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Article: Blowback? What Blowback? Charlie Wilson's adventures in Afghanistan
- Article from:
- The Texas Observer
- Article date:
- August 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Texas Democracy Foundation Aug 1, 2003. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History
Atlantic Monthly Press
523 pages, $26.
It's hard to know whether to be more amused or appalled by this book, as has always been true of Charlie Wilson himself. I've always been in the vastly amused camp, understanding that Charlie's grandstanding was mostly entertaining cover for a shrewd politician. 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 ...