But by doing so, Zia and Wilson gained the most powerful ally one could want when it came to appropriations. With Doc Long's support, Wilson was able to obtain $40 million from the Defense Appropriations subcommittee; a group of eleven elected officials who meet behind closed doors and decide how to spend billions of dollars. And since the recommendations from the committee have to be voted on by the full House without the specifics of where the money is being sent, Charlie Wilson was able to appropriate the money without any public knowledge. This was important because the participation of the United States in the arming of Afghan mujahideen had to be kept a secret or else it risked direct war with the Soviet Union.
Part of Charlie Wilson's ability to convince the other members of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote for his appropriations was the fact that Charlie Wilson was a very well-liked man in congress. He came from a small district in eastern Texas, the Second Congressional District, and his then home town of Trinity Texas, population just 2,468, had thirty-three churches. It was said that because all his constituents wanted was their God and their guns, and not much more, he could trade his votes on issues inconsequential to his constituents for favors that he could later call in. It was through this means that Charlie Wilson was able to get the initial $40 million, and later hundreds of millions of dollars, through the House of Representatives.
Another aspect of Charlie Wilson's ability to provide military assistance to the Afghan mujahideen in their fight against the Soviet Union was his ability to hide his actions from the public and press. Luckily for him those who were tasked with discovering abuse and corruption in the government focused their attention on him. As "Good Time Charlie," Wilson was known for his heavy drinking, drug use, and sexual escapades with women; a man no one would suspect of organizing and funding a secret war against the Soviet Union. For instance, his 1983 drug charges cemented his image as "Good Time Charlie" with the Soviet Union's intelligence analysts who's job it was to monitor possible threats from inside the United States Congress. They never suspected that it was Charlie Wilson, "party-animal," "boozer," and "womanizer," who loved, as he later admitted, "…sticking it to the...
Instead, Mike Nichols opts for a softer, milder, more mainstream entertaining work. Julia Roberts' performance is one of the elements of the movie that contributes to its flaccid feel. Sophisticated moviegoers and those interested in the American involvement with the Afghan-Soviet war are highly likely to feel disappointed with what Nichols accomplished. Nichols turns a sober subject matter into mere entertainment, timidly slipping in some genuine political commentary. In
The actor is no longer the annoying blond character that irritates most viewers. The movie's plot is based on the real-life story of Democratic Congressman Charlie Wilson as he goes through a chain of events which renders him a true savior. Both in the movie and in real-life, Charlie Wilson is acknowledged as having played a major role in defeating the Soviet forces and liberating the oppressed people from Afghanistan. As
Even in modern times, a disproportionate number of homeless people are Vietnam vets. Obviously, the Vietnam War had an impact on American history. However, the end of the Vietnam War had an ever greater impact on the American psychology. The Vietnam War was the last open conflict against communism that the United States waged. While the war was theoretically between North Korea and South Korea, it was actually about communist-controlled
Propaganda While we may be shocked by the U.S. government's attempt to spread disinformation about the current war on terrorism, we should not be. Governments have always been less than fully forthcoming to their citizens, although they rarely admit to lying. Rather they see it as a form of propaganda, and thoroughly patriotic. Moreover, while the term "propaganda" is almost always used in a pejorative sense and as citizens of a democracy
Heroes & Anti-Heroes Chester Himes and Americo Paredes tell stories that compel readers to be concerned about structural racism in America. Though the settings are circa 1900s and 1940s, the stranglehold that bigotry has on America -- particularly in the South -- has not been eliminated. Certainly bigotry -- or the overt expression of bigotry -- has abated some, but one wonders if Himes would still conclude that society is characterized
Literature Review, Analysis and Discussion 7,500 words This section presents a review of the recent relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature concerning environmental sustainability in general and how environmental sustainability initiatives can help multinational corporations of different sizes and types achieve a competitive advantage in particular. Literature Review. According to Michalisin and Stinchfield (2010), "There is widespread consensus that human activity has had a significant impact on global climatic patterns which will have
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