At the end of Charlie Wilson’s War is a quote from Charlie Wilson: “These things really happened. We changed the world, then we [blew] the end game.” That is the film in a nutshell.
It tells the story of a liberal Democratic Congressman from Texas who, through his position on a subcommittee overseeing covert operations, funnels huge amounts of money to Afghanistani mujihadeen (jihad fighters) fighting against the Soviets in the 1980s. By getting top-of-the-line weapons to the Afghani fighters, they were able to repel the Soviets. The aftermath of this in Soviet and European politics eventually led to the fall of the Soviet empire.
Director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (creator of West Wing) masterfully work the story into a comedy. Wilson, known as “Good Time Charlie” through his political career because of his profligate life style, at times seems like a buffoon, but we also see that he is very competent at what he does. He knows how to work the political system and he knows about foreign affairs. He is said to hold more political IOUs than anyone in Congress. When he discovers the need in Afghanistan, he uses those favors to accomplish what no one else even knows about.
We also see that although Wilson’s personal morals may be suspect, he is caring when he is confronted with the lives of refugees who are in camps in Pakistan, especially the children, many of whom had lost limbs to mines. When he sees the human cost of the war, he responds with a certain righteous indignation to work to bring an end to their suffering.
The nature of covert operations requires that people not know about them, even the Congress that funds the operations. Only the subcommittee knows the details. When it comes before the Congress, they only vote on an amount, not what it is for. That secrecy allowed Wilson to push through huge appropriations with minimal attention.
Wilson wasn’t in this alone. He’s recruited for this by Joanne Herring, a wealthy, politically conservative Texas socialite. Politics making strange bedfellows is very literal in this case. He also works closely with Gust Avrokatos, a CIA operative who is somewhat less than satisfied with his job. The interaction between these characters allows Sorkin to bring his brand of witty dialogue to play.
Part of the differences between the various players in the game is religion. Obviously Israel and other partners in the plan such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have religious differences. So too do Wilson and Herring. Herring is constantly using Christian language, even though it might be offensive to Muslims involved. When Wilson advises her to tone that down, she says she talks of God because they need God on their side. Wilson observes that times come when God is on both sides.
In reality, the various negotiations, including with Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia—more strange bedfellows, but in the more conventional meaning—were no doubt much more involved than we see in the film. But the success of this operation really did change the world.
But then….
After the Soviets withdraw from Afghanistan Avrokatos tells Wilson a little parable about a Zen master. In a village, a boy got a pony, and all the villagers said, “That’s good.” The Zen master said, “We’ll see.” A couple of years later, the boy fell off the pony and broke his leg. All the villagers said, “That’s too bad.” The Zen master said, “We’ll see.” Then a war came and all the other young men went to war, but the boy couldn’t because of his leg. All the villagers said, “That’s good.” The Zen master said, “We’ll see.” So it is with Afghanistan. As we look back, we see that the victory over the Soviets was not the end of the story.
The film shows Wilson trying to get funds for schools in Afghanistan for the aftermath, but by then nobody cared. Into that vacuum came Islamic fundamentalists who won over the hearts and minds of the young men returning from refugee camps. Because everything was covert, it seemed to the Afghans that America did nothing for them in their fight with the Soviets. Just as the Afghan-Soviet war was a key step leading to the end of the Soviet empire, it was also a step leading to the rapid growth of Islamic fundamentalism.
Indeed, often it just takes the right person (in this case a seemingly immoral Charlie Wilson) to change the world. But it is also important to remember that every time we change the world, it will keep changing.
November 14th, 2009 at 3:13 am
Funny, I don’t remember Jesus preaching anything about killing the godless. You should be ranting about how these evil people use God’s name to kill people, innocent or guilty!!!
Moreover, your simplistic analysis of what cause the soviet collapse is … simplistic and naive.