Charlie Wilson Dies

[Strelok16]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/10/AR2010021003848.html?hpid=topnews

Former U.S. representative Charlie Wilson, a flamboyant 12-term East Texas Democrat who used his control of CIA purse strings to finance and arm an Afghan insurgency that drove out the Soviet occupation in the 1980s, died Feb. 10 at a hospital in Lufkin, Tex. He was 76 and had a history of heart ailments.

R.I.P. I might not agree with everything he did, but he was a hell of a guy.

If you haven't seen the movie about what he did, you should. Its excellent, and as far as I can tell, doesn't even exaggerate things too much.

 

[Cold Fussion]

R.I.P. This doesn't seem like a very appropriate place to post this though, as it is almost certinally going to divulgue into American interventionism debate.

 

[jetsetter]

A true cold warrior who gave the Soviets a much needed black eye. For that I commend and honor him.

 

[tigger]

A true cold warrior who gave the Soviets a much needed black eye. For that I commend and honor him.

I couldn't say it better myself.

Of course now we're feeling the blowback of the CIA's support the Afghans. But hindsight is 20/20.

 

[avanti]

I saw the movie and liked it a lot!

 

[idk]

Me too. Ironic story though

 

[AiR]

I saw the movie and liked it a lot!

That is because it paints a picture of Wilson "saving" the afghans and conveniently omits troublesome facts and the history of the people involved, like Gust Avrakatos who was the chief CIA liaison for the fascist military junta in Greece.

http://hnn.us/articles/45974.html

 

[jetsetter]

That is because it paints a picture of Wilson "saving" the afghans and conveniently omits troublesome facts and the history of the people involved, like Gust Avrakatos who was the chief CIA liaison for the fascist military junta in Greece.

http://hnn.us/articles/45974.html

It actually does not ignore that fact. The characters past actions are described in the film by the character himself.