The Good Shepherd Quotes
The tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man's life.
Joseph Palmi: Let me ask you something... we Italians, we got our families, and we got the church; the Irish, they have the homeland, Jews their tradition; even the niggers, they got their music. What about you people, Mr. Wilson, what do you have?
Edward Wilson: The United States of America. The rest of you are just visiting.
Edward Wilson: The United States of America. The rest of you are just visiting.
[Richard Hayes and Ed Wilson walking into the new CIA building]
Richard Hayes: The President's asked me to become director and do a complete housecleaning at my discretion. I need someone I can trust. After all, we're still brothers. This building doesn't get built without you. You're CIA's heart and soul. Who knows, you might have a secret about me in that safe of yours.
[pointing down the hall]
Richard Hayes: This whole wing will be your part of the world: Counterintelligence. Take a look around. I've got an oversight meeting. Can you imagine? They think they can look into our closet, as if we'd let them.
[Hayes Starts to walk away, stops and begins talking as he turns]
Richard Hayes: I remember a senator once asked me. When we talk about "CIA" why we never use the word "the" in front of it. And I asked him, do you put the word "the" in front of "God"?
Richard Hayes: The President's asked me to become director and do a complete housecleaning at my discretion. I need someone I can trust. After all, we're still brothers. This building doesn't get built without you. You're CIA's heart and soul. Who knows, you might have a secret about me in that safe of yours.
[pointing down the hall]
Richard Hayes: This whole wing will be your part of the world: Counterintelligence. Take a look around. I've got an oversight meeting. Can you imagine? They think they can look into our closet, as if we'd let them.
[Hayes Starts to walk away, stops and begins talking as he turns]
Richard Hayes: I remember a senator once asked me. When we talk about "CIA" why we never use the word "the" in front of it. And I asked him, do you put the word "the" in front of "God"?
Philip Allen: [Referring to the chocolates he's eating] They're from Switzerland. I had them sent with the pouch to Berlin.
Philip Allen: [He offers one but is declined] They're a weakness of mine. When I was a child, my mother would always reward me with a chocolate.
Philip Allen: [He takes another] It's a dreadful habit.
Edward Wilson: Chocolates or seeking approval?
Philip Allen: Both.
Philip Allen: [He offers one but is declined] They're a weakness of mine. When I was a child, my mother would always reward me with a chocolate.
Philip Allen: [He takes another] It's a dreadful habit.
Edward Wilson: Chocolates or seeking approval?
Philip Allen: Both.
[last lines]
Edward Wilson: [reading] They are right what they say about me. I was weak. A coward. I compromised myself. My honor. My family. My country. I am ashamed of myself. To my wife, I am sorry I've done this to you. To my son, I hope you will grow to be a courageous man. A good husband. A good father. I hope whatever you decide to do, you lead a good, full life. I hope whatever your dreams may be come true. Your loving husband and father.
Edward Wilson: [reading] They are right what they say about me. I was weak. A coward. I compromised myself. My honor. My family. My country. I am ashamed of myself. To my wife, I am sorry I've done this to you. To my son, I hope you will grow to be a courageous man. A good husband. A good father. I hope whatever you decide to do, you lead a good, full life. I hope whatever your dreams may be come true. Your loving husband and father.
[Bill Sullivan visits Ed at home to let him know that they're forming the CIA as a peacetime OSS]
Bill Sullivan: I have to tell you, I have some real problems with this whole thing despite how much we need it. I'm concerned that too much power will end up in the hands of too few. It's always in somebody's best interest to promote enemies real or imagined. I see this as America's eyes and ears; I don't want it to become its heart and soul. So I told the president for this to work there is going to have to be some kind of civilian oversight.
Edward Wilson: Oversight? How can you have a covert organization if you have people looking over your shoulder?
Bill Sullivan: You know who gave Hitler his power? The clerks and the bookkeepers, the civil servants. I have this one weakness: I believe in a just God. I always seem to err on the side of democracy.
[Bill Sullivan is getting into his car to leave]
Bill Sullivan: No matter what anyone tells you there'll be no one you can really trust.
[pause, looks away]
Bill Sullivan: I'm afraid when all is said and done we're all just clerks too.
Bill Sullivan: I have to tell you, I have some real problems with this whole thing despite how much we need it. I'm concerned that too much power will end up in the hands of too few. It's always in somebody's best interest to promote enemies real or imagined. I see this as America's eyes and ears; I don't want it to become its heart and soul. So I told the president for this to work there is going to have to be some kind of civilian oversight.
Edward Wilson: Oversight? How can you have a covert organization if you have people looking over your shoulder?
Bill Sullivan: You know who gave Hitler his power? The clerks and the bookkeepers, the civil servants. I have this one weakness: I believe in a just God. I always seem to err on the side of democracy.
[Bill Sullivan is getting into his car to leave]
Bill Sullivan: No matter what anyone tells you there'll be no one you can really trust.
[pause, looks away]
Bill Sullivan: I'm afraid when all is said and done we're all just clerks too.
[At the Christmas party after the coup vs Dr. Ibañes]
Bill Sullivan: Bill Sullivan: Gentlemen, you can all be very proud of what you started. Merry Christmas.
[Ed Jr's mishap on Santa's lap]
Bill Sullivan: [to Ed] Did you know that Phillip is going to be on the Mayan Coffee Board of Directors? Remember what I said to you about friends.
Bill Sullivan: Bill Sullivan: Gentlemen, you can all be very proud of what you started. Merry Christmas.
[Ed Jr's mishap on Santa's lap]
Bill Sullivan: [to Ed] Did you know that Phillip is going to be on the Mayan Coffee Board of Directors? Remember what I said to you about friends.
Dr. Fredericks: The mental facility to detect conspiracies and betrayal are the same qualities most likely to corrode natural judgment. Everything that seems clear is bent. And everything that seems bent is clear. Trapped in reflections, you must learn to recognize when a lie masquerades as the truth, and then deal with it efficiently, dispassionately.
Ulysses: Hello, I believe you know me as Ulysses. Do you know what our code name is for you... it's "Mother". Yes, they said you were the quiet type. But your silence speaks volumes, what is the saying? "Your silence is deafening," yes that is it. You will be a great advesary Mother, hopefully for many years.
Valentin Mironov #2: Soviet power is a myth. Great show. There are no spare parts. Nothing is working, nothing, it's nothing but painted rust. But you, you need to keep the Russian myth alive to maintain your military industrial complex. Your system depends on Russian being perceived as a mortal threat. It's not a threat. It was never a threat. It will never be a threat. It's a rotted, bloated cow.
[on tape]
Edward Bell Wilson Jr.: Everything is a secret.
Miriam: You were brought up on secrets. What was such a big secret that his own son couldn't know?
Edward Bell Wilson Jr.: He was standing outside talking. I heard something I wasn't supposed to, and he knew I listened to his conversation. I heard them say something in Spanish: Bahia de Cochinos.
Miriam: Bahia de Cochinos.
Edward Bell Wilson Jr.: I'm afraid of him.
Miriam: You're safe here with me. People who really love each other don't have secrets. I have something to tell you.
[Tape mutes down]
Edward Bell Wilson Jr.: I love you so much, I love you so much.
Edward Bell Wilson Jr.: Everything is a secret.
Miriam: You were brought up on secrets. What was such a big secret that his own son couldn't know?
Edward Bell Wilson Jr.: He was standing outside talking. I heard something I wasn't supposed to, and he knew I listened to his conversation. I heard them say something in Spanish: Bahia de Cochinos.
Miriam: Bahia de Cochinos.
Edward Bell Wilson Jr.: I'm afraid of him.
Miriam: You're safe here with me. People who really love each other don't have secrets. I have something to tell you.
[Tape mutes down]
Edward Bell Wilson Jr.: I love you so much, I love you so much.
Philip Allen: [Explaining to Wilson about the U.S./G.B. espionage relationship] They've agreed to open up their operations to us. They can't win the war without us, but they don't really want us here. Intelligence is their mother's milk, and they don't like sharing the royal tit with people that don't have titles.
Bill Sullivan: I have to tell you, I have some real problems with this whole thing, despite how much we need it. I'm concerned that too much power will end up in the hands of too few. It's always in somebody's best interest to promote enemies; real or imagined. I see this
[OSS]
Bill Sullivan: as America's eyes and ears. I don't want it to becomes it's heart and soul.
[OSS]
Bill Sullivan: as America's eyes and ears. I don't want it to becomes it's heart and soul.
Richard Hayes: Tell us Mr. Wilson: Brother to Brother something that you've never told anyone before. Your most guarded secret. Something you will need to trust us with.
Edward Wilson: It was the Fourth of July 1925. I was six.
Edward Wilson: I was playing tag with a friend of mine and I tried to get away from him, so I ran up the stairs into my parents' room. And I hid in the closet.
Edward Wilson: I looked at my Father's clothes and hanging there was his Admiral's jacket. And then I heard a sound. And I saw my father.
Edward Wilson: I must have made a noise because he turned and came into the closet and opened the door.
Thomas Wilson: Have you ever made up a story, Edward? Told your friends something that you knew wasn't true? And you know that if they found out, they wouldn't like you anymore? Why? Because you lied to them. You understand?
Edward Wilson: And he asked me if I knew what trust was. And I said, "Trust is when you feel safe with someone, like with my friends. Like with you and Mother."
Edward Wilson: And then he said, "Don't ever lie. Cause you lie to your friends they won't trust you. And you will have nothing. And you'll never be safe."
Edward Wilson: He told me to go downstairs and watch the fireworks because they'd started. And then he shut the door.
Edward Wilson: The sound of the gunshot was very different from the sound of the fireworks and even at six years old I knew that was a big, big difference. And there was a lot of blood. And in his left hand he held a note that was sealed.
Edward Wilson: I don't know why, but I took the note and I put it in my pocket. I always said it was an accident. It wasn't an accident. My father killed himself.
Edward Wilson: It was the Fourth of July 1925. I was six.
Edward Wilson: I was playing tag with a friend of mine and I tried to get away from him, so I ran up the stairs into my parents' room. And I hid in the closet.
Edward Wilson: I looked at my Father's clothes and hanging there was his Admiral's jacket. And then I heard a sound. And I saw my father.
Edward Wilson: I must have made a noise because he turned and came into the closet and opened the door.
Thomas Wilson: Have you ever made up a story, Edward? Told your friends something that you knew wasn't true? And you know that if they found out, they wouldn't like you anymore? Why? Because you lied to them. You understand?
Edward Wilson: And he asked me if I knew what trust was. And I said, "Trust is when you feel safe with someone, like with my friends. Like with you and Mother."
Edward Wilson: And then he said, "Don't ever lie. Cause you lie to your friends they won't trust you. And you will have nothing. And you'll never be safe."
Edward Wilson: He told me to go downstairs and watch the fireworks because they'd started. And then he shut the door.
Edward Wilson: The sound of the gunshot was very different from the sound of the fireworks and even at six years old I knew that was a big, big difference. And there was a lot of blood. And in his left hand he held a note that was sealed.
Edward Wilson: I don't know why, but I took the note and I put it in my pocket. I always said it was an accident. It wasn't an accident. My father killed himself.
Clover Wilson: [Clover and Edward, who only met for the first time hours earlier, are starting to have sex] Do you love me?
Edward Wilson: What?
Clover Wilson: Tell me you love me!
Edward Wilson: [mumbles] I love you.
Clover Wilson: [Emphatically] Do you love me?
Edward Wilson: I do, I love you.
Clover Wilson: No, I still don't believe you!
Edward Wilson: [repeatedly] I love you, I love you...
Clover Wilson: Say it, Say it... Look at me, Look at me.
[Wilson tries to keep kissing her but she resists]
Clover Wilson: Stop! Stop!
Edward Wilson: [repeating more insistently] I love you, I love you, I do love you.
[Clover stops resisting and they have passionate sex]
Edward Wilson: What?
Clover Wilson: Tell me you love me!
Edward Wilson: [mumbles] I love you.
Clover Wilson: [Emphatically] Do you love me?
Edward Wilson: I do, I love you.
Clover Wilson: No, I still don't believe you!
Edward Wilson: [repeatedly] I love you, I love you...
Clover Wilson: Say it, Say it... Look at me, Look at me.
[Wilson tries to keep kissing her but she resists]
Clover Wilson: Stop! Stop!
Edward Wilson: [repeating more insistently] I love you, I love you, I do love you.
[Clover stops resisting and they have passionate sex]
Edward Wilson: And, yet, a certain word, a glance, a guise, will mirror, never show, reflecting not my gaze, but my uncertain question caught inside a shadow of our shifting eyes.
Dr. Fredericks: That really is quite elegant, Mr. Wilson. Good order, very precise, feeling of the unknown. Fine poetry is the music of mathematics, numbers, singing. You have to look behind the words to understand their meaning.
Dr. Fredericks: That really is quite elegant, Mr. Wilson. Good order, very precise, feeling of the unknown. Fine poetry is the music of mathematics, numbers, singing. You have to look behind the words to understand their meaning.
Philip Allen: You are going to have to learn, and as quickly and thoroughly as possible, the English system of intelligence, the black arts, particularly counterintelligence - the uses of information, disinformation, and how their use is ultimately... power. They have agreed to open up their operations to us - they can't win the war without us - but they don't really want us here... Intelligence is their mother's milk, and they don't like sharing the royal tit with people that don't have titles.
[Ed Wilson at his desk in his office, Phillip Allen opens the door]
Philip Allen: May I come in?
[Allen walks in, signals around, Ed starts bug countermeasures]
Philip Allen: You know I've never been in your office.
Edward Wilson: How was the fishing?
Philip Allen: It was a bad year. The water's too high.
[walks closer]
Philip Allen: I understand you wanted to give me the Operation Zapata list yourself. There isn't one, is there?
Edward Wilson: You know it was a silent operation.
Philip Allen: It wasn't silent enough.
[pause]
Philip Allen: I've been asked by the President to suggest who we no longer need with us.
[pause]
Philip Allen: Who would you recommend, Edward?
Edward Wilson: I serve at the pleasure of the director, Sir.
[Allen exhales loudly]
Edward Wilson: I'm just the gatekeeper.
Philip Allen: Why is it that people like us choose to serve for nickels a day in a profession that makes us constantly look over our shoulder to see who is watching us?
Edward Wilson: When will you make a decision?
Philip Allen: I serve at the discretion of the President of the United States. I will do what I think is best for the country.
[Turns around. Walks towards the door]
Philip Allen: It's important we find out who's responsible. Good night.
Edward Wilson: Good night.
Philip Allen: May I come in?
[Allen walks in, signals around, Ed starts bug countermeasures]
Philip Allen: You know I've never been in your office.
Edward Wilson: How was the fishing?
Philip Allen: It was a bad year. The water's too high.
[walks closer]
Philip Allen: I understand you wanted to give me the Operation Zapata list yourself. There isn't one, is there?
Edward Wilson: You know it was a silent operation.
Philip Allen: It wasn't silent enough.
[pause]
Philip Allen: I've been asked by the President to suggest who we no longer need with us.
[pause]
Philip Allen: Who would you recommend, Edward?
Edward Wilson: I serve at the pleasure of the director, Sir.
[Allen exhales loudly]
Edward Wilson: I'm just the gatekeeper.
Philip Allen: Why is it that people like us choose to serve for nickels a day in a profession that makes us constantly look over our shoulder to see who is watching us?
Edward Wilson: When will you make a decision?
Philip Allen: I serve at the discretion of the President of the United States. I will do what I think is best for the country.
[Turns around. Walks towards the door]
Philip Allen: It's important we find out who's responsible. Good night.
Edward Wilson: Good night.
