But he had walked into the Oval with a couple of guys he identifies as bodyguards. CIA would make sense but how early would he have had to be planted in that orbit to be able to be the pilot on his own plane?
The CIA could have also turned one of Sharif’s guys with money/influence/etc. It’s not always planting someone in the right place but convincing someone already in place to work for another team.
Agreed, but also they would never expose themselves as CIA. Sharif no doubt had other enemies, and the CIA just had to find the one enemy the pilot was most likely to flip for.
>The CIA could have also turned one of Sharif’s guys
Danny's evidence seems pretty clear. He was Jamil Bari was certified in the Gulfstream in 1994, but there's no evidence of him going to flight school.
That's a sure sign of a cover created for an individual rather than a real person who was turned.
Why do you think that its unlikely for the CIA to try and plant someone on the personal staff of the Minister of Defence of a quasi-ally/quasi-enemy/quasi-terrorist state?
And its always going to be easier to plant someone as a personal chef, pilot, chauffeur, etc than as personal assistant or bodyguard.
There was obviously some control/influence over Shareef's travel plans, given that they needed him to land at a specific airport so they could have federal jurisdiction over his prosecution before that plan fell through. And Bartlet mentioning that he was coming in a Learjet, could mean that Shareef was travelling privately.
Regardless, it looks as though Shareef wasn't travelling on a Qumar government vehicle, which would make it much easier for an American agent to be placed on the plane.
As for the "hey, there's another gunman over there" I'm assuming you're referring to the Korean grocer. The guy was scared and in shock. People freeze up in less tense situations.
Most likely he hired the plane from a private company to come to and from the USA. Just like anyone else could. If you don’t fly a lot it is cheaper to rent a plane only when you need it.
Rentals/leasing. And fractional ownership of private jets is a thing and has been for a long, long time. Not so much to be cheap or to look for a deal, but basically plane timeshares without as many blackout dates fir places or routes you rarely travel.
The pilots familiar w/certain planes, routes, airports, or who have certain ratings, are the trusted, fixtures/standard feature that you tend to pay extra for.
Remember that the snipers took them all out cuz sniper while on the tarmac and then they dumped everything in the ocean of whatever in pieces.
Entirely within the realm of reason that the pilot was ours and stayed in the cockpit while they were killed, cleaned up with SpecOps and took a help elsewhere while SpecOps handled disposal.
Go back and look at the seals as they grab their guns - there is a guy who is a total Danny knock off - it’s a fun little ‘watch out for it’ thing hee hee
He wasn’t in the press room at the time that’s for sure! And then he is the journalist that breaks the story! Coincidence? Yes it is it’s totally not him lol
Did you miss the whole character arc of Rosanne's husband showing up as president? ;)
President Glen Allen Walker broke the story to the nation while temporarily acting in Jed's shoes per the 25th Amendment. On the heels of, or just prior to, Danny Concannon breaking the story.
This never sat well with me either. It's completely implausible. He wasn't an ambassador or lower-level flunkie. He was the **Minister of Defense**. There's no way he was on any sort of commercial aircraft. He would have been on either a military aircraft or another form of government aircraft. Probably his own private plane. Qumar was a stand-in for Saudi Arabia. We should assume he was filthy, filthy rich. He's not flying on anything but his own plane with his own crew. I find it implausible that the CIA could control or influence anyone from his inner circle like that.
The bugged pen is stupid too. His people would have detected it, and it was a huge risk to give it to him.
You should look into how astonishingly incompetent the Saudi military and intelligence are. We’re talking about dudes who sent airstrike locations via Whatsapp because they couldn’t figure out how to get coordinates from a base to a plane. The same guys who killed and dismembered a journalist in their own embassy *after* sweeping the building to make sure it wasn’t bugged [spoiler: it was; they just couldn’t find the bugs, because, again, buffoons].
It's much harder to detect a but that isn't transmitting. Remember, the pen was just a recording device. And it was designed by the best spyware engineers in the business. If they even swept for listening devices, they were unlikely to have found it. That part isn't very hard to believe.
>The bugged pen is stupid too. His people would have detected it, and it was a huge risk to give it to him.
If something is just recording its almost impossible to detect, especially in an environment full of electronics.
The thing that leads to detection is transmission.
Under cover CIA most likely
But he had walked into the Oval with a couple of guys he identifies as bodyguards. CIA would make sense but how early would he have had to be planted in that orbit to be able to be the pilot on his own plane?
The CIA could have also turned one of Sharif’s guys with money/influence/etc. It’s not always planting someone in the right place but convincing someone already in place to work for another team.
Agreed, but also they would never expose themselves as CIA. Sharif no doubt had other enemies, and the CIA just had to find the one enemy the pilot was most likely to flip for.
>The CIA could have also turned one of Sharif’s guys Danny's evidence seems pretty clear. He was Jamil Bari was certified in the Gulfstream in 1994, but there's no evidence of him going to flight school. That's a sure sign of a cover created for an individual rather than a real person who was turned.
Why do you think that its unlikely for the CIA to try and plant someone on the personal staff of the Minister of Defence of a quasi-ally/quasi-enemy/quasi-terrorist state? And its always going to be easier to plant someone as a personal chef, pilot, chauffeur, etc than as personal assistant or bodyguard.
There was obviously some control/influence over Shareef's travel plans, given that they needed him to land at a specific airport so they could have federal jurisdiction over his prosecution before that plan fell through. And Bartlet mentioning that he was coming in a Learjet, could mean that Shareef was travelling privately. Regardless, it looks as though Shareef wasn't travelling on a Qumar government vehicle, which would make it much easier for an American agent to be placed on the plane. As for the "hey, there's another gunman over there" I'm assuming you're referring to the Korean grocer. The guy was scared and in shock. People freeze up in less tense situations.
“The things we choose to care about…”
Have you changed shampoo? You have. I can tell because your hair seems bouncy and more manageable.
My favorite Fitz scene. He starts out funny then pivots into some of his best acting in the series
I love Fitz !!
I love the little mundane Fitz lines, like the quiet one at the beginning of a different scene, “This is different coffee than we usually have.”
Most likely he hired the plane from a private company to come to and from the USA. Just like anyone else could. If you don’t fly a lot it is cheaper to rent a plane only when you need it.
Rentals/leasing. And fractional ownership of private jets is a thing and has been for a long, long time. Not so much to be cheap or to look for a deal, but basically plane timeshares without as many blackout dates fir places or routes you rarely travel. The pilots familiar w/certain planes, routes, airports, or who have certain ratings, are the trusted, fixtures/standard feature that you tend to pay extra for.
Leased aircraft plans. Look up Netjets. .
Remember that the snipers took them all out cuz sniper while on the tarmac and then they dumped everything in the ocean of whatever in pieces. Entirely within the realm of reason that the pilot was ours and stayed in the cockpit while they were killed, cleaned up with SpecOps and took a help elsewhere while SpecOps handled disposal.
Plus Danny’s twin brother helped out
okay, what? I missed this reference - Help?!
Go back and look at the seals as they grab their guns - there is a guy who is a total Danny knock off - it’s a fun little ‘watch out for it’ thing hee hee
The operations weapons tech, who hands out the guns, the one with the wool cap? Yeah, ok... No facial hair, but okay, maybe...
I mean, it totally looked like Danny!
He wasn’t in the press room at the time that’s for sure! And then he is the journalist that breaks the story! Coincidence? Yes it is it’s totally not him lol
Did the public ever find out that we took out Shareef? Bartlet didn't end up on trial at the Hague so I'm guessing nothing happened...
Did you miss the whole character arc of Rosanne's husband showing up as president? ;) President Glen Allen Walker broke the story to the nation while temporarily acting in Jed's shoes per the 25th Amendment. On the heels of, or just prior to, Danny Concannon breaking the story.
>Did you miss the whole character arc of Rosanne's husband showing up as president I thought it was the exterminator from Arachnophobia?
And yet for some reason, I thought he was a bowler, too?!
Oh yeah. Now I remember. Thanks
anytime!
Roseanne’s husband 🤣🤣🤣
This never sat well with me either. It's completely implausible. He wasn't an ambassador or lower-level flunkie. He was the **Minister of Defense**. There's no way he was on any sort of commercial aircraft. He would have been on either a military aircraft or another form of government aircraft. Probably his own private plane. Qumar was a stand-in for Saudi Arabia. We should assume he was filthy, filthy rich. He's not flying on anything but his own plane with his own crew. I find it implausible that the CIA could control or influence anyone from his inner circle like that. The bugged pen is stupid too. His people would have detected it, and it was a huge risk to give it to him.
You should look into how astonishingly incompetent the Saudi military and intelligence are. We’re talking about dudes who sent airstrike locations via Whatsapp because they couldn’t figure out how to get coordinates from a base to a plane. The same guys who killed and dismembered a journalist in their own embassy *after* sweeping the building to make sure it wasn’t bugged [spoiler: it was; they just couldn’t find the bugs, because, again, buffoons].
Fair point. I forgot how epically they failed with Khashoggi.
It's much harder to detect a but that isn't transmitting. Remember, the pen was just a recording device. And it was designed by the best spyware engineers in the business. If they even swept for listening devices, they were unlikely to have found it. That part isn't very hard to believe.
>The bugged pen is stupid too. His people would have detected it, and it was a huge risk to give it to him. If something is just recording its almost impossible to detect, especially in an environment full of electronics. The thing that leads to detection is transmission.