Thursday, May 01, 2008

Reagan's Bargain/Charlie Wilson's War

By Peter W. Dickson
May 1, 2008

What’s left out of a movie about history often interests only a few experts in the field. However, the recent release of one that chronicles the successful sub rosa American effort to bleed the Soviet Army in Afghanistan in the 1980s may prove to be an exception.

“Charlie Wilson’s War,” which stars Tom Hanks, tells the story of a hard-drinking, womanizing Texas congressman who nudged Congress and the Reagan administration to give more arms, especially high-tech Stinger missiles, to shoot down Soviet helicopters in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Read on.

1 comment:

Vigilante said...

By coincidence, I finally saw Charlie Wilson's War last night courtesy of NetFlix. Having read Crile's book a couple of years back, this was long anticipated. Ten minutes into it, I raised my fist and shouted to Trophy Wife,

"Ah Ha! I am a Charlie Wilson Democrat!"

That's the same as a Truman Democrat. Back when America ended wars, instead of starting them!