Charlie Wilson's War

Charlie Wilson's War directed by Mike Nichols, is a 2007 American biographical drama film, recounts the true story of U.S. Congressman "Good Time Charlie" Wilson (TX) who partnered with CIA operative Gust Avrakotos and wealthy Texas supporter Joanne Herring to launch Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, 1979 to 1989.

In the early 1980s, Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) represents the second congressional district in Texas who is also an illicit drug user and womanizer. He lives a wild, party life, highlighted by parties in Las Vegas hotels with strippers and hot tubs and staffs his office with attractive young women. Charlie is able to get away with all this behavior since little scrutiny is placed on him because no one pays any attention to him.

One day, he sees a network news reports on TV and speaking to one of his women friends, the wealthy Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), a right wing, fundamentalist Christian zealot and begins an interest in the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Joanne encourages Charlie to do more to help the Afghan people and persuades him to visit the Pakistani leadership. In visiting to Pakistan, the Pakistanis complain about the inadequate support of the U.S. to oppose the Soviet Union and they insist that Charlie visit a major Pakistan-based Afghan refugee camp. Charlie is deeply moved by their misery and determination to fight but is frustrated by the regional CIA personnel's insistence on a low key approach against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Charlie returns home to lead an effort to substantially increase funding to the mujahideen.

With the help of rogue CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the two men supplied money, training and a team of military experts that turned the ill-equipped Afghan freedom-fighters into a force that brought the Red Army to a stalemate and set the stage for conflicts in the Middle East that still rage to this day.

Charlie learns that his personal life may come back to haunt him and that winning the war may come with unexpected consequences since his tasks are not easy as he has to bring together not only disparate but often hostile opposing political and religious forces to achieve his goal.

The film ends with Charlie being the first civilian receiving the Honored Colleague Award by the CIA.

These things happened.
They were glorious and they changed the world ... ...
A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things.

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