A friend gave me a copy of the book Charlie Wilson's War, by George Crile for my birthday. This isn't the kind of book I would normally pick up, but it was entertaining.
Charlie Wilson was a congressman from Texas from the 1970's to 1990's. He learned early on how to make the most of his position to gain favors for his favorite causes. Some of those causes were womanizing, booze and drugs. These could have easily led to his downfall if he didn't have the right political connections in Washington.
Charlie is persuaded by one of his constituents to look into helping the Afghans with their battle against the Soviets who were occupying their country. Charlie connects with one of the CIA people working on the clandestine operation to defeat the Soviets. The 2 work together to vastly increase the funding for the Afghans and try to find a weapon to bring down the Mi-24 helicopter gunships that were terrorizing the mujaheddin. Taking the CIA budget from $5 million per year to over $1 billion was amazing. Charlie knew how to ask for money. This was the height of the Reagan era where the final push was on to destroy the Evil Empire. Any way to attack the Soviets was welcome. The huge influx of weapons and the training of the tribal leaders, let to a humiliating defeat of the Soviet army. This helped lead to the downfall of the Soviet Union.
Charlie Wilson later regretted that some of the weapons fell into the hands of the Taliban and the followers of Osama Bin Laden. "I feel guilty about it," he said. "I really do." "Those things happen," Wilson said of wartime weapons that wind up in the wrong hands.
The story is a dramatic telling of one man's dream of defeating communism and how he was able to dramatically change the world he lived in.
Enjoy!
Dennis
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