Charlie Wilson
The ‘party animal’ behind Charlie Wilson’s War
Charlie Wilson
1933–2010
“If my constituents didn’t forgive sloppiness and a certain amount of eccentricity,” Democratic Rep. Charlie Wilson once said, “I wouldn’t be here.” Famous for his carousing, Wilson was later known for discreetly directing up to $5 billion in arms to the mujahedin, the Afghan rebels who fought the occupying Soviet army in the 1980s. His story was told in the 2003 book Charlie Wilson’s War, which became a hit movie starring Tom Hanks.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A native of Trinity, Texas, Wilson graduated from Annapolis “eighth from the bottom of his class, with the distinction of accumulating the most demerits of any midshipman in memory,” said The Washington Post. After naval service, he spent 12 years in the Texas legislature and was elected to Congress in 1972. His trademarks were alcohol and a roving eye: Wilson had at least two midnight car crashes and staffed his office with comely workers known as “Charlie’s Angels.” In 1983, he was investigated on suspicion of having snorted cocaine with two showgirls in a Las Vegas hot tub. The case collapsed, and Wilson’s “reputation as a liquor-soaked party animal” only endeared him to voters. “Those good Christians, you know, believe in the redemption of sin,” he said.
A social liberal who served on the House Appropriations Committee, Wilson won his conservative constituents’ support by being hawkish on defense. Beginning in 1982, that involved helping the Afghan resistance, often with methods that ranged far beyond official appropriations. “When the Soviets deliberately killed camels and mules to cripple the fighters’ supply lines, Wilson flew in Tennessee mules,” said The New York Times. “When the CIA refused to provide the guerrillas with field radios, he sent an aide to buy $12,000 worth of walkie-talkies from Radio Shack.” After the Russians withdrew in humiliation from Afghanistan in 1989, Pakistan’s then president, Zia ul-Haq, was asked how the rebels had managed to win. He responded, “All I can say is, Charlie did it.”
Wilson retired from Congress in 1996. His second wife, a former ballerina, survives him.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'A financial windfall for Iranian terrorism'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Orangutan heals cut with medicinal plant
Speed Read A Sumatran orangutan in Indonesia has been self-medicating to heal a wound on his cheek
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Turkey halts trade with Israel in latest Gaza rift
Speed Read The country plans to join South Africa's genocide case against Israel
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Benjamin Zephaniah: trailblazing writer who 'took poetry everywhere'
Why Everyone's Talking About Remembering the 'radical' wordsmith's 'wit and sense of mischief'
By The Week UK Published
-
Shane MacGowan: the unruly former punk with a literary soul
Why Everyone's Talking About The Pogues frontman died aged 65
By The Week UK Published
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Legendary jazz and pop singer Tony Bennett dies at 96
Speed Read
By Devika Rao Published
-
Martin Amis: literary wunderkind who ‘blazed like a rocket’
feature Famed author, essayist and screenwriter died this week aged 73
By The Week Staff Published
-
Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk legend, is dead at 84
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Barry Humphries obituary: cerebral satirist who created Dame Edna Everage
feature Actor and comedian was best known as the monstrous Melbourne housewife and Sir Les Patterson
By The Week Staff Published
-
Mary Quant obituary: pioneering designer who created the 1960s look
feature One of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century remembered as the mother of the miniskirt
By The Week Staff Published