Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story Of the Largest Covert Operation in History [Paperback]

At the heart is a cast of colorful characters, including Wilson and CIA man Gust Avrokotos. Wilson--a socially liberal, staunchly anti-Communist Democrat from a conservative and religious district of Texas--womanizes, drinks, (maybe) does drugs, is involved in scandal after scandal (including a hit-and-run car accident), and yet is re-elected over and over and singlehandedly secures funding for the freedom fighters. Avrokotos is the foul-mouthed (he has a sexual analogy for just about every situation), tough-talking son of Greek immigrants from a steel town near Pittsburgh, who joins the Agency in the 1960s and eventually heads up the Near East division, where he adeptly manages the Afghanistan operation.

I loved the book, plain and simple, but I did have a problem or two with it. Crile seems to accept as fact nearly everything Wilson and Avrokotos said in their interviews. Their accounts form the backbone of the book, and Crile seldom questions their veracity. More than that, he usually adopts their opinions as his own: if Avrokotos dislikes this or that CIA colleague, then so does Crile. Furthermore, while he maintains that supporting the Afghans against the Soviets was a noble cause (I think so, too), Crile glosses over or dismisses the fact that what Wilson was doing was questionable ethically and was quite possibly illegal. Wilson bullied congressional colleagues, usurped powers traditionally reserved for the executive branch (while at the same time exalting the separation of powers, especially those reserved for Congress), and avoided any sort of oversight. And yet Crile is harsh--unduly so, I think--on Iran-Contra and paints Oliver North and other participants as fanatics, right-wing zealots, and buffoons. Certainly, Iran-Contra is more clearly problematic (and probably downright illegal), but to praise efforts in Afghanistan and to find no merit at all with loosely similar attempts to aid anti-Communists in Central America is a glaring contradiction.

While this might detract a bit from the book's use as a historical source, it is still a great and rivetting read, full of excitement, danger, intrigue, and suspense. I highly recommend it.

Somehow, despite the fact that I despised the boozing, womanizing, schmoozing, and politics of "Good Time Charlie," I found myself rooting for him throughout the story. I had a similar feeling about Gust Avrakotos, the Greek immigrant CIA case officer who teamed-up with the Congressman from Texas to wage a revenge-inspired war through the Afghan Mujahideen against the Soviets. Despite Gust's crudity and roughness of character, I rooted for him too. I think it would be hard not to root for these rogues. They and their associates form a cast of outrageous characters that I found myself amazed at and at other times laughing out loud at their antics.

Unfortunately, there isn't a cozy and happy ending to this well-written story. The broad outlines of what happened most of us know: The Soviet Army retreated from Afganhistan in defeat - an event that many historians believe may have been a catalyst or accelerator for the events that culminated in the collapse of the Soviet Union itself. The US-backed Mujahideen were successful in reclaiming their country, and then they established a fundamental Islamic government (the Taliban) that brutally repressed the Afghan people. And lastly, the Taliban's enmity was redirected from the Soviet invaders to the US, which culminated in the events of September 11, 2001. What isn't well known is the story of how the US helped bring the Taliban to power in Afghanistan. Charlie Wilson's War gives its readers a glimpse of that part of the story. It's a very enjoyable experience learning what happened. However, thinking about the consequences is serious stuff.

I highly recommend this book.