The War at Home (The West Wing)
Encyclopedia
Plot
An attempt to rescue the DEADrug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
agents held hostage in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
backfires and nine soldiers are killed. The President and his staff weigh more military action and the effects of appeasing terrorists. The hostages are later released after the Colombian President covertly releases a recently imprisoned drug lord. The President
Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated...
asks Josh
Josh Lyman
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...
and Sam
Sam Seaborn
Samuel Norman "Sam" Seaborn is a fictional character portrayed by Rob Lowe on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is best known for being Deputy White House Communications Director in the Josiah Bartlet administration throughout the first four seasons of the series.-Creation and...
to attempt to come up with a solution to the drug problem in America, which Leo later calls the war that's fought at home. Toby is forced by Sam to meet with a very liberal Senator who threatens a run for the Presidency because of non-support for his Social Security reform plans. Ainsley gets another chance to meet the President. Joey Lucas has an insight into Josh and Donna after they finish the poll about gun control laws. The First Lady continues to be aggravated with her husband over his intentions to run for re-election in opposition to a prior agreement between them three years ago.
In this episode Leo opposes an armed conflict with Colombian rebels saying that it would put the United States military in a position "with no clear mission and no end in sight." This comment is made in reference to the Vietnam War and mirrors future oppositional arguments to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The events of this episode occur immediately after the events of the previous episode, Bartlet's Third State of the Union
Bartlet's Third State of the Union
-Plot:The President addresses the nation for his Third State of the Union, and a group of DEA agents are taken hostage in Colombia. An invited guest to the speech has a questionable background, which C.J. tries to deal with. Capital Beat does a live extended show from the West Wing...
.