Crile, George

PERSONAL: Married; children.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Atlantic Monthly Press, 841 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.

CAREER: 60 Minutes (television program), New York, NY, producer.

WRITINGS:

Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History, Atlantic Monthly Press (New York, NY), 2003 published as Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times, Grove (New York, NY), 2004.

ADAPTATIONS: Rights to Charlie Wilson's War were bought by Playtone, for production as a film starring Tom Hanks.

SIDELIGHTS: George Crile exposes a war that few Americans were even aware of when it was being fought in the 1980s, in his book Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History. Covert actions by U.S. forces to back the Mujadiheen rebels in Afghanistan were intended to strike a critical blow to the Soviet Union, and so they did. The driving force behind the secret operations was Charlie Wilson, a congressman from east Texas who was characterized as a freewheeling man who loved a good party. A Democrat, he was nevertheless known for his hawkish stance.

In Charlie Wilson's War Crile's explains how this congressman worked with a maverick agent in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to launch one of the most massive and successful secret operations in the CIA's history. Key to the success of this endeavor was Wilson's seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. According to Crile, Wilson became obsessed by the insurgency, and was convinced that they could prevail over the Soviets if they had a good supply of light antiaircraft weapons, with which they could shoot down helicopters. Through the House Appropriations Committee, Wilson managed to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to the Afghan rebels. Their conflict with Soviet forces eventually became known as the Soviets' Vietnam, for it was long, protracted, and served to drain that country's finances and morale.

Charlie Wilson's War does not shy away from the more sensationalistic aspects of his story. Reviewing the book for Kliatt, Raymond Puffer called it "a fast-paced and highly colored account," and concluded that it is "chock-full of high drama and sexual innuendo. In short, it is great fun."

In an interview with John Gibson, reprinted in America's Intelligence Wire, Crile commented that Wilson "looked as if he were simply an out of control libertine, wildest man in Congress, which he was. But behind that, he was as good a political operator as you would probably ever find in Washington." The tribesmen who outlasted the Soviet army eventually became the foundation for the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.

Discussing the aftermath of Wilson's activities with Gibson, Crile said: "This was a huge historic victory that we owed to the Afghans who were—we called them freedom fighters, Ronald Reagan did, Jimmy Carter did, everybody did, we didn't do anything. We didn't build any roads, any hospitals, any schools. In the end, we left this anarchy for people like bin Laden, who were not even part of the central fighting, to be able to gain a toehold and then to [lead]."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

America's Intelligence Wire, June 4, 2003, Rita Cosby, interview with Crile; July 1, 2003, Bill Hemmer, interview with Crile; July 3, 2003, Howard Kurtz, Larry King interview with Crile; August 5, 2003, John Gibson, interview with Crile.

Austin Chronicle, June 27, 2003, Clay Smith, "Journalist George Crile on His 'Charlie Wilson's War.'"

Booklist, May 15, 2003, Vanessa Bush, review of Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History, p. 1635.

Daily Variety, July 21, 2003, Michael Fleming, "Playtone Goes to 'War' with Universal," p. 1.

Economist, April 26, 2003, review of Charlie Wilson's War.

Houston Chronicle, May 16, 2003, review of Charlie Wilson's War.

Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2003, review of Charlie Wilson's War, p. 438.

Kliatt, September, 2004, Raymond Puffer, review of Charlie Wilson's War, p. 46.

Library Journal, May 1, 2003, Daniel K. Blewett, review of Charlie Wilson's War, p. 134.

Publishers Weekly, May 26, 2003, review of Charlie Wilson's War, p. 64.

Smithsonian, September, 2004, Eliot Marshall, review of Charlie Wilson's War, p. 114.