Charlie Wilson War Film Analysis

Rain Abdelaziz
Professor Goldman
Charlie Wilson’s war Film

Charlie Wilson was an American man working in congress, that was passionate about the Afghan war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s. The film shows Wilson as a relaxed guy earlier in his days. In his congress early days Wilson lived a wild party life highlighted by hotels, strippers, and hot tubs. Even though Wilson looks like a party guy, and “good time charlie” as he is called, deep down he cares about politics, and he is also patriotic. Wilson was passionate about helping the Afghans after he saw the U.S policies as weak on Afghan. He felt strongly about helping the Afghans since they were the underdogs in the war.

In the Film there are a few main characters that contribute to the Afghan cause along with Wilson. Wilson met Joanne Herring and he began to like her. Herring was a Texas socialite and millionaire, sometimes appearing as a Talk Show host. Herring was a right-wing conservative, she was very vocal to Wilson about her dislike for the communist, and her support for the brave Afghans. Herring had connections with the Pakistani Leader Zia. Herring told Charlie about the Afghan’s need for weapons to shoot down Russian helicopters.

Charlie Wilson was working for the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and needed to start his plight with the CIA.

He teamed up with a CIA operative named Gust Avrakotos-that armed and sustained the Afghan jihad and turned Afghanistan into the Soviet Union's Vietnam. When Wilson could not get enough funding from the United States to have American-made weapons found in Afghanistan. Herring's thought of a solution that the Israelis had lots of shoulder-mounted Soviet-made anti-aircraft weapons, which they could supply to the Afghans through the back channel of Pakistan. Charlie was shocked that the Afghans and Israel could work

together.
After Wilson starts his world tours for his passion and fight against the Soviet Union, he meets the Pakistani Leader Zia who also hates the Russians. Zia shows Wilson the refugee camps, and then Wilson meets Gust. The chain smoking heavy drinker who's also a CIA operative. Before Wilson came and made a case to the CIA, the freedom fighters were only getting 5 million a year, which was useless for their fight. With Wilson’s personal diplomacy he was able to raise the amount to 1 billion a year to the Afghans.
The program was funded by the CIA, so for the longest no one knew about the covert operation that this Texas Congressman was running. With Wilson’s great passion he convinced the Pakistani Zia to enter into an agreement with the Israelis just like the Chinese were doing. Wilson even though not working in the State department position, he got 2 countries with no diplomatic relations to work together against a common foe the USSR. This covert operation mostly ran by Charlie Wilson got the U.S to fund the freedom fighters, cause the collapse of the Soviet Union, but also a new war on terror. The freedom fighters later used these weapons against the US and one of the freedom fighters was Osama Bin Ladin.