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Charlie Wilson's War
By Horace Cooper
July 10, 2003

Charlie Wilson's War is the compelling account of the untold story of how a skirt chasing, whiskey-drinking, scandal prone Democrat worked to promote American's national security interests by helping engineer the former Soviet Union's greatest military defeat in the 1980s.

This 550 page recount of the intrigue and secrets of the covert effort of the United States government and the CIA to make Afghanistan the Soviet Union's Vietnam reads more like a John Clancy novel than a thick history tome. Author George Crile weaves together the actions of belly dancers, beauty queens, rogue CIA agents and rugged mujahideen warriors to show that truth is in fact far stranger than fiction. There's something for the beltway denizen and the heartland reader here. You'll see examples of the clout of the pro-Israel lobby and the now forgotten close relationship between the United States government and Saudi Arabia. George Crile is equally captivating while explaining legislative horse trading among Hill veterans like House Speaker Tip O'Neill and in offering insider accounts of the gruff no-nonsense attitude of CIA Director Bill Casey.

One Congressman, Rep. Charlie Wilson, (aka Good Time Charlie) of East Texas is the glue that holds these parts together. Charlie Wilson's War wanders from the secret hideaways of the U.S. Capitol to the top secret offices of Langley with plenty of international travel and intrigue tossed in. Wilson's got enough character and quirks for two books, but author also George Crile introduces us to the CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos, who more than any other person at the CIA oversaw and managed the dramatic escalation in covert activities. At one point, half of the CIA budget was funding this insurgency effort. We find out how Avrakotos acquired the nickname "Dr. Dirty" and become equally awed and shocked by his willingness to push the envelope of CIA rules in the name of promoting America's national security interests.

You can't come away from this book without realizing how critical the Reagan Administration's covert support for the Afghan Freedom Fighter's was to eventual collapse of the former Soviet Union. Rep. Charlie Wilson used his position on the House Appropriations Committee to secretly fund this effort all the while maintaining his reputation as "the biggest playboy in Congress." As Wilson travels with a different attractive blonde to Egypt, Israel, Turkey and Afghanistan, you'll be mesmerized with the close calls and accounts of how beauty queens, politicians, spies, dictators are intertwined with him in the greatest battle of the Cold War.

But there's more. In Charlie Wilson's War, you'll meet the CIA's own Agent Q, Art Alper whose fiendishly creative mind worked to develop weapons capable of amazing levels of lethality to terrorize the soviet army. You'll be amazed by the role of Pakistan's ruler, General Zia ul-Haq, who risked a Soviet invasion of his country by standing with the United States.

You'll meet beautiful women, international jet setters, and see the high society life of Texas millionaires up close. You'll get great insights into the legislative process, seeing how much of federal spending is on auto-pilot and how much bureaucracies stifle critical Administration policies even in the Central Intelligence Agency.

This is a fascinating story. Wilson is a larger than life character and his story would be a great read if it was fiction - the fact that it actually happened makes it all the more incredible.

Equal parts history and spy novel, Charlie Wilson's War is the riveting recounting of the greatest and most successful covert operation in U.S. history. All the more compelling because this story was completely missed by the news media, this true account shows us the fascinating characters that made this victory possible.

Step aside Oliver North, George Crile shows how a Congressman and CIA agent could work together to help push the policies of Ronald Reagan and thereby change the entire global political infrastructure. In light of his personal travails, you simply won't believe what Charlie Wilson was able to accomplish. He's larger than life and deserves a hero's appreciation.

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Horace Cooper is a senior fellow with the Centre for New Black Leadership (CNBL.org), an organization which works to develop market-oriented, community-based solutions to the economic and social problems plaguing black communities in America.