Charlie Wilson (D) Texas Dies

[Vast LWC]

Eastern Europe, Asia and Central America were the major front. Committing to a 600 ship Navy mean that there was no place on the planet we weren't going to vigorously contest

Thank you for your service

So he instituted major across-the-board military spending increases, creating the largest deficit the US had ever seen up until that point.

Where in Europe, Asia or Central America did he press the issue?

Did he threaten the Russians in any of those areas with actual combat?

Did he fund some major revolution in an eastern block country that freed them from USSR rule?

How exactly did just making across the board spending increases even actually help the situation? Why wouldn't the Russians just have sat back and continued with what they had? The threat of Nuclear Armageddon would stop any major invasion from happening.

As it was, the only place the US actually engaged Russia was in Afghanistan, and they did that COVERTLY.

 

[Cold Fusion38]

You'll note I said "in reality"

"In reality" Avrakotos wasn't talking about Reagan, who was president when only three CIA men were on the Afghanistan desk.

That kind of suggests that Reagan was a little oblivious to the situation.

The Central theme of the entire Reagan foreign policy was to push back at the USSR on every front and in every hemisphere. So the very idea that Wilson trumped Reagan in pushing the USSR out of Afghanistan is laughable.

Moreover, it makes total liars out of the Libs who claim: a. Gorby won the Cold War and b. Reagan armed Al Qaeda.

You can't have three totally different stories: Pick a fucking story and stick to it.

Charlie Wilson: the last Democrat who actually rooted for the USA to win a military victory. He will be sorely missed.

You must be talking about IRAN/CONTRA right?

 

[blastoff]

I'm a conservative and liked Charlie a lot.

His involvement back then was sort of killing two birds with one stone. He had empathy for the plight of the Afghans and hated the Russians, so the bonus from helping the Afghans was a lot of dead Russians and ultimately their country's defeat there. A win-win to Charlie.

He didn't have a crystal ball and thus no idea what some Afghan factions would be doing 20+ years down the road.

John Fund wrote about Charlie in today's Wall Street Journal: Wilson was a fixer and a carousing libertine. But he promised constituents that if caught in a scandal, "I won't blame booze and I won't suddenly find Jesus." You gotta like a guy with an attitude like that.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Eastern Europe, Asia and Central America were the major front. Committing to a 600 ship Navy mean that there was no place on the planet we weren't going to vigorously contest

Thank you for your service

So he instituted major across-the-board military spending increases, creating the largest deficit the US had ever seen up until that point.

Where in Europe, Asia or Central America did he press the issue?

Did he threaten the Russians in any of those areas with actual combat?

Did he fund some major revolution in an eastern block country that freed them from USSR rule?

How exactly did just making across the board spending increases even actually help the situation? Why wouldn't the Russians just have sat back and continued with what they had? The threat of Nuclear Armageddon would stop any major invasion from happening.

As it was, the only place the US actually engaged Russia was in Afghanistan, and they did that COVERTLY.

Did you ask "where in Europe" did Reagan confront and roll back the USSR?