Charlie Wilsons War
US Involvement
The film does accurately depict the political reasons which drove the United States towards intervening in the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The tensions between the US and the Soviet Union had been boiling for decades and since the Truman administration, every entrant at White House took it upon himself to fully implement the Truman Doctrine of fighting all forms of Soviet occupation and influence. Everyman has a right to be free (Spalding, p 123). Those are the famous words altered by President Harry Truman when he decided to use Americas political, economic and military might to aid all nations and groups combating Communism.
This political message was rightly portrayed by the Congressman of Texas 2nd Congressional District, Charlie Wilson. The depiction of Charlie Wilson by Tom Hanks is too exquisite and this may work in the Hollywood setting (Murray, 2010). From a realistic point of view, Charlie Wilson was quite an influential and serious figure in the halls of Congress. Besides his work in the two sub-committees he was sitting in, he was involved in a lot of backroom dealings which culminated in 500 million that was used to buy stinger missiles, RPG-7s, and AK-47s for the freedom fighters. His depiction as a vote for hire in the halls of Congress might have been far-fetched, but Mr. Wilson never denied his love for the fast life.
Understanding the Political Message
In order to understand the political motivation which drove America towards helping Afghanistan, one needs to explore the political history of the two super powers the United States and the Soviet Union. It was during the Second World War when the US was liberating Europe from the clutches for Hitler that the US and Russia first became acquainted. The Russians on the other hand had just pulled off a remarkable offensive and pushed the German Army back in the battle of Stalingrad. As Western Europe was slowly being liberated and the tide of the battle was favoring the allies, attention switched to the smaller Eastern European nations which were eventually absorbed by the Russia, to form the Soviet Union (Daniels, p 91).
In Poland, the Polish Resistance, buoyed by the success of the allies against the German Army, launched their own offensive against German occupation. The Russian Red Army was advancing towards the Polish border and the polish resistance fighters assumed that help was on the way. The battle in the Polish urban cities was brutal but the surprising thing is even after the Russian Army reached the Polish Border, the Russian army units were ordered not to intervene. Furthermore, the allied forces did not offer the Polish Resistance the much needed air support. Historical archives later revealed that Stalin was against helping the Polish Resistance because he knew that once they defeat the Germans, he would not be able to control them. Stalin had his eyes set on expanding the Russian influence across Eastern Europe once the German forces retreated, any form of patriotic grandeur and political correctness might hinder his plans (Global Security.org, 2009).
As predicted, the German Army bled out the Polish Resistors, then the Russian Army moved in to offer support to the Polish fighters. The liberation of Europe soon changed to the annexation of Europe and after the US dropped the atomic bomb on Japan, the 2nd World War ended, signaling the beginning of the divide between the American-influenced Western Europe nations and the Russian-influenced Eastern Europe nations. With the arms race that followed as Russia pushed towards acquiring its own atomic bomb, the battle lines separating communism and capitalismdemocracy were drawn.
With the inception of the Truman Doctrine, America took it upon herself to help all nations battling Communism (Ourdocuments.gov, 2010). The first clandestine battle was in Greece when the US granted 300 million in military and economic aid. The funds were used to fight the Greek Communist Party, which had strongly allies with the guerilla forces. This clandestine operation proceeded from 1946-48. A similar assistance was offered to Turkey whom they were offered 100 million to help retain the strategic Black Sea passage, Dardanelles, and prevent it from falling to the Soviets.
With time, the clandestine operations launched by both sides became bolder and this was the case in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was really a Cold War military conflict pitching the Communist North Vietnam against the US-supported South Vietnam. Both sides armed their respective armies to the teeth, with the Soviet Union going as far as using some of their experienced airmen in the North Vietnamese air force. Another conflict that the two super powers fought in was the Korean War. South Korea was supported by the United Nations and the US while the North (or DPRK) got its arms and economic aid from China and the Soviet Union (Olsen, p 12).
A common trend that was witnessed in all these conflicts which preceded the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan was one super power was always engaging in a clandestine operation against the other, but the objective wasnt defeat it was more of a war of attrition. Simply put, the goal was to bleed out the other side. Therefore, the major political debates which have always defined the Vietnam War, the Korean War, or even the Soviet s incursions into Afghanistan are simply smoke screens which blur the main vision the battle between communism and democracy.
Missteps in the Film
The plot in Charlie Wilsons War is simply enthralling but as mentioned before, it has failed to capture all the political issues that define this rather nondescript conflict. Afghanistan doesnt possess any economic or strategic military benefits and any occupying force would be hard done in trying to explain why they chose to invade this obscure nation. From the Soviets perspective, Afghanistans geographical location gave the Soviet Army a strategic advantage for launching future incursions into Pakistan, or even Saudi Arabia (Globalsecurity.org, 2009). Unfortunately, the filmmaker failed to point out this issue and simply depicted the Soviet Army as barbaric forces who simply invaded Afghanistan with no clear objective.
The role of the CIA in this conflict cannot be underrated and their ability to source for arms and form new alliances with Egypt, Pakistan and Israel is simply remarkable. The general public usually concentrates on the clandestine operations inside Afghanistan but they fail to note all the underhand dealings that went into allying Israel and Pakistan (they were sworn enemies) so as to obtain the much needed arms for the Mujahedeen. The filmmaker extensively covered the CIAs role in this conflict but he also pointed out their missteps. How did they miss or overlook 130,000 troops crossing the Soviet border into Afghanistan Why were they arming the Mujahedeen with 12mm cannons yet this caliber of weapons can barely scratch an MI-24 Hind helicopter gunship If Congressman Charlie Wilson hadnt sourced for funds from some rather right-wing political alliances, did the CIA understand the repercussions of a Soviet-occupied Afghanistan It appears like America needed Charlie Wilsons foresight more than they realized and had it not been for his persistence and controversial alliances, the Mujahedeen would still be shooting at Soviet tanks and helicopters with 1st World war carbines (Murray, 2010).
Conclusion
In concluding, the movie exposes the Achilles heel of American foreign policy. The US has always been at the forefront when it comes to helping nations that are trying to fight for their democratic rights. Such countries are accorded a blank cheque to buy all the arms they may need but once they are victorious, they are left to fend for themselves (Olsen, p 15). Minimal help is offered when it comes to rebuilding the nation and this was the case in Afghanistan. After defeating the Soviets, the Mujahedeen evolved from freedom fighters to a group of young disgruntled men who are unsure of their future. Afghanistan was in ruins and despite Charlie Wilsons pleas Congress was reluctant about releasing funds to build schools and hospitals. With time, these young disgruntled men found a new calling and they started marching under a new banner of Arab extremism and this was the birth of modern day terrorism.
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