Say Anything Blog

I have so much to say on this book, I apologize in advance for the post length.  Also this is a topic that partisan Republicans are going to have to brace for, since there is a movie currently being filmed, starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts (I know the link says it’s just a deal, but the filming schedule has started and a friend of mine is doing some of the art direction).

On the book: 

I, for one, don’t believe that history is rewritten.  I believe that history is told, either truthfully or not, and told again and again.  Everyone who writes history does so with the facts at their disposal, and distance allows for wider views.  It is for this reason that I believe Charlie Wilson’s War by George Crile may be the best Afghan War history to date.  This is the Afghan War pitting the Freedom Fighters against the Red Army and the 80’s occupation.  This is the Afghan War, financed by joint funds from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, with weapon arrangements and tactical training as well as strategic planning from the C.I.A.

There were many factors that brought the Soviet Union to its knees, not the least of which was the bleeding campaign in Afghanistan.  That defeat broke the will of many in the military and many more in the civilian population.  It was a striking failure at all levels for the Communist country.

That this campaign was successful at all, in light of the Americans skepticism with the C.I.A. and foreign military operations is surprising.  That it happened while the Iran-Contra affair was blowing up throughout all levels of government was even more surprising.  What’s the most surprising of all is that it was done with very little (almost none) involvement from the administration and in spite of decades-old operational standards within the Agency itself, and driven and funded by a stubborn, communist-hating liberal Democrat from East Texas with a penchant for wild women, wilder parties, and scandals that rocked the capital at always the worst possible moments.  Charlie Wilson is a character that only reality can create and his C.I.A.-side operations officer, Gust Avrokotos - a second generation Greek with street smarts and an immigrant’s toughness, a poor-man’s spy - was the only type of man who could get respect from the tribal Afghans in order to pull off the deals that brought weapon’s system after weapon’s system to the beleagured and battered nation.