Charlie
Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in
History
by George Crile
Book Description: From an award-winning 60 Minutes reporter
comes the extraordinary story of the largest and most successful CIA operation
in history - the arming of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan.
"In little over a decade, two events have transformed the world we live
in: the collapse of our Cold War nuclear foe, the Soviet Union; and the
discovery, after 9/11, that we face a new global enemy in the form of militant
Islam," writes author and 60 Minutes producer George Crile in the enclosed
Author's Note to Charlie Wilson's War. Here, we see the "missing chapter"-that
connects the two events-in the politics of our time.
Charlie Wilson's War is the untold story of how the Central Intelligence
Agency armed the Afghan Mujahideen in what became the CIA's largest and
most successful campaign in history. It profiles the men who conceived
it and the journey they took to see it through. At its core, it tells of
an unorthodox alliance-of a scandal-prone Texas Congressman named Charlie
Wilson and an out-of-favor CIA operative named Gust Avrakotos-that armed
and sustained the Afghan jihad and turned Afghanistan into the Soviet Union's
Vietnam.
As incredible as anything in the pages of Tom Clancy or John le Carré,
Charlie Wilson's War is a gripping story of international intrigue, booze,
drugs, sex, high society and arms deals. It is indeed one of the most detailed
and compulsively readable accounts of the inside workings of the CIA ever
written.
Along the way, we meet:
· The charismatic Congressman Charlie Wilson. While Ronald
Reagan and William Casey were unable to persuade Congress to give them
a mere $19 million to fund the Nicaraguan Contras, Wilson was procuring
hundreds of millions of dollars to support his Afghan "freedom fighters"
through back-room machinations that would have made even LBJ blush. A colorful
man of many contradictions, he worked hard and played hard, earning the
reputation as the "wildest man in Congress" while representing an archconservative
Bible-belt district in Texas.
· The out-of-favor CIA operative, Gust Avrakotos, whose
working-class Greek-American background made him an anomaly in the patrician
world of American spies. Nicknamed "Dr. Dirty", this blue collar James
Bond was an aggressive agent who served on the front lines of the Cold
War where he learned how to stretch the Agency's rules to the breaking
point.
· The eccentric staff of CIA outcasts hand-picked by Avrakotos
to run the operation. Among them were "Hilly Billy", the logistics wizard
who could open an un-numbered Swiss bank account for the U.S. government
in 12 hours when others took months; Art Alper, the "devilish" tinkerer
from the Technical Services division who roamed the world creating such
novelties as exploding typewriters and developed portable amplifiers that
spread propaganda among the Soviet troops; and especially Mike Vickers,
the former Green Beret so junior in status that he couldn't send his own
cables. His military genius allowed him to single-handedly redesign the
CIA's war plan. Through his highly specific blueprint, he created a systematic
plan that turned a rabble of shepherds and tribesmen into an army of techno
Holy warriors who gave the legendary Red Army their greatest defeat. Today,
Mike Vickers is consulting for the Pentagon on the War on Terrorism and
war planning for Iraq.
· The many women who shared the Congressman's jihad. It
all began with a Houston socialite, Joanne Herring who enlisted Wilson
to the Afghan cause via her deep-seated hatred of Communism and her influence
in Pakistan. Carol Shannon, Wilson's personal belly dancer who he took
with him to the jihad. Charlie's Angels, Wilson's female staffers so strikingly
beautiful that they became a legend on Capitol Hill. And finally, Annelise
Illschenko, aka "Sweetums", the former U.S. representative in the Miss
World competition who traveled with Wilson deep into the Islamic world
in outfits that were not the most appropriate attire in the eyes of Muslim
men
· The Pakistani dictator Zia ul Haq, who early on realized
that the way to millions of dollars in American aid was through Charlie
Wilson and his covert war in Afghanistan. A dictator whom many held personally
responsible for the execution of his democratically elected predecessor,
Zia used his favorable status as an ally of the U.S. against the Soviets
to divert attention from his own nuclear weapons program while providing
the all-important safe haven and operations center for the CIA's Afghan
operations .
Charlie Wilson's War is the CIA and Congress as you have never seen
them before, engaged in the last great battle of the Cold War. Along with
its page-turning pace, this is an important book that has direct implications
for today's world situation.
Hardcover from Atlantic Monthly Press
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