Childers’ case hinges on whether the crowd was armed. He believed at the time it was and he still believes so now. But all the evidence has been spirited away, as much by his own side as by the Yemenis. In particular, the National Security Adviser, William Sokal (Bruce Greenwood), is determined that what happened should be seen as the act of a single impulsive individual, not as a matter of US foreign policy. And, like all career politicians, he will stop at nothing to ensure that the outcome is right.
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Rules of Engagement is a film that has the iron discipline of the US Marine Corps running right through it. Its title refers to - in the words of the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms - “directives issued by a competent military authority which delineate the circumstances and limitations under which United States forces will initiate and/or continue combat engagement with other forces encountered”. To put it bluntly: When to fight back, and when to exercise restraint.
The ‘Rules of Engagement’ are the cornerstone of military command policy, especially in time of peace. But they are open to interpretation. And, in the heat of battle, there is no time for measured debate. Childers, says Jackson, “is a career Marine who does what he feels is correct. Sometimes, he bends the rules, but he wants to get results. He believes in his country, he believes in the Corps, and he’s true to his fellow warriors at all costs.”
Childers believes that he did what was right and proper to save the lives of his men, not to mention those of the Ambassador and his wife (Anne Archer). “If I’m guilty of this,” he says, “I’m guilty of everything I’ve done in combat for 30 years.”
The original story for Rules of Engagement was written by James Webb, whose career perfectly positions him to know and understand both sides of the argument. He was a Marine infantry commander in Vietnam who subsequently had a career in Washington, serving as US Secretary of the Navy during the Persian Gulf Crisis in 1987-88. And the dilemma with which the film deals stems directly from what happens when politicians demand a military solution to a political situation, then turn away from the consequences of that action.
Prosecution attorney Major
Mark Biggs (Guy Pearce)
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