Posted on 12/05/2007 1:38:46 PM PST by murdoog
Charlie Wilson's War is the true story of how a playboy congressman, a renegade CIA agent and a beautiful Houston socialite joined forces to lead the largest and most successful covert operation in history. Their efforts contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, with consequences that reverberate throughout the world today. Oscar® winners Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman team with Academy Award®-winning director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin to bring George Crile's best-selling book to the screen.
Charlie Wilson (Hanks) was a bachelor congressman from Texas who had a habit of showing up in hot tubs with strippers and cocaine. His "Good Time Charlie" exterior, however, masked an extraordinary mind, a deep sense of patriotism and a passion for the underdog, and in the early 1980s the underdog was Afghanistan-which had just been brutally invaded by the Russians.
Charlie's longtime friend and patron and sometime lover was Joanne Herring (Roberts), one of the wealthiest women in Texas and a virulent anti-communist. Believing the American response to the Russian invasion was anemic at best, she prods Charlie into doing more for the Mujahideen (Afghan freedom fighters).
Charlie's partner in this uphill endeavor is CIA Agent Gust Avrakotos (Hoffman), a blue-collar operative in a company of Ivy League blue bloods. Together, the three of them-Charlie, Joanne and Gust-travel the world to form unlikely alliances among the Pakistanis, Israelis, Egyptians, arms dealers, law makers and a belly dancer.
Their success was remarkable. Funding for covert operations against the Soviets went from $5 million to $1 billion annually. The Red Army retreated out of Afghanistan. When asked how a group of peasants was able to deliver such a decisive blow to the army of a superpower, Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq responded simply, "Charlie did it."
For a group of people of the Bible belt I never understood how Wilson, who was widely known to be an immoral person, could keep his office, but that Temple bought the office. That was not even an unspoken truth here in Lufkin. Everyone knew it and it did not seem to bother them.
He was a chain smoker and developed severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was an alcoholic and subsequently developed alcoholic cardiomyopathy and just recently had a successful heart transplant.
Wilson was, if nothing else, a very colorful character. I believe he was a passionate anticommunist and extremely promilitary. One of his more notable antics was killing a bill which would have given the Air Force funding for a very large aircraft. He did it for spite because he was dating Ms. World and the Air Force would not give her a ride back from Afghanistan to the United States, but would give him a ride. For that he struck at the Air Force for spite.
Not interested. Have you?
Don’t like to walk on the wild side, huh ? ;-)
I know he had a strong challenger in the ‘90s named Donna Peterson. Unfortunately, the GOP didn’t pump enough money to support her. We probably could’ve beaten him in ‘94. As it was, we didn’t get the seat until we got control of redistricting and used it to knock off Charlie’s successor, Jim Turner, in ‘04.
Hair pie, not Schweaty.
Peterson kind of flopped at the end. She had some shady dealings which were revealed about 1 or 2 weeks before election. It wasn’t close. I voted for her because Charlie was a democrat. I don’t do that. Kind of a rule. I can think of very few democrats I would vote for,...certainly not Charlie. Moynihan...yes. The good senator from Georgia, recently retired...the one that scrapped with Matthews. There may be another in the universe, but I cannot think of him now.
It was going to be uphill for her, anyhow, since it was, under the pre-2004 lines, a fairly Dem district (it voted for Clinton twice and even for Dukakis in ‘88). You saw the problem in the adjacent district when we beat Jack Brooks in ‘94, as the Dems took it back again in ‘96 (which meant that even if Peterson had scored an upset, Turner probably would’ve taken it away). True in that there are almost no Democrats you can vote for in good conscience today (I probably wouldn’t have voted for Pat Moynihan, though, since he was still quite liberal — even Zell Miller’s opponent, Mack Mattingly, the former 1st GOP Senator from GA since Reconstruction (1981-87), was more Conservative and so I probably would’ve cast a vote for him).
Disregarding local elections where there are almost no Republicans where I live, the only Dem I cast a vote for was in opposition to a RINO in 1998 for TN Governor (John Jay Hooker over Don Sundquist). Hooker was strictly and unapologetically pro-Constitution and would’ve made a far better Governor and been an enormous thorn in the butt of the rodents controlling my state. The Democrats were so opposed to him that they gave silent support to the Republican. That was all I needed to know. RINOs are a worse cancer than any Democrat. They’re liberal Democrats who have infiltrated the GOP to maximize damage from within.
That would be Zell Miller.
And BTW, John Dowdy the Ultra Conservative Old Fashioned Crooked Southern Dem Wilson replaced was in the pocket of then Eastex, Inc., the large Paper Mill in Jasper County (which later belonged to Temple).
Jack Brooks’ old District (Now redistricted) is now represented by the very Conservative Republican, Judge Ted Poe of Humble who is actually quite popular in the old “Golden Triangle” and he carried Jefferson 1996 which as you know was a very Dim year.
Also Hardin County, just North of there has became solidly Republican (In National and Statewide races).
And the irony that the old Dem from Brooks’ district who beat Stockman is now (momentarily) occupying DeLay’s seat. Nick Lampson, of course, is our top TX target in the next election (followed by “Zero” Rodriguez and Chet Edwards).
Yep! It’s very ironic. I went to College with Lampson and he was a Hack even then.
The book was great and pretty much spot on with regards to how America defeated communisms advance toward a warm water port via Afghanistan. The soviets went broke after ten years of fighting the Islamics we backed. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Definitely read the book.
I’ll wait to see what the movie holds.
“Our mistake was walking away after the Soviets were driven out.”
We were never there, how could we walk away?
Most the muj didn’t even know we were assisting. All assistance came from pakistan bases set up in the mountains. Unofficial Support came from The United States, China, The UK, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. But everything came through Pakistan. They even would redraw satellite photos into hand written maps done by afghans so they and the soviets wouldn’t know where they came from.
It was interesting that quite a number of Dems walked away in ‘96, not wanting to serve in the minority. Charlie Wilson, of course, was one. I’m hoping that we’re not seeing the same thing with our rash of retirements for the coming year (which sets back our regaining the House, which should be doable — unlike the Senate, which won’t be).
Of course they seem to have an affection for immoral people who manage to do good things despite their faults. It's part of being bleeding heart liberals that are rotten to the core and want to make themselves feel better about their own failings.
“We were never there, how could we walk away?”
I meant to express that we withdrew our support for a future good outcome.
Instead, the radicals took over.
Read Crile. It is a good read, but as you would have to expect projects a particularly American point of view. It does not give the whole picture of the Saudi funding, which was equally important as American arms. It does not cover how the Brits had to grovel to get some support for their people in the Panjcher. Would the Afghanis have defeated the Soviets without US help? Quite likely, but it would have taken longer. The fact that the CIA honored Wilson at a “private” ceremony in Langley is part of the usual self-congratulatory back-slapping the Agency is so good at. ‘Nuf said.
From what I remember of my vocabulary, I would not use the word "virulent" (derives from the Latin word virulentus, which means "full of poison" - from Wikipedia.com) to describe somebody who is anti-communist, unless I was a staunch communist myself. Maybe that's why I don't write movie reviews.
Cool. I just started it, and I like the way the author frames Afganistan (correctly) in the context of the Cold War.
He also brings up Carter’s claim that he would go to war if strategic oil fields were threatened.
Thanks Jimmah!
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