Terrorists launch an attack against the USA. Their first strike is by a suicide squad that detonates a truckload of explosives at an army base in Washington DC. FBI probes indicate that the attack is by Arab terrorists led by Iranians. Subsequent attacks are via airplanes exploded in mid-air, crowded restaurants, and an attack on a mall. Administration cabinet heads push the President to retaliate. The director of the FBI believes that there may be more to the story than the investigation has revealed and the Secretary of Defense is the only other person urging caution.
Acting
Hal Holbrook's exhausted president is too real.
Production
Shot on actual DC locations, budget showing everywhere.
Director
Roger Young
Peter Strauss
John Garry
Mason Adams
Geoffrey Wiggins
Lew Ayres
John Pace
George Grizzard
Warren Richards
Hal Holbrook
President Maxwell Monroe
E.G. Marshall
Harold Sloan
David Opatoshu
Ambassador Sajid Moktasanni
Thaao Penghlis
Abu Ladeen
Stan Shaw
Nick Tutman
Beatrice Straight
Margaret Sloan
Ann Sweeny
Kathy Murphy
Victoria Tennant
Gloria Garry
Fritz Weaver
Bernard Hughes
Paul Winfield
Andrew Simon
Barry Corbin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released two years after the Beirut barracks bombing, it channels genuine American anxiety about invisible enemies—though its 'Iranian-led' Arab terrorist plot now reads as wildly oversimplified.
Roger Young directed this between Magnum P.I. episodes and his eventual Star Trek: The Next Generation gigs—explaining the workmanlike tension but zero visual flair.
US
