WEC Class Notes

In the early summer of 1980, the Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson walked off the floor of the House of Representatives into the Speaker's Lobby. A Teletype at one end spewed out stories from AP, UPI and Reuters. Wilson was a news junkie, and he reached down and began reading a story datelined from Kabul. The article described hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing Afghanistan as Soviet helicopter gunships levelled villages, slaughtered livestock, and killed anyone who harboured guerrillas resisting the occupation. What caught Wilson's attention, however, was the reporter's conclusion that the Afghan warriors were refusing to quit. The article described how they were murdering Russians in the dead of night with knives and pistols, hitting them over the head with shovels and stones. Against all odds, there was a growing rebellion underway against the Red Army. It would have been a sobering insight for the Communist rulers if they could have followed what happened in the

Congressman Charlie Wilson was a champion for the covert op that affected the outcome of the Soviet-Afghan War. A former naval officer, Texas native, and 12-time elected member of the House of Representatives, Charlie Wilson was the man behind the longest covert CIA operation in American history. During the Soviet-Afghan War—which lasted from 1979 to 1989—Wilson channeled funds and weapons to Afghan insurgents, hoping the operation would result in a Soviet defeat. Considered a Cold War-proxy war, the Soviet-Afghan conflict began after Afghanistan's communist party gained control in 1978. Their Stalin-like policies quickly earned the support of the Soviet Union, though this alliance grew increasingly fraught as conflict arose within the party’s ranks. The murder of President Nur Murhammad Taraki in September of 1979—and the takeover of his partner-turned-enemy Hafizullah Amin—ultimately led to the Soviets’ intervention shortly afterwards. Their violent invasion and assassination