Charlie Wilson's War: Separating Fact From Fiction
Pakistan and Beyond
Joanne Herring used her regional acumen to ignite a bond between Wilson and Pakistan’s military dictator Mohammed Zia ul-Huq and, in 1982, Wilson found himself on Pakistani soil.
By this time, Pakistan had become a hotbed of Afghanistan resistance and refugee camps had mushroomed on the border between the two. Wilson witnessed first hand the horrors that the Soviets were reaping on the Afghan population. He was particularly moved by children who had fallen victim to the Soviet-constructed booby-trapped toys, an issue that Ronald Reagan directly excoriated Mikhail Gorbachev over at the Geneva Summit in November 1985.
Wilson’s determination to solve the problems in Afghanistan soon became further entrenched. During one of his visits, he asked Afghan refugees what he could do to help; the governing consensus was a desire for redemption and revenge. Funding for armaments was imperative.
Gust Avrakotos
Wilson set to work immediately to deliver these wishes. As the sums inflated in size, the CIA put an out-of-favour CIA operative in charge – Gust Avrakotos. Nicknamed ‘Dr. Dirty’, Avrakotos’ working-class Greek-American background differentiated him from the Ivy League world of American spies. He was aggressive, but inspired. He was also vehemently anti-Communist. Thus, when he was called upon to help in Afghanistan, he jumped at the opportunity and without delay handpicked a body of elite CIA operatives to aid him in the operation. The golden axis had been formed.
They Did It
From the early 1980s through to the decade’s close, funds grew from aid totalling a few million dollars a year to $750 million per year. Billions of rounds of ammunition and hundreds of thousands of weapons were smuggled across the border on the backs of donkeys, mules, and camels, to help the Afghan Mujahideen expel the Soviets. Seventeen million dollars was also allocated for stinger missiles to shoot down Soviet attack helicopters. Estimates suggest that at one point more than 300,000 fundamentalist Afghan warriors carried weapons provided by the CIA and thousands were trained in the art of urban terror. Before the Soviet army called it quits in Afghanistan in 1989, 28,000 Soviet soldiers had been killed. Afghanistan had become the Soviets’ Vietnam.
The Aftermath
Within one year of the Soviet army leaving Afghanistan, the Berlin Wall fell. The collapse of the Soviet Union was fast on its tail.
Many believe Wilson and his gang’s successful personal war may have accelerated this process. As quoted by Crile, Wilson said: "I truly believe that this caused the Berlin Wall to come down a good five, maybe 10 years before it would have otherwise. At least 100 million Eastern Europeans are breathing free today, to say nothing of the Russian people. It’s the truth.”
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Joanne Herring used her regional acumen to ignite a bond between Wilson and Pakistan’s military dictator Mohammed Zia ul-Huq and, in 1982, Wilson found himself on Pakistani soil.
By this time, Pakistan had become a hotbed of Afghanistan resistance and refugee camps had mushroomed on the border between the two. Wilson witnessed first hand the horrors that the Soviets were reaping on the Afghan population. He was particularly moved by children who had fallen victim to the Soviet-constructed booby-trapped toys, an issue that Ronald Reagan directly excoriated Mikhail Gorbachev over at the Geneva Summit in November 1985.
Wilson’s determination to solve the problems in Afghanistan soon became further entrenched. During one of his visits, he asked Afghan refugees what he could do to help; the governing consensus was a desire for redemption and revenge. Funding for armaments was imperative.
Gust Avrakotos
Wilson set to work immediately to deliver these wishes. As the sums inflated in size, the CIA put an out-of-favour CIA operative in charge – Gust Avrakotos. Nicknamed ‘Dr. Dirty’, Avrakotos’ working-class Greek-American background differentiated him from the Ivy League world of American spies. He was aggressive, but inspired. He was also vehemently anti-Communist. Thus, when he was called upon to help in Afghanistan, he jumped at the opportunity and without delay handpicked a body of elite CIA operatives to aid him in the operation. The golden axis had been formed.
They Did It
From the early 1980s through to the decade’s close, funds grew from aid totalling a few million dollars a year to $750 million per year. Billions of rounds of ammunition and hundreds of thousands of weapons were smuggled across the border on the backs of donkeys, mules, and camels, to help the Afghan Mujahideen expel the Soviets. Seventeen million dollars was also allocated for stinger missiles to shoot down Soviet attack helicopters. Estimates suggest that at one point more than 300,000 fundamentalist Afghan warriors carried weapons provided by the CIA and thousands were trained in the art of urban terror. Before the Soviet army called it quits in Afghanistan in 1989, 28,000 Soviet soldiers had been killed. Afghanistan had become the Soviets’ Vietnam.
The Aftermath
Within one year of the Soviet army leaving Afghanistan, the Berlin Wall fell. The collapse of the Soviet Union was fast on its tail.
Many believe Wilson and his gang’s successful personal war may have accelerated this process. As quoted by Crile, Wilson said: "I truly believe that this caused the Berlin Wall to come down a good five, maybe 10 years before it would have otherwise. At least 100 million Eastern Europeans are breathing free today, to say nothing of the Russian people. It’s the truth.”
MORE>>
