one person was ridiculous. It wouldn't have occurred to the French to try to kill William Pitt. That all changed after Pearl Harbor-

Leo:
I don't like where this conversation's going...In the Situation Room, Fitz...

Admiral Fitzwallace:
We killed Yamamoto. We shot down his plane.

Leo:
We declared war...

Admiral Fitzwallace:
If Dietrich Bonhoeffer had been successful...

Leo:
...and the plot to kill Hitler was an internal rebellion.

Admiral Fitzwallace:
...there would have been statues built of an assassin. We'd've had to explain that to our kids!

Leo:
I'm going to get back to the office.

Admiral Fitzwallace:
We measure the success of a mission by two things: was it successful and how few civilians did we hurt. They measure success by how many. Pregnant women are delivering bombs! You're talking to me about international laws? The laws of nature don't even apply here! I've been a soldier for thirty-eight years, and I've found an enemy I can kill. He can't cancel Shareef's trip, Leo. You've got to tell him, he can't cancel it.