“Charlie Wilson’s War” - Truth is Stranger Than Fiction
By Michael Lang on Dec 24, 2007 in BRAIN FOOD
The movie, “Charlie Wilson’s War” directed by the brilliant , opens in theaters nationwide on Christmas day and is the story of how , an alcoholic womanizer and
With the help of rogue CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos, the two men supplied money, training and a team of military experts that turned the ill-equipped Afghan freedom-fighters into a force that brought the Red Army to a stalemate and set the stage for conflicts in the Middle East that still rage to this day.
Only in
He was best known as the hard-drinking, hard-partying Texas Congressman with a penchant for beautiful women. The real Charlie Wilson, now 74, has retired from both Congress and from his days of drinking. But he’s as brazen as ever.
Before I tell you how this reluctant hero came to be, let’s take a generous look at 8 minutes of this movie starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Born in a small Texas town he entered politics in a rather unique way. At the age of thirteen, Charlie’s dog, Teddy, got inot his neighbor’s yard who happened to be a city official. This official retaliated for the dog’s mischief by mixing crushed glass into the dog’s food, causing fatal internal bleeding. Counter-retaliating, Charlie ran against the neighbor in the next election, beating him by sixteen votes!
This kind of bizarre course of events seems to be a common theme throughout Charlie Wilson’s colorful life.
THEY SAY THAT “TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION”……READ ON, THERE’S MUCH MORE!
Charlie Wilson entered politics after being moved while volunterring for John Kennedy’s presidential campaign.
In 1960, after taking 30 days’ leave from the Navy, Wilson entered his name into the race for
For the next 12 years,
In 1972,
In the early summer of 1980,
She told him about the horrors of the Afghan war and he got extremely serious about the plight of the Afghan people and the valiant struggle of the Mujahedeen, the loosely-aligned Afghan opposition groups that initially fought against the incumbent pro-Soviet Afghan government during the 1980s.
"Mines that looked like they were toys would blow apart, blowing off the hands of little children.”
Although the CIA was funding Afghan Muslims to fight the Soviet Union,
With
Remember, as a member of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee, he was part of a small group of 12 people in the House responsible for funding operations, and thus had the authority to make such an order.
22 Comment(s)
By Michael Budrock on Dec 26, 2007 | Reply
Truth is stranger than fiction. Most of this “article” was lifted directly from Wikipedia and some of the quotes have been totally misappropriated. My favorite?
“Mines that looked like they were toys would blow apart, blowing off the hands of little children. Wilson recalls learning from Herring.”
Lifted almost word for word from Lou Cannon’s book, “Ronald Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime.” In his book, Mr. Cannon notes how Reagan “expressed revulsion of the brutal destruction of Afghan villages and such Soviet policies as the scattering of mines disguised as toys that killed and maimed Afghan children.” Interesting little footnote, wouldn’t you say?
As is always the case, the truth here lies between the suspicious timing and presentation (look deeper into the political concerns, past work histories, and familial ties of those engaged in creating this movie, as well as the book on which it is based) of those who would adopt “Charlie Wilson’s war” as absolute fact and those who would adopt Mr. Cannon’s rendition as absolute.
By admin on Dec 26, 2007 | Reply
You know the old term, “poetic license”…..well some people seem to take more liberties with their license than others. We can only hope, if we are going to be more than entertained, that there is enough truth to make a statement or at least a point.
The fact that Charlie Wilson was bestowed with the “Honored Colleague” award by the CIA does give him and the storyline enough credibility, for me, to make it an enjoyable black comedy with built-in morality play.
I did see the movie after I wrote the article and I am happy to report that I am satisfied with both.
Mike Lang, Publisher
By James on Dec 28, 2007 | Reply
So we have Charlie Wilson to thank for the rise of the Taliban, 9/11 and our current war on terror? Why do we find this story either amusing or entertaining?
By Mike on Dec 28, 2007 | Reply
admin (Mike) - Wilson has credibility with me as well, never stated ot implied otherwise. Wehre this movie derails is in its inistance that Wilson was the only one of this point-of-view and that whatever he did, he did in spite of the administration in power. not as a part of it. Historically, there’s no question that Wilson’s part was highly significant, but he was far from alone. Read, “Charlie Wilson and Ronald Reagan” by Dr. Jack Wheeler over at http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59402. Charlie Wilson was his best man. I think he has some credibility as well.
James - Hindsight is too easy. Our present age, good or bad, has been built on decisions such as this one. Sometimes they turn out OK, sometimes not, but coulda, woulda, shoulda, should never lock one into a geopolitical paralysis to world events. it should give on pause, and in the case of potential war, a very long and dteremined pause, but it should not result in a complete abdication of responsibility.
By Katrina on Apr 23, 2008 | Reply
I am just curious, how can we believe anything that is fed to us by Hollywood or the Government. They are holding hands through so much, that you cannot differentiate one from the other. Everything we do needs to be researched. I do not know how to do this, as I trust no one. Everyone wants either power or money, and they do not realize that they are destroying the world at an alarming rate to get what they want.
By Michael Lang on Apr 23, 2008 | Reply
Katrina, unfortunately the answer to your question is that there is very little, if anything that you can count on as far as accurate information. That is why it is so important that you do 2 things. Build your own support system of RELIABLE SOURCES and secondly, do your own due dilligence. I too am always suspicious of the agendas that a source might have…like “what’s in it for them!”
What’s really a mindblower and travesty of journalistic integrity is people like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly that pass themselves off as dispensers of the truth when they are BOLD FACE LIARS…I mean outright liars….not just a stretch of the truth but lies!
PERSEVERE
Mike Lang
Publisher
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