Charlie Wilson's War
The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History
by George Crile III · first published 2003
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An Historical account of the covert operations against the Soviet invasion of Afganistan in 1980's.
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…Saudi Arabia) to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan with CIA funding of the Mujahideen in the Soviet–Afghan War [1]. This was the Soviet Vietnam. Tom Hanks starred as Charlie Wilson in the 2007 movie, Charlie Wilson's War[2]. The movie was based on the 2003 book, "Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History"[3] Both the film and the book are worth watching/reading. Truly…
on “The Writer Who Destroyed an Empire” ↗Triumph And Tragedy of Lyndon B Johnson (his effectiveness to pass legislation fascinated me) Harry Potter (comfort series) Charlie Wilson’s War (it’s hilarious and informative), Game Change (a sobering reminder of the 2008 election and how we got to today), Lincoln’s Melancholy (on his depression). I’ve read lots of books twice, but the above…
on “Ask HN: Which books have you read more than once?” ↗…writes. US history is filled with bizarre moments where rich, well-connected individuals have charted the ship towards dangerous shores (or away from them, once in a blue moon). I am currently reading "Charlie Wilson's War" by the reporter George Crile III - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Crile_III - on how the US ended up getting entangled in Afghanistan, and how it eventually led to the formation of Al Qaeda and…
on “Hollywood and hyper-surveillance: the story of Gorgon Stare (2019)” ↗