Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History

612 Pages·2003·4.22 MB·English

by  George Crile

Praise for Charlie Wilson’s War: “A vivid narrative … Charlie Wilson’s War is a
behind-the-scenes chronicle of a program that is still largely classified. … Few
people who remember Wilson’s years in Washington would discount even the
wildest tales.”
—David Johnston, The New York Times Book Review “Who can possibly resist a
story about a maverick Texas congressman who managed to bring the Soviet
Union to his knees? Charlie Wilson’s War is a cross between Tom Clancy and
Carl Hiaasen, with the distinguishing feature that it’s all apparently true.”
—Gerard DeGroot, The Christian Science Monitor “Charlie Wilson’s War reads
like a best-selling novel. … Crile’s globe-trotting research and adroit writing
have produced a vastly entertaining book that outmuscles most spy novels in its
quota of sheer thrills and chills.”
—John Marshall, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“What a tale, what a yarn. Good Time Charlie Wilson of Lufkin, Texas, noted
boozer and pussyhound, teams up with a rule-bending CIA agent to secretly
funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to the mujahideen of Afghanistan. Over
the years, they slowly bleed the Red Army to defeat, ultimately causing the fall
of the Soviet Union. I know it sounds far-fetched, even fantastic, but Crile has
boatloads of evidence to back up his thesis. This has to be one of the wildest
stories ever told. It’s a whale of a tale and I recommend it highly.”
—Molly Ivins, The Texas Observer
“Crile’s account is important, if appalling, precisely because it details how a
ruthless ignoramus congressman and a high-ranking CIA thug managed to hijack
American foreign policy.”
—Chalmers Johnson, Los Angeles Times Book Review “Irresistible … The story
of this odd and world-shaping partnership really can’t be believed until Crile and
his thorough reporting gradually make it clear that yes, it all really happened.”
—Steve Kettman, San Francisco Chronicle
“[Crile] has hold of a story here that everyone else missed … an extraordinarily
entertaining piece of reportage that has much to tell us about how the United
States armed a group of people who are now using the weapons we provided
them to kill us.”
—Charles Taylor, Salon
“Practically impossible to put down … will keep even the most vigorous critics
of this Contra-like affair reading to the end.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Crile has raised the bar on books of this sort. It has more political intrigue,
more suspense, more intense psychological analysis, and more technological
know-how than anything Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum could fantasize about.
And it has something else besides: It’s true.”
—Shannon Friedman, Charleston Gazette
“Vibrant storytelling … An entirely new take on Reagan-era history with
international sweep and modern implications, neatly laid over the intriguing,
untold inner workings of [the CIA].”
—Jan Jordan, Houston Chronicle
“A gripping read for students of the Cold War, anyone who wants the lowdown
on how their tax dollars really get spent, Central Asian junkies or those who
delight in cloaks, daggers, and plausible deniability.”
—The Economist
“This I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-fiction tale has it all: a Marlboro Man handsome
leading man, a parade of impossibly gorgeous women, sex, and spies. … But
Crile’s book is also a disturbing meditation on the unintended consequences of a
U.S. foreign policy so single-mindedly focused on beating the Soviets that we
unwittingly helped arm and organize a new Evil Empire.”
—Kathy Kiely, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
“A bizarre chapter of contemporary history that could have been written by Ian
Fleming, Charlie Wilson’s War is a true tall tale of silver screen–sized characters
that, for better or worse, changed the world … and it goes a long way toward
answering the question asked by many Americans: Why do they hate us?”
—Mary Brown Malouf, The Salt Lake Tribune
“If you like tell-all books about the unbelievable things that our elected folks can
do for you, you will love this book. Charlie Wilson’s War has it all, as well as an
explanation about how our most feared enemy, Osama bin Laden, got his start
with a little unintended help from his friends right here in the United States.”
—Saralee Terry Woods, The Nashville City Paper “An amazing tale, made all
the more amazing because it was missed by the press. George Crile has written a
book revealing the extraordinary details and intrigue of a secret war, and that
alone would be a monumental achievement. But he has also written a book about
how power works in Washington, about how the CIA succeeded in this war but
failed because it armed an ally who became our enemy, about how we might
better understand Islamic fundamentalism, about how a solitary Congressman
guilefully moved the U.S. government, and all of this comes with a breathtaking
cast of characters worthy of a Le Carré novel. Only it’s all true. And just as
vivid.”
—Ken Auletta
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
GEORGE CRILE
Copyright © 2003 by George Crile
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Published simultaneously in Canada
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
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 / George
Crile.
p.cm.
ISBN: 978-1-55584809-5 (e-book)
1. Afghanistan—History—Soviet occupation, 1979–1989—Secret service—
United States. 2. Wilson, Charlie, 1933– 3. United States. Central Intelligence
Agency. 4. Military assistance, American—Afganistan. I. Title.
DS371.2 .C75 2002
958.104’5—dc20 2002019074
Grove Press
an imprint of Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
841 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
Distributed by Publishers Group West
www.groveatlantic.com
To BARBARA LYNE,
without whom this story would not have been told
“Four things greater than all things are,—
Women and Horses and Power and War.”
—Rudyard Kipling, The Ballad of the King’s Jest
CONTENTS
Author’s Note
Introduction: A Strange Award at Langley
Chapter 1: A Hot Tub in Las Vegas
Chapter 2: Defender of Trinity
Chapter 3: A Rogue Elephant in the Agency Woods
Chapter 4: A Texas Bombshell
Chapter 5: The Secret Life of Charlie Wilson
Chapter 6: The Curse of Aliquippa
Chapter 7: How the Israelis Broke the Congressman’s Heart and He Fell for the
Muj
Chapter 8: The Station Chief
Chapter 9: Cocaine Charlie
Chapter 10: The Congressman Takes His Belly Dancer to the Jihad
Chapter 11: The Rebirth of Gust Avrakotos
Chapter 12: The United States v. Charles Wilson
Chapter 13 : The Seduction of Doc Long
Chapter 14: Gust’s Secret
Chapter 15: The Opening Salvo
Chapter 16: Howard of Afghanistan
Chapter 17: Cogan’s Last Stand 233
Chapter 18: The Birth of a Conspiracy
Chapter 19: The Recruitment
Chapter 20: No Wasps Need Apply
Chapter 21: Man of Destiny
Chapter 22: Mohammed’s Arms Bazaar
Chapter 23: The Senator and His Even Crazier Right-Wing Friends
Chapter 24: Techno Holy Warriors
Chapter 25: “The Noblest Smuggling Operation in History”
Chapter 26: Dr. Doom Declares Charlie Dead
Chapter 27: Charlie’s Irregulars
Chapter 28: The Silver Bullet
Chapter 29: The Other Silver Bullet
Chapter 30: The Brown Bomber
Chapter 31: “It’s My War, Goddamn It”
Chapter 32: A Jihad to Remember
Chapter 33: The Price of Glory
Chapter 34: “Here’s to You, You Motherfucker”
Epilogue—Unintended Consequences
Source Notes
Acknowledgments
Index