Rest in peace.
Former Texas congressman Charlie Wilson, the architect of the US support for anti-Soviet forces in Afghanistan and subject of the Hollywood movie Charlie Wilson's War, died today. He was 76.
In the 1980s Wilson, a Democrat, used his position on a military appropriations subcommittee to secure covert US backing for the mujahideen forces instrumental in driving the Soviets out of Afghanistan. Pakistani president Zia ul-Haq, who had allowed the CIA to ship arms through his country, credited Wilson with the defeat.
During his more than two decades in Washington, Wilson was known as 'Good Time Charlie', the scotch-sodden womaniser portrayed by Tom Hanks in the 2007 movie.
Charlie Wilson's War was based on a 2003 book by former 60 Minutes producer George Crile. According to Crile, Wilson once brought a belly dancer from Texas to Cairo to perform for the Egyptian defence minister, who was supplying ammunition to the Afghans.
The CIA officers Wilson worked with joked that his reputation as a party animal gave him the perfect cover for his work in arming the insurgents, using conservative Muslim countries in supporting roles. The operation eventually grew to about $750m a year – at the time the largest covert operation in the spy agency's history.
