24 (TV Series)

Day 7: 11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. (2009)

Rocky McMurray: General Vincent

Quotes 

• President Allison Taylor : [During a Cabinet meeting]  gentlemen, ladies, please take your seats. For those of you who haven't had a chance to finish your briefing packets, please keep reading. As we've all just learned, this day is not over: our national security is still being threatened and we are here to consider our options. Mr. Woods?

  Tim Woods : Your briefing materials include FBI intelligence about a "cash" of biological weapons on Starkwood's main compound in Northern Virginia

  Tim Woods : [after pointing to a monitor as part of his presentation]  this is a recent satellite view of the compound: over three square miles, 259 structures. The weapons could be hidden anywhere on the facility

  Admiral John Smith : What kind of bio weapons are we talking about?

  Tim Woods : [Gesturing to him]  this is Ben Landry from the CDC, his here to answer any questions you "may" have in regards to the pathogen, Ben?

  Ben Landry : I've just received a preliminary report from our agents in the field: they've identified the pathogen as a prion variant indigenous to the East Congo, it's a form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: attacks the brain, the nervous system, causes dementia, physical deterioration, and ultimately death. The standard CJD kills within several months but this strain kills more quickly

  Admiral John Smith : How long?

  Ben Landry : A day, maybe two: there's no treatment for this disease, there's no cure. If spread over a populated area, the result would be catastrophic

  President Allison Taylor : But it goes without saying, we cannot allow a private military force, these killers, to posses weapons of mass destruction. We need to find these weapons, and arrest those bastards at Starkwood who's responsible for bringing them here

  General Vincent : Madam President, given the size of the compound, it would take a "considerable" force to locate these weapons, not to mention the fact that there are fifteen hundred highly trained mercenaries on that base. God forbid they decide to resist: we could have a small war on our own backyard

  Admiral John Smith : I share those concerns madam President. We also have to consider the possibility that Starkwood might use these biological weapons against our own forces

  President Allison Taylor : What about an airstrike?

  Admiral John Smith : A facility that large would require multiple bombing runs: we'd be looking at massive casualties of the Starkwood base with no guarantee of destruction of the bio weapons. For all we know, they've been buried underground or in fortified facilities. There's a risk of hitting these weapons with insufficient force and release the bio agent into the atmosphere

  Attorney General : We can't just ignore the law here, all these "scenarios" would be in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. I mean we can't deploy military personnel in law enforcement capacity, not without Congressional approval

  President Allison Taylor : What I'm hearing, there are no "good" options. I don't accept that. Until we find a way to contain this threat, we are risking another attack on this country and that is an option I won't consider