Truth Page #3

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MARY:

General? This is Dan Rather.

Dan sits opposite him, pulling the NOTEPAD from his pocket...

DAN:

General, thank you for doing this.

Let's start from the beginning...

...And now we see it's FULL OF QUESTIONS for the interview.

INT. BROADCAST BOOTH -- EVENING

A SERIES OF QUICK SHOTS - Anonymous hands turning knobs,

balancing color bars. Slotting video tapes into machines.

We see a MACRO of tapeheads sliding the magnetic tape into

place, spooling it through the machine...

9.

INT. 60 MINUTES OFFICES -- BULLPEN -- NIGHT

The clock on the wall reads 8:00. We hear the familiar 60

MINUTES STOPWATCH. Colonel Charles, Dana, and others sit

watching

ON TV - THE 60 MINUTES BROADCAST

The image of an IRAQI MAN standing on a box WEARING A HOOD.

Electrodes run to his body. OVER THIS:

DAN (V.O.)

Americans did this to an Iraqi

prisoner. According to the US Army,

the man was told to stand on a box

with his head covered with wires

attached to his hands. He was told

that if he fell off the box, he would

be electrocuted.

CUT TO Dan, addressing the camera:

DAN (V.O.) (CONT'D)

It was this picture and dozens of

others that prompted an investigation

by the U.S. Army. Yesterday, we

asked General Mark Kimmitt, deputy

director of Coalition Operations in

Iraq, what went wrong.

INT. 60 MINUTES -- MARY'S OFFICE-- NIGHT

And finally to Mary, watching her story come out...

GENERAL KIMMITT:

Frankly, I think all of us are

disappointed at the actions of the

few. You know, every day we love

our soldiers, but frankly, some days

we're not always proud of our

soldiers.

DAN (V.O.)

Abu Ghraib under Saddam Hussein was

infamous. For decades, many who

were taken here never came out...

INT. PIERRE HOTEL BAR -- NIGHT

Ice cubes crackle. A piano plays softly. TV over the bar:

10.

NEWCASTER (O.S.)

...CBS's bombshell allegations this

evening that prisoner abuse occurred

at the Abu Ghraib facility...

A few feet away, Mary, Colonel Charles, Dana and Dan sit a

table celebrating. Happily drunk.

DANA ROBERSON:

I remember when you used to say

"Courage" at the end of every

broadcast. You remember that?

(off Dan's nod)

Why'd you stop?

MARY:

They made fun of him.

DANA ROBERSON:

No!

DAN:

(mock wounded)

They did. Me. Can you believe it?

COLONEL CHARLES:

Apparently they thought times back

then weren't grave enough to warrant

such a sign off.

MARY:

Give us a "Courage", Dan.

DAN:

I don't think-

MARY:

Come on, just one. For me?

A beat. Dan leans forward. In his best newscaster baritone:

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