Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story Of How The Wildest Man In Congress And A Rogue CIA Agent Changed The History Of Our Times (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
I enjoyed the movie starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman when it first came out and bought this book to get the full story. And, I have to say, the old rule that the book is better than the movie holds true here as well. Mr. Crile has certainly done his research for this one, taking you deep inside the workings of Congress, the CIA, and Middle Eastern governments from Egypt to Pakistan. Not only is every nugget of information laid out in detail, but is written in such a way that it is difficult to put down once it gets started. There are some problems with the narrative structure. The first half of the book is sluggish since the two main movers behind the Afghan policy, Congressman Charlie Wilson and CIA agent Gust Avrakotos, don't even meet until then and Mr. Crile employs this sort of dual narrative thread to keep events moving along while explaining these two characters' backgrounds. But once their tales link, the story moves along like a well oiled train with only minor sidetracks along the way. I came away very impressed with the covert operation that was put in place and the talent that our covert agents possess. And yet, I also found myself very uncomfortable with the fact that they got away with it. As Mr. Crile suggests throughout the whole story, this is an operation that, had its full scope been fully understood by Congress and the American people, could have led to a led to an Iran-Contra sized scandal. Mr. Crile alludes to and compares the Afghan operation to that shameful chapter in the Reagan legacy numerous times and both Congressman Wilson and Agent Avrakotos seem to revel in their rule breaking. The Cold War-ending consequences of the Afghan operation cannot be denied, but I still found myself very uneasy about the implications of this book. Not just that the blowback of this operation was that the U.S. gave weapons to the terrorists that attacked us on 9/11, but that one rogue congressman and one rogue CIA agent essentially hijacked U.S. foreign policy. It makes me very suspicious about what else is going on in the dark corners of the U.S. Congress.
Charlie Wilson's war is indispensible for anyone who wants to understand the roots of our current war in Afghanistan. It's also a primer on how Washington worked in the 1970s-1980s under Reagan, Tip O'Neill, and others. Congressman Charlie Wilson and the CIA funneled billions of dollars worth of money and equipment to the Mooj, or Mujahadeen, in Afghanistan to "bleed" the Soviet 40th Army. Every penny, every bullet, went via Pakistan's ISI, as a condition of Pakistan allowing it all. Wilson, his delusions of Churchillian "Great Man" grandeur fueled by cocaine, alcohol, pretty women, and the perks of a seat on powerful Congressional committees, was able to take the campaign from one to "bleed" the Soviets to one that led to the biggest military humiliation in Soviet history, a defining event in the collapse of that empire.The bad news? It was all so officially secret that the Mooj thought it was all due to Allah instead of America, and once the Soviets were gone, they've turned their weapons on America in the years since. Some American foreign policy critics, after the events of September 11th, talked about how we had created a monster that escaped our control and bit us back. This is what they were talking about.The movie version of this book is far too glib to get across such amazing characters as Wilson and his CIA partner Gust Avrokotos, or the dozen or so other characters, from Presidents and Ministers to fringe characters that ended up playing huge roles. Read Charlie Wilson's War to understand the quagmire we find ourselves in today. The Karma, she is a bitch.
What do You think about Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story Of How The Wildest Man In Congress And A Rogue CIA Agent Changed The History Of Our Times (2004)?
Charlie Wilson’s War I can best describe as a tale of Robin Hood and his merry men, a bunch of Washington D.C. true believers who never got over the Vietnam War, robbing the federal government to give to what they called the Afghan freedom fighters virtually unlimited funds and war materiel to boot the Soviet’s invading army back across their own border. It is a very entertaining read, it’s well written and incredibly well researched, but reading now what happened then through the prism of current events, I’m left with a feeling of incredulity at the display of hubris on the part of Charlie and his merry men. I have also lost any faith I ever had in the oversight capability of Congress.
—Dana Stabenow
An eye-opening look into the most successful CIA operation of all time, a secret war to bring down the Soviet empire. It was an interesting description of how a partnership between a whiskey swilling, womanizing congressman from bible thumping east Texas and a foul mouthed uncouth street kid from Pennsylvania conspired to bring down one of the biggest superpowers of the planet. While it felt a little long in some parts, there were enough comical and unbelievable details given to keep me interested to the end. While the movie was good, I found that as is typical for me, the book was better.
—Douglas L.
This book explains Charlie Wilson's involvement in getting funding for the CIA's Afghanistan operation. Here is what I learned:1. Charlie Wilson and his CIA buddies use the F-bomb (or some crass equivalent) constantly2. Certain congressman are great at persuading others to co-operate with them, even when they do not agree with the plan.3. Afghanistan is a crazy place4. Charlie Wilson earned his nickname "Goodtime Charlie" One conclusion that I draw (I do not think the author or the historical protagonists would agree with me) is that perhaps a policy of non intervention is superior. [i.e. We should have let the Russians have Afghanistan. Their civilizing influence could have done some good. It seems like our intervention may have left the country in worse shape long term.] But who knows. We were worried about soviet expansion, and maybe it would have propped up their regime for longer. But some of the very close allies we have are the former soviet satellites.
—James
