Fearful of war, Pelt was wary when the ambassador asked for US assistance, and he replied: "Prudence demands that we deploy our ships to observe yours.Conklin spoke to his superior, CIA Deputy Dir.Ward Abbott (Brian Cox), and asked if Operation Treadstone - a top-secret CIA project codename - was involved: "Was this Treadstone?" Conklin explained how he had lost communication with his operative two weeks earlier.The screenplay, written by screenwriter Robert Riskin, was derived from a 1939 film treatment, titledThe Life and Death of John Doe, written by Richard Connell and Robert Presnell (the recipients of the film""s sole Academy Awards nomination for Best Original Story).My aunt says it""s bat-infested, and he nearly died from the mildew.Come on.I bet they got chains and instruments of torture down there.Paralleling the imaginative dreamworld of the children is another contradictory and volatile adult world of social issues." Cutter later interpreted for Ritter: "What he means is, the gloves come off" - and plans were initiated to strike back by eliminating the cartel leaders with another black-ops operation.