Former Congressman Wilson collapsed on Feb.10, 2010 and was rushed to the Lufkin Memorial Hospital in Texas. He was pronounced dead at 12:16 central time from a cardiopulmonary arrest. Wilson had received a heart transplant in 2007.
Charlie Wilson’s Childhood
Charlie Wilson grew up and in the small town of Trinity in Texas and was rumoured to have entered politics at the tender age of 13. An incident involving his dog and next door neighbour Charles Hazard led him to oppose the City Council incumbent and help defeat Hazard in the election. Wilson remembered this as 'the day he fell in love with America.'
Charlie Wilson’s Entry into Politics
In early adulthood Wilson embarked on a career in the Navy and remained an officer in the US Navy until he was 27. He was active in John F. Kennedy's Presidential campaign in 1960 and after taking 30 days leave from the Navy entered himself into the race for the Texas state representative on the Democrat ticket. As he returned to the Navy family members and friends campaigned on his behalf and he succeeded in gaining election in 1961.
Wilson established his standing in the Texas legislature as a champion of liberalism being one of the few Texan politicians to be pro-choice on the abortion issue. He was viewed with suspicion by big business as he campaigned energetically on issues such as Medicare, minimum wage bill, tax exemptions for the elderly and the gender equality provisions in the equal rights amendment.
Good Time Charlie
During his tenure as Texas state representative Wilson's personal life gained notoriety as allegations of drinking, womanising and cocaine use earned him the moniker of, 'Good Time Charlie.' Wilson's drinking and use of cocaine would tarnish him throughout his political career.
In 1980 he was accused of cocaine use at Caeser’s Palace in Las Vegas but the investigation by Justice Department Attorney, Rudolph Giuliani, dismissed the case citing a lack of evidence.
When questioned about the incident and his cocaine use in general in 2007 Wilson responded "Nobody knows the answer to that and I ain't telling."
In 1985 Wilson's drinking was so bad he was told by doctors he had just 18 months to live.
Wilson was elected into the US House of Representatives from the Second District of Texas. He would go on to be elected a further eleven times before resigning on Oct. 8, 1996.
Charlie Wilson's Support for Somoza Government in Nicaragua
Wilson's first major foreign policy involvement was his support for Anastasio Samoza's right wing government in Nicaragua who he viewed as a betrayed U.S. ally.
He ran a rearguard action in the House appropriations committee threatening to derail President Carters Panama Canal Treaty if the U.S. failed to support Samoza's threatened regime.
Charlie Wilson's War
Wilson' s most infamous political adventure came in his covert operation providing the Afghan Mujahideen with millions of dollars of U.S, aid and military equipment during the Soviet - Afghan conflict. Wilson was the influential broker for the CIA within Congress as he convinced the U.S. government to provide increasing aid for the Afghan Mujahideen.
One of Wilson's most famous statements in convincing Congress was, "The U.S. had nothing whatsoever to do with these people's decision to fight ... but we'll be damned by history if we let them fight with stones."
A visit to a Pakistani hospital caused Wilson to state;
"That was the experience that will always be seared in my memory, was going through those hospitals and seeing, especially those children with their hands blown off from the mines that the Soviets were dropping from their helicopters. That was perhaps the deciding thing... and it made a huge difference for the next 10 or 12 years of my life because I left those hospitals determined, as long as I had a breath in my body and was a member in Congress, that I was going to do what I could to make the Soviets pay for what they were doing!"
His efforts made him the first civilian to receive the Honoured Colleague Award given by the CIA. Wilson has also come in for criticism as many of the weapons he campaigned to be given to the Mujahideen are being used against the U.S. in the most recent Afghan war.
Charlie Wilson's War: The Book and Movie
Wilson's efforts in lobbying for funding for the Afghan Mujahideen have been immortalised in the book Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History (2003), by George Crile III. In 2007 the book was made into a film starring Tom Hanks who played the Congressman entitled 'Charlie Wilson’s War.'
Sources
(2003), by George Crile III.
Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History
Faisal Hanif - I graduated in 2008 from the University of Leicester with Bachelor Hons in History. I have recently completed a Masters in the History of ...
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