Charlie Wilson's War - Essay Example

Charlie Wilson's War Charlie Wilson's War is an American biographical comedy drama book which recounts the true history of Charlie Wilson, who was a congressional representative. He collaborated with bare-knuckle attitude to launch a program that resisted the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The drama book bases on a true story of an alcoholic womanizer, Charlie Wilson, who persuaded the CIA to train and arm the resistant fighters of Afghanistan (Crile 129). They intended to fend off the Soviet Union with the help of a rogue agent. The efforts of Charlie Wilson in the assistance of the rebels in their war against Soviets have had unseen and long-reaching effects. Charlie Wilson prevented the Red Army from overtaking Afghanistan, and this eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and simultaneously fueled the rise of radical Islam. A congressional representative, Charlie Wilson had great interest in partying and staffing his congressional office with young and attractive women. This social life of Charlie Wilson brings into attention federal investigation about him being a cocaine user (Bronson 301). The federal prosecutor Rudy Giuliani carried the investigation, but no evidence against Charlie was found. Charlie was a fervent anti-communist with a strong dislike of the Soviets and was a friend of the Nicaragua’s Somoza and Pakistan’s Muhammad Zia Hag. Generally, nobody is a purist, but Charlie Wilson seemed to be one. What lured him to the plight of Afghanistan was the insurgency against the Soviet occupation and his passion for the underdogs (Quick and Nelson 456). The Soviet-Afghan war was a nine-year conflict that involved the Soviet Union forces supported by the Marxist people of the Afghanistan government against Mujahedeen resistance. In the context of the cold war, this group found support from various sources like the United States, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and other Muslim nations. The efforts of Charlie Wilson made it possible for the Afghans to defeat the Soviet Forces. This was the last war of the cold war period. It gave a clear understanding of the two most important events of our time, which are the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of the militant Islam. Charlie Wilson served in Texas House and Senate before moving to the United States House of Representatives, where he served with the second congressional district before he retired in 1996. In the beginning of the book, Wilson is in a tub with two showgirls and a good supply of cocaine. This reputation made people underestimate Charlie Wilson and allowed him to work without anyone seeing. Charlie Wilson was used to seeing battles and wars; he, therefore, saw himself as a man of destiny. Wilson had an unwavering patriotism and was convinced of the threat by the Soviets since the time he graduated from college (Crile 149). John F. Kennedy, when he won the elections through his inaugural speeches, has inspired Wilson. In his later age, Wilson never thought entirely of the news reports from the Afghanistan refugees, who flew from the Pakistan in thousands, and the gunships that destroyed the villages. Charlie Wilson and his counterpart Gust Avrakotos have a public picture as quintessential stereotypical American cowboys. They are depicted as fearless, rough-necked, and social class rule breakers who worked around the obstacles and pushed roughly their mutual enemy, the Soviet Union. They both used politics, spy novel secrecy, American money, and technology to fight against the Afghan tribesmen. Gust Avrakotos Until the production of the book Charlie Wilson War in 2003, the public knew almost nothing about Gust. The book portrays the U.S involvement in the Afghanistan-Soviet war as a partnership between Gust and a Texas congressional representative, Charles Wilson. Gust was born in Pennsylvania in the family of the Greek American soft drink manufacturer from the island of Aliquippa (Quick and Nelson 487). Gust graduated from the University of Pittsburgh after completing his economic degree. He had a solid link to the Greek Secret Service and played a great role in the approving of the Greek Junta group against their president Makarios and the subsequent Turkish invasion. Avrakotos led the operation Cyclone, which was the greatest covert operation in the history of the CIA. Gust later met the congressional representative Charlie Wilson, and they formed a strong collaboration. They intended to increase the funds for the rebels and help to persuade the officials of China, Israel, and Saudi Arabia to increase the support for the cause. The position of Gust in the agency meant he was responsible for Iran (Herrera, Baumann, and Barrette 156). How Gust and Charlie Wilson Changed the History Charlie Wilson’s War is a unique historical book. It was actually the first to tackle the history of the United States involvement in the Soviet war against Afghanistan. Through this way, the book writers covered a new ground in their endeavor (Bronson 323). The book, unlike other books, serves to depict the historical events in a comic form. Although the book indulges in some serious dialogue, it intends to humor the audiences. The book addresses the events surrounding the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan due to the allied involvement in the invasion. Charlie Wilson’s War portrays events in history which are not widely known, hence making it difficult for the readers to evaluate the historical accuracy. The book raises issues worthy of exploration (Crile 247). The comical nature of the characters demonstrates the fact that key players in the true life comprise the unlikely groups of activist. The book discusses another important issue of Afghanistan that includes the country’s takeover by Taliban who had links to terrorist acts in the West. Charlie Wilson and Gust Avrakotos are the likely group of heroes. The two have a dynamic and active nature, which makes the book more interesting. Wilson is the likely winner because of his colorful personal life and his previous dormancy in the House of Representatives (Coll 647). Charlie Wilson and Gust engaged in the maneuvers of the United States against the Red Army in Afghanistan. The two made conspiracies, that is agreements to perform illegal and treacherous acts and solely intended to move the country to the proper destiny. The CIA war in Afghanistan had a great impact on the history of the Unites States by featuring the events of the major players in the prominent roles. Both the congressional representative and the CIA agent formed collaborations to increase both the quantity and the quality of the weaponry provided by the US government to the Mujahedeen to assist in defeating the Russian occupation. This led to the automatic conquer and fall of the Soviet Union. This was a very great historical achievement, since it signified the end of the cold war (Quick and Nelson 745). This comes as an irony, because the defeat of one country becomes the joy of another. Charlie Wilson’s War became the revelation to the population of the United States and most of the Western states. Wilson has large recognition due to his libertine lifestyle and his libertarian opinions. Some federal governments assumed these systems as the relevant forms of governorship. Just like a politician, Charlie Wilson served his constituency well, since they only required two items, guns and to be left free to make own their decisions. The rakish rapscallion had a conscience that lurked somewhere underneath (Herrera, Baumann, and Barrette 221). The humiliating Russian military defeat ended the cold war, which was a fat chance to the military of the United States and the country at large. Charlie Wilson’s War describes how war can be futile, especially to the people who spend most of their money funding the operations. The performances and the outcomes of Charlie’s Wilson War made fun of the politics. The Texas congressional representative has great historical credit for facilitating the termination of the cold war, which has persisted across the globe for more than five decades (Crile 423). Charlie Wilson is known to be the fore front-runner in unleashing the terror imposed by the Soviet Union in the mid of 1980s. Wilson was a major player in making the fledging country rebuild and recoup. The actions of Charlie Wilson were acquisitive and accomplished within the cast of critical thought. He largely contributed to the changes in the history of the United States and the Soviet Union. Their efforts form the transition between the cold war era and the end of the war period. The script, which gives room for a liberal thought in the history of the United States, is due to the efforts of the Charles Wilson. A hearty helping of that credit goes to the CIA representative, Gust Avrakotos. Charlie Wilson also displayed other outstanding features and virtues like honesty and integrity, which are often very rare, especially among the modern leaders. Gust delivers yet another unequalled performance contributing to the change of the global history. His character is vividly buffo in both his physicality and cynicism. Both of them portray a superb range of characters that exhibit generic snobbishness and subtle accent in the history formation. The United States are always delighted by Charlie Wilson due to his actions in favor of the United States. Defeating the Soviet Union was not an easy task, especially considering the many conflicting goals of the various political leaders. Traditionally, before the era of Charlie Wilson and Gust, everyone wished for the cold war to come to an end. Wilson supported America in his mission to end the cold war among the world super powers after the Second World War. Charlie Wilson made several historical visits to the republic of Kuwait where he claimed high-energy show zones that gave service to his operational men and women. The late return of Wilson to Middle East was due to the request by the US armed forces to deal with bases for the thousands of troops stationed in Afghanistan (Quick and Nelson 821). This operation led to the defeat of the Soviet military. The recent history of the United States revolves around these two personalities, the congressional representative Charlie Wilson and the CIA representative Gust Avrakotos. Works Cited Bronson, Rachel. Thicker Than Oil: America's Uneasy Partnership with Saudi Arabia. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. Coll, Steve. Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. New York: Penguin, 2004. Print. Crile, George. Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times. New York: Grove Press, 2007. Print. Herrera, David, James Baumann, and Oliver Barrette. Hollywood and the CIA. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis, 2011. Print. Quick, James and Debra Nelson. Organizational Behavior: Science, the Real World, and You. New York: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. . Read More