In the movie The American President (1995) (also written by Aaron Sorkin and considered the catalyst for creating this show), the president must deal with a very similar situation. In the movie, Libya bombs a US missile defense system and the president is pushed to make a "proportional response", at the end of which he ruminates "Someday someone's going to have to explain to me the virtue of a proportional response". The events are very similar to those in this episode, including that line, mirrored almost word for word by President Bartlett.
Actor and director Timothy Busfield makes his first appearance as recurring character Danny Concannon in this episode but is not credited.
Actress and director Laura Innes makes an uncredited appearance as a reporter in this episode. While the first season was being filmed she was also starring in the sixth season of Executive Producer John Wells' medical drama series ER (1994). She would return to The West Wing as a director in later episodes.
John Amos (Fitzwallace) guest starred as Dulé Hill's (Charlie's) Uncle Burton on his later TV show Psych (2006).
Josh calls C.J. a "shiksa feminista". "Shiksa" is a Yiddish word used to refer to a non-Jewish woman. "Feminista" is a slang word used to describe a modern feminist.