Two messages are appended to the end of “Charlie Wilson’s War,” the artful Hollywood film about a hedonistic Texas congressman who in the 1980s raised covert funding for the Afghan mujahedeen from $5 million to $1 billion, thereby helping to drive the Red Army out of Afghanistan and precipitate the implosion of the Soviet Union. An explicit moral of the movie comes from the real-life Wilson, who lamented that America did the right thing in Afghanistan but messed up “the endgame.” Today there can be little doubt that Washington’s brusque loss of interest in the fate of Afghanistan after the Soviets’ withdrawal was a calamitous error.
But it is the second, more philosophical message that ought to be at the center of current debate about America’s role in the world. This lesson, which the Bush administration has learned all too slowly, teaches the need for humility in those who make America’s moves on a global chessboard – a virtue that seems almost totally absent from the patriotic posturing of the presidential candidates.
One should remember that the movie of Charlie Wilson’s role in ‘ending the cold war’ has little in common with the reality, as is the case in most ‘bio-pic’ films. One point critics (including thosew who knew Charlie Wilson) make is that they totally downplay his interaction and cooperation with then President Ronald Reagan, instead putting in a throw-away line at the end that he accomplished so much ‘[i]in spite of[/i] having a Republican in the White House’.
Regrettably, humility and thoughtful comment do not seem to be marketable attributes on the campaign trail. Personal opinion would be that McCain comes closest, perhaps because he has experienced “unintended consequences”. He does tell a great story of one of his fellow pilots who was captured in spite of making all the right decisions.
Jim [#1]: As I recall, the book on which the movie is based details the lengths Wilson had to go to overcome the indifference of Reagan’s chief lieutenants.
The book may have been as biased as the movie.
My information comes from an editorial in the paper from a few weeks ago written by a friend of Charlie Wilson who pointed out the many discrepencies in the movie vs. the true story. Unfortunately, as with many editorials I read, I then toss them into the recycling bin, so can’t reference them readily! And a Google source doesn’t list any that ring a bell! 🙁
This suggested use of the word “humility” in this context is a perpetual Democrat talking point. Spare us, please.
The one item concomitant with this “war” which was never mentioned in either the book or the movie – the 6000 burros from an Arkansas supplier loaded on a 747 and sent to Afghanistan so there could be a means of getting these shoulder-mounted missile launchers up into the hills where they could do some good. Those burros’ descendants are no doubt still wandering the landscape and nobody knows their heritage.