Review
The last battle of the Cold War ended with what amounted to costly defeat for both sides. Russia's excursion into Afghanistan marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. For the Americans, covert intervention cost an extravagant amount in cash and directly led to the rise of the Taliban. Had this been a work of fiction it would have been dismissed as too far-fetched. But now the truth is revealed by investigative journalist Crile, a big name in TV reporting in America. What emerges is a catalogue of sleazy opportunism in the CIA, scary details of how that maverick organization can get its hands on untold amounts of cash whether the US President likes it or not, and how a handful of shadowy figures can gamble with world security and never be called to account. The scandal began with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Seeing a chance to undermine (and bankrupt) the Soviet regime, the CIA secretly began bankrolling the Afghan resistance. The eventual cost was staggering - more than a billion dollars a year doled out to people who were sworn enemies of all that America stood for. Crile shows how President Zia of Pakistan became involved, and how President Reagan sat frustrated in Washington while the CIA worked with a charismatic but oddball Congressman to draw heavily on the national wealth without a whisper of its activities getting out. The most disturbing aspect of the book is its revelation of a separate power structure operating in America, apparently able to override the will of Congress and the President. With the 'War on Terror' resulting directly from this fact, many questions need to be asked. Crile has done a great job in beginning to ask them. (Kirkus UK)
Product Description
When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, pressure mounted for the Americans to support the Afghan resistance. This title tells the story of what became the largest covert operation in history - funding eventually grew to over $1 billion a year. The book features a vivid cast of characters: Charlie Wilson the maverick congressman; Gust Avrakotos, head of the CIA operation in Afghanistan; and President Zia of Pakistan. Moving from meeting rooms in Washington to secret chambers at Langley, to arms-dealer conventions, to the Khyber Pass. The book is a remarkable account of the last battle of the Cold War, a battle that helped weaken the Soviet Union and led to its collapse - and of course paved the way to the rise of the Taliban.
