| Director | Paul Greengrass |
|---|---|
| Budget | $100 million |
| Box office | $94.9 million |
On March 19, 2003, Iraqi Army General Mohammed Al-Rawi flees his residence amid the bombardment of Baghdad. Before leaving the compound he passes a notebook to his aide Seyyed, instructing him to warn his officers to get to their safehouses and wait for his signal.
Four weeks later, US Army CBRN Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller and his platoon check a warehouse for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. After a firefight with a sniper, Miller finds that the warehouse is empty, the third consecutive time an official mission has led to a dead end. Later, at a debriefing, Miller makes the point that the majority of the intel given to him is inaccurate and anonymous. High-ranking officials quickly dismiss his concerns. Afterwards, CIA Officer Martin Brown tells him that the next place he is to search was inspected by a United Nations team two months prior and that it, too, has been confirmed empty.
Meanwhile, US Department of Defense official Clark Poundstone welcomes returning Iraqi exile politician Ahmed Zubaidi at the airport. Wall Street Journal reporter Lawrie Dayne questions Poundstone and needs to speak directly to "Magellan" (based on real-life informant "Curveball"), but Poundstone brushes her off.
Meanwhile, while checking another unpromising site, Miller is approached by an Iraqi who calls himself "Freddy", who tells him that he saw some Ba'ath Party VIPs meeting in a nearby house. They include Al-Rawi and his officers and aides in Baghdad, who are discussing the current situation. Al-Rawi decides to wait for the Americans to offer him a deal and attack if they do not. As the meeting ends, Miller and his men raid the house. Al-Rawi narrowly escapes, but Seyyed is captured. Before Miller can extract much information, Seyyed is taken away by Special Forces operators who get in a fight with Miller's team. However, Miller keeps Al-Rawi's notebook.
Miller goes to Brown's hotel in the Green Zone, where he tells him what happened and gives him the notebook. Brown arranges for Miller to enter the prison where Seyyed is being interrogated. Dayne approaches Miller and questions him about the false reports of WMDs. Miller bluffs his way in to see Seyyed. Near death, after being tortured, he tells Miller that they "did everything you asked us to in the meeting." When Miller asks what meeting he is talking about, he says one word: "Jordan." Miller then confronts Dayne about the bogus intel she published, but she refuses to identify Magellan, her source. After Miller tells her he suspects Al-Rawi is Magellan, Dayne reluctantly confirms that Magellan met with a high-ranking official in February in Jordan.
Miller realizes that Poundstone's men are hunting Al-Rawi and can think of only one reason: Al-Rawi confirms there was no Iraqi WMD program and is now a major liability. Poundstone confiscates Brown's notebook, which contains the locations of Al-Rawi's safe houses. When Miller tries to arrange a meeting with Al-Rawi, he is abducted by Al-Rawi's men following Poundstone's announcement of the decision to disband the entire Iraqi Army. Al-Rawi tells Miller that he informed Poundstone that the WMD program had been dismantled after the Gulf War; Poundstone, however, reported that Al-Rawi had confirmed there were WMDs so the US government would have an excuse to invade. Poundstone's men attack the safe house, and Al-Rawi flees. Miller escapes his captors and races after Al-Rawi, finally capturing him, but Freddy suddenly shoots the general, telling Miller that "It is not for you to decide what happens here". With his only witness against Poundstone now dead, Miller tells Freddy to flee.
Later, Miller writes a scathing report. He confronts Poundstone in a meeting and gives him the report, but Poundstone dismisses it, telling Miller that WMDs do not matter. Poundstone then rejoins the meeting, only to see Iraqi factional leaders reject Zubaidi, the US's choice as leader of Iraq, as an American puppet and storm out. Afterward, Dayne receives Miller's report by email, which he sent to a long list of reporters for major news agencies worldwide.