Author | George Crile III |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Subject | Operation Cyclone |
Genre | Non-Fiction |
Set in | United States, Soviet Afghanistan |
Publisher | Atlantic Monthly Press |
Publication date | 2003 |
Media type | Book |
Pages | 560 |
ISBN | 978-0871138545 |
Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History (later titled 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) is a 2003 book by George Crile III. Upon publication, the book received praise from The New York Times , making it onto their best seller list. The book was also placed on Washington Post and Los Angeles Times best seller lists.
It details U.S. Representative Charlie Wilson's role in providing assistance to the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War. [1] The book depicts the Texas Congressman’s role in facilitating the CIA operation Cyclone, a covert mission within Afghanistan. Wilson solicited the aid of CIA officer Gust Avrakotos, a member of a small team at the agency assigned to the Afghanistan portfolio, as well as then-CIA weapons specialist Mike Vickers. This operation would become one of the largest military operations ever undertaken by the CIA, spanning 13 years and running into the hundreds of millions of dollars. [2] The book was based upon a series of interviews conducted by American journalist George Crile III, a producer for 60 Minutes. [1] The book was received very positively in post-9/11 America, as the book presented the public with undisclosed information about the United States' dealings with the Afghan Mujahideen. [3] Crile's book also details significant events that occurred over the course of the 13 years, how Charlie Wilson was able to run a covert war with very little oversight.
It was adapted into the 2007 Mike Nichols film Charlie Wilson's War , in which Wilson was portrayed by Tom Hanks. The film went on to receive multiple Golden Globe award nominations.
The book contains 33 chapters and an epilogue, spanning Representative Charlie Wilson's life from his early political career to the end of the Soviet-Afghan War. The book is based on a series of interviews that Crile conducted with Congressman Wilson. [1] Crile also used his experiences of 14 years of reporting on Afghanistan and the Middle East for 60 Minutes. The critical revelation that the book exposes is the CIA covert Operation Cyclone, a program that was created due to the actions of Mr. Wilson. [4]
The book focuses on Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson during the '70s, '80s, and '90s. It follows his role as the core agent that secured and supplied funds to Afghan Mujahideen during Operation Cyclone. [2] His motivation to accomplish this goal originated from a US government appointment within Pakistan. On this trip, Congressman Wilson visited multiple refugee camps on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is here where he heard stories of the violence that was inflicted on the refugees by the Soviet troops. [5] The camp is also where he learned that the rebels could not possibly win without assistance, due to the armaments they had at their disposal. [6] Congressman Wilson then decided to assist the rebels with enough military aid to defeat the Soviet Union (USSR) in the Afghan-Soviet War. [7]
Wilson accomplished this through his position on the House Appropriation Committee. The Congressman secured hundreds of millions of dollars through this posting, which he gave to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). [8] The mechanisms within the House Appropriation Committee allowed Charile Wilson to hide the amount of money and where the money was being directed towards, creating a complete sense of anonymity. [9] This meant that the broader government and public did not realise what he was doing. The Congressman then enlisted the help of CIA regional head director Gust Avrakotos to assist with the transportation of the funds and weapons to the Afghan rebels. Avrakotos was on the fringe within the CIA, not the traditional spy; being from a working class background, the only notable relationship outside the CIA was with the Congressman. The author also introduces Joanne Herring, a Texas socialite and religious zealot; she becomes romantically involved with Mr. Wilson. Both Wilson and Herring were close at the time to Pakistan President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq; she assisted the Congressman with his personal relationship with the President. Wilson used his relationship with President Zia-ul-Haq to help assist with the smuggling of weapons to the rebels. Zia-ul-Haq was a critical part of the operation, as he allowed an avenue into Afghanistan.
The men conducted this operation without the public or the oversight from the US government and had no idea where the money was going due to its covert nature. The book reveals that the CIA provided not only money and weapons, but specialised training in urban warfare to the rebels. During this period, the public supported these ‘freedom fighters’ aligned with their cultural values of the U.S. during this period. [10] It also arrives at a reason for the distrust and eventual violence between Islamic extremists and the United States government; That being the defunding of the aid towards these groups. [4] The book concludes with all of the support provided by the United States government that allowed the rebels to defeat the Red Army in Afghanistan, contrasted with the lack of money towards the rebuilding of the nation.
The relevant history that the book follows is the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) covert program Operation Cyclone. The operation's goal was to deliver arms, funds, and training to the Afghan Mujahideen within Afghanistan. The CIA provided this support to allow the rebels to defeat the new People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, which was backed by the USSR in the Soviet-Afghan War. [11] The time period of the operation was from 1979 to 1992. The conflict acted as a proxy war between the United States and the Soviet Union, CIA funding an insurgency against communism within the middle east. The key individuals in the formation and application of Operation Cyclone were Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson and CIA operator Gust Avrokotos. Both men enabled Operation Cyclone to become one of the most capital-intensive programs ever undertaken by the CIA. [8]
The prelude to operation cyclone (the event the book is based on) was caused by the Saur Revolution of 1978. [12] The revolution saw Afghanistan undergo a coup d’état in 1978, which saw the transfer of power from Mohammed Daoud Khan, the leader of the Republic of Afghanistan to the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan led by Nur Muhammad Taraki. [13] Under the control of the PDPA, the state allied itself with the Soviet Union; these events, the overthrowing of the previous government, and the alinement with the Soviet Union caused the CIA to show interest in Afghanistan. Operation Cyclone was then created to combat the new state of the DRA. Its creation was directly linked to Representative Charlie Wilson, as he alone secured funds, then acquired the assistance of CIA agent Gust Avrokotos. Mr. Avrokotos was a crucial player in the implementation of the program. Congressman Wilson was inspired into action due to the CIA’s inaction in combating the USSR within Afghanistan plus the violence caused by the new state towards civilians.
The operation aimed to allow the '' Afghan Freedom Fighters '' to defeat the Communists within Afghanistan. [14] This aligned firmly with United States foreign policy, freedom of democracy, and anti-communism rhetoric. [15] Important events of the conflict; Charlie Wilson's constant support for the war; without the congressman's help, the operation would never have reached its goals. The congressman managed to increase funding for operation cyclone over the decade. [4] Another key proponent of the war was Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. The President allowed the guns and money to gain access into Afghanistan and into the hands of the freedom fighters. This was successful due to Congressman Wilson's special relationship with the President. Mr. Wilson also acquired the most up-to-date arms for the rebels, including the stinger missile. Anti-Air arms turned the tide of the conflict, because until these weapons, the Afghani Mujahideen couldn't fight against the Soviet helicopters. [8]
The conclusion of Operation Cyclone led to criticism of the CIA, the key being the funding of Afghan Mujahideen that would splinter into modern-day terrorist organisations. [16] The weapons, funds, and training used during the war allowed the groups to conduct terrorism across the middle east and worldwide. [4] From a CIA standpoint, Operation Cyclone accomplished its goal; with vast sums of money, the Afghan Mujahedeen would defeat the Soviet-Union-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. The end of the conflict saw the complete withdrawal of all support for the Afghan-Mujahedeen; this is one of the most significant failings of operation cyclone regarding US foreign policy. [17] Gust Avrokotos would stress this point after the fall of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Congressman Wilson, under this suggestion, attempted to direct funds towards rebuilding however was unsuccessful. Once the operation reached its goal, all funding would cease, even humanitarian aid for the rebuilding of the country.
The book was adapted into the 2007 film Charlie Wilson's War , starring Tom Hanks as Representative Charlie Wilson. It also starred Julia Roberts and Philip Hoffman. The film was written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Mike Nichols and grossed $119.5 million at the box office. Universal Pictures produced the movie with an estimated budget of 75 million, runtime total 102 minutes. The film received positive reviews and was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, but did not win a single category. It also was nominated for an Academy Award but did not win. The film was met with critical praise, although it was criticized for certain historical inaccuracies. [18]
A.O. Scott of The New York Times praised the film for its ability to dance the line of, exciting picture without losing the importance of the story and the characters. [19]
“That, at any rate, is pretty much the gist of “Charlie Wilson’s War,” which may be more of a hoot than any picture dealing with the bloody, protracted fight between the Soviet Army and the Afghan mujahedeen has any right to be"
The book was especially well received in the United States, as the author exposed significant events in US history. In time, it found critical acclaim, appearing on the New York Times Best Seller list, while also making it onto the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times bestseller lists. Public interest in the events portrayed in the book led to the 2007 film adaptation of the same title. The film compressed times and merged characters and events, but kept the all the fundamental information about the operation intact [20] The film's largely positive reception generated further interest in the events narrated.
George Crile III’s book exposed the undertakings of a highly covert operation that spanned decades. [21] The codenamed Operation Cyclone became the most expensive covert operation orchestrated by the United States government; carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency. The capital required for the armament of the Afghan-Mujahedeen totalled billions of dollars, and the funding dramatically increased towards the tail end of the conflict. [22] The book demonstrated how the United States was able to fund Islamic Jihad to defeat and help win the Soviet-Afghan War. It also showed how one-man Representative Charlie Wilson was able to divert hundreds of millions a year to a covert operation without the knowledge of the wider government or the public.
The author, George Crile, points to the urban warfare training that the CIA gave to the rebels; this includes explosive training (bomb construction) with little equipment available, ie pipe bombs. Crile cities this training as a potential impact on modern day terrorism within Afghanistan. [4] Another factor of lasting influence that the author points to is the Stinger Missiles, a revolutionary weapon for the Ground to Air offensive. The Stinger missiles were given to the freedom fighters near the end of the conflict to assist with the lack of any Air defense or offensive capabilities. [8] The results of all the funds and support over the decades leading to a victory within Afghanistan for the ‘Freedom Fighters’. The fall of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan saw a major Civil war occur in the interim. The blowback of the Soviet Union’s defeat within the state, caused some scholars to cite this defeat as another precursor to the fall of the Soviet Union.
The book had significant political implications when it was released in 2003. For the first time, it provided the public with clarity regarding the United States government spending. Concluded with 3 billion dollars across a thirteen-year period, given directly to the Afghan Freedom Fighters. [8] The information was apparent in a post 9/11 political climate, as the book demonstrated a time when the United States government backed the Mujahideen. [4] Crile also made a case that Islamic terrorism towards the United States soured after the end of CIA-backed military aid towards jihad within Afghanistan, that didn't continue and transform into a long-term plan after the Soviet defeat, leaving the country poorer and ravaged by war and internal conflict, which eventually led to the rise of the Taliban to its highest ranks.
The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters as the Air-to-Air Stinger (ATAS). It entered service in 1981 and is used by the militaries of the United States and 29 other countries. It is principally manufactured by Raytheon Missiles & Defense and is produced under license by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany and by Roketsan in Turkey.
The Reagan Doctrine was stated by United States President Ronald Reagan in his State of the Union address on February 6, 1985: "We must not break faith with those who are risking their lives—on every continent from Afghanistan to Nicaragua—to defy Soviet-supported aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth." It was a strategy implemented by the Reagan Administration to overwhelm the global influence of the Soviet Union in the late Cold War. The doctrine was a centerpiece of United States foreign policy from the early 1980s until the end of the Cold War in 1991.
Charles Nesbitt Wilson was an American politician and naval officer who was a 12-term Democratic Representative from Texas's 2nd congressional district. Wilson is best known for leading Congress into supporting Operation Cyclone, the largest-ever Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) covert operation, which during the Carter and Reagan administrations supplied military equipment to the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War. His behind-the-scenes campaign was the subject of the non-fiction book Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crile III and the subsequent film Charlie Wilson's War, in which he was portrayed by Tom Hanks.
{{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = General | name = Akhtar Abdur Rahman | honorific_suffix = NI(M) HI(M) TI(M) SBt | image = | order1 = 5th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee | term_start1 = 29 March 1987 | term_end1 = 17 August 1988 | predecessor1 = Rahimuddin Khan | successor1 = Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey | order2 = 7th Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence | term_start2 = 21 June 1979 | term_end2 = 29 March 1987 | predecessor2 = Muhammad Riaz Khan | successor2 = Hamid Gul | order3 = Adjutant general GHQ | term_start3 = 1977 | term_end3 = 1979 | order4 = General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 12th Infantry Division | term_start4 = 1974 | term_end4 = 1977 | birth_date = 11 June 1924 | birth_place = Peshawar, British India(now in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) | spouse = Rashida Akhtar Khan | children = Akbar Akhtar Khan, Humayun Akhtar Khan, Haroon Akhtar Khan, Ghazi Akhtar Khan | death_date = 17 August 1988 (aged 64) | death_place = Bahawalpur, Pakistan | death_cause = Plane crash | alma_mater = Government College University Faisalabad | occupation = [[ Army Officer, Intelligence Officer | allegiance = Pakistan | branch = Pakistan Army | serviceyears = 1947–1988 | rank = General | commands = 45 Field Regiment Artillery, Artillery Headquarters of 4 Corps, GOC 12th Army Division, Murree
DG Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) | unit = 45 Field Regiment Artillery | battles = Indo-Pakistan War of 1948
Indo-Pakistan War of 1965
Indo-Pakistan War of 1971
Soviet–Afghan War | awards = Sitara-e-Basalat | mawards = Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military)
Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)
Sitara-e-Basalat
Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Military) }}
The military industry of Egypt produces defense and security products that range from "small arms to armored vehicles to naval vessels" for the Egyptian Armed Forces and export. Egypt also has co-production agreements with several countries, including the United States and France.
Gust Lascaris Avrakotos was an American case officer and the Afghan Task Force Chief for the Central Intelligence Agency.
Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy-drama film based on the story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson and CIA operative Gust Avrakotos, whose efforts led to Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989).
George Washington Crile III was an American journalist most closely associated with his three decades of work at CBS News. He specialized in dangerous and controversial subjects, resulting in both praise and controversy. He received an Emmy Award, Peabody Award, and Edward R. Murrow Award.
Operation Cyclone was the code name for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) program to arm and finance the Afghan mujahideen in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1992, prior to and during the military intervention by the USSR in support of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. The mujahideen were also supported by Britain's MI6, who conducted their own separate covert actions. The program leaned heavily towards supporting militant Islamic groups, including groups with jihadist ties, that were favored by the regime of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in neighboring Pakistan, rather than other, less ideological Afghan resistance groups that had also been fighting the Soviet-oriented Democratic Republic of Afghanistan administration since before the Soviet intervention.
The Soviet–Afghan War had an important impact in popular culture in the West, due to its scope, and the great number of countries involved. The Russian-Ukrainian film The 9th Company, for example, became a blockbuster in the former USSR earning millions of dollars and also representing a new trend in Russia in which some domestic films are "drawing Russian audiences away from Hollywood staples." The use of the war in Russian cinema has attracted scholarly attention as well. Some of this attention focuses on comparisons of the conflict with other modern wars in Vietnam and Iraq. Other work focuses on the war and fictional accounts of it in the context of Soviet military culture. Even when not directly portrayed, service in the war is sometimes used as a backstory for Russian characters to explain their combat prowess, such as in the manga and anime series Black Lagoon.
Several sources have alleged that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had ties with Osama bin Laden's faction of "Afghan Arab" fighters when it armed Mujahideen groups to fight the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War.
Gust may refer to:
The Afghanistan conflict began in 1978 and has coincided with several notable operations by the United States (U.S.) Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The first operation, code-named Operation Cyclone, began in mid-1979, during the Presidency of Jimmy Carter. It financed and eventually supplied weapons to the anti-communist mujahideen guerrillas in Afghanistan following an April 1978 coup by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and throughout the nearly ten-year military occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). Carter's successor, Ronald Reagan, supported an expansion of the Reagan Doctrine, which aided the mujahideen along with several other anti-Soviet resistance movements around the world.
Muhammad Abd Al-Halim Abu-Ghazala was Defense Minister of Egypt from 1981 to 1989. Abu Ghazala was seated next to Anwar Sadat when the president was assassinated.
There have been various arrangements to handle the Central Intelligence Agency's relationship with the United States Congress.
Michael Paul Pillsbury is a foreign policy strategist, author, and former public official in the United States. He is a senior fellow for China strategy at the The Heritage Foundation and has been Director of the Center on Chinese Strategy at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. since 2014. Before Hudson, he held various postings in the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Senate. He has been called a "China-hawk", and an "architect" of Trump's signature policy on China.
Jack Devine is a veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a founding partner and President of The Arkin Group LLC.
Charlie Wilson's War may refer to:
During the Soviet–Afghan War, there was a large amount of foreign involvement. The Afghan mujahidin were backed primarily by Pakistan, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom making it a Cold War proxy war. Pakistani forces trained the mujahidin rebels while the U.S. and Saudi Arabia offered the greatest financial support. However, private donors and religious charities throughout the Muslim world—particularly in the Persian Gulf—raised considerably more funds for the Afghan rebels than any foreign government; Jason Burke recounts that "as little as 25 per cent of the money for the Afghan jihad was actually supplied directly by states." Saudi Arabia was heavily involved in the war effort and matched the United States' contributions dollar-for-dollar in public funds. Saudi Arabia also gathered an enormous amount of money for the Afghan mujahidin in private donations that amounted to about $20 million per month at their peak. Other countries that supported the Mujahidin were Egypt, China, and Iran, which only supported the Shia Mujahidin, namely the Persian-speaking Shia Hazaras in a limited way. One of these groups was the Tehran Eight, a political union of Afghan Shi'a. They were supplied predominately by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but Iran's support for the Hazaras nevertheless frustrated efforts for a united Mujahidin front.
Though not officially a belligerent during the Soviet–Afghan War, the United Kingdom was heavily involved, playing a key covert role in the conflict. Also known as the Second Great Game, the British provided both indirect and direct support for the Afghan mujahideen in their fight against the Soviet Union, including secretly arming, funding and supplying various factions. Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) primarily supported the Mujahideen group Jamiat-e Islami, commanded by Ahmad Shah Massoud who, having received little support from the US and Pakistan, became Britain's key ally in the conflict. Fighting in the Panjshir valley, Massoud and his fighters with British support and intelligence, overcame nine Soviet offensives and held out up to the Soviet withdrawal from the vital valley in 1986. Massoud became the most successful and feared out of any of the Mujahideen commanders.
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