What makes this such a compelling scene is Jessup isn't entirely wrong in much of what he says. He has a point, but that general mentality of the end justifying the means that pervades national security does lead to abuse. Some people don't fully? appreciate that Jessup basically framed Dawson and Downey for murder. He was willing to let them rot in jail because he's too important for the country. (Youtube won't work on the site for some reason right now)
