Charlie Wilson was a United States naval officer and former United States Representative from Texas’s 2nd congressional district. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1996 and played a major role in providing covert funding to the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War. His involvement in these operations led to a federal investigation and later formed a major subplot of the book and 2007 feature film Charlie Wilson’s War.
During his long career in Congress, Wilson served on various committees and subcommittees, including the Appropriations Committee and the Communications Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee. He was considered a conservative Democrat and was an advocate for deregulation of the communications industry. Wilson was also known for his social life and recreational drug use, earning him the nickname “Good Time Charlie”.
After leaving Congress in 1996, Wilson worked as a lobbyist and business consultant. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Michael Baker International engineering firm. Wilson lived in Lufkin, Texas until his death from cardiopulmonary arrest in 2010 at the age of 76.
Early Life and Education
Charles Nesbitt Wilson was born on June 1, 1933 in Trinity, Texas, a small town in Anderson County. He was the son of Charles Edwin Wilson, an accountant and operator of a local timber, lumber and hardware company, and Wilmuth (née Nesbitt) Wilson, a local florist.
Wilson graduated from Trinity High School in 1950, where he was an athlete and class president. He then attended the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. At the academy, Wilson earned the nickname “Good Time Charlie” for his outgoing personality and reputation as a partier.
After graduating from Annapolis, Wilson served in the United States Navy from 1956 to 1960. He attained the rank of lieutenant and served as a naval engineering officer. Much of his service was spent in the Mediterranean Sea aboard destroyers.
After leaving the Navy, Wilson briefly worked for his family’s lumber business before moving to California. He took graduate courses in business administration at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1961 to 1963 but did not receive a degree.
Entry into Politics
Wilson returned to Texas in 1963 and became active in local Democratic politics. He managed the unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign of Don Yarborough that year. Though Yarborough lost the race, Wilson’s political involvement brought him into contact with longtime Congressional representative John V. Dowdy.
In 1966, Wilson ran against Dowdy in the Democratic primary for Texas’s 2nd congressional district, which included parts of southeast Texas including Houston. Wilson cast himself as a younger, more liberal alternative to the aging incumbent Dowdy. With the help of donations from wealthy Houston businessmen, Wilson defeated Dowdy in a major upset that attracted national attention. At age 33, he became one of the youngest members ever elected to Congress up to that time.
Wilson went on to easily win the general election in November 1966. He would be reelected to the House of Representatives a total of 13 times, serving from January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1997. Due to his long tenure and influence in Congress, Wilson became known simply as “Charlie” to his peers in Washington D.C.
Congressional Career
As a Congressman, Charlie Wilson was considered a conservative Democrat who often deviated from the party line. He was pro-business and anti-regulation, supporting deregulation of the communications industry in particular. Wilson also opposed civil rights legislation and many Great Society social programs.
However, Wilson did break with conservatives on certain issues. He was strongly pro-choice and supported federal funding for abortion. He also backed bills supporting environmental conservation and wilderness protection.
Wilson served on a number of Congressional committees and subcommittees throughout his tenure:
- House Appropriations Committee (starting in 1973)
- House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee (served as chairman 1979-1981)
- House Foreign Operations Subcommittee
- House Banking Committee
- House Communications Subcommittee
Being on the House Appropriations Committee gave Wilson influence over the federal budget, allowing him to steer government spending toward projects he favored. His seat on the Foreign Operations Subcommittee also enabled him to have an impact on American foreign policy.
Support for Mujahideen in Afghanistan
Wilson is best known for his instrumental role in Operation Cyclone, the CIA’s covert program to arm and finance the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Though initially skeptical of the mujahideen’s chances against the Soviets, Wilson became passionate about the Afghan cause in the early 1980s. He lobbied to provide the rebels with advanced American weaponry and funnel several hundred million dollars of covert aid to the war effort.
At Wilson’s urging, the CIA provided the mujahideen with FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles in 1986. These weapons proved decisive, allowing the Afghans to shoot down Soviet helicopters and ultimately forcing the Red Army’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989. Because of his central role, Wilson came to be known as “the Congressman from Afghanistan.”
While lauded by supporters as a hero who helped liberate Afghanistan from communism, Wilson’s patronage of the mujahideen was later criticized for contributing to the subsequent rise of the Taliban regime and Islamic extremism in the country.
Influence on Foreign Policy
In addition to Afghanistan, Wilson used his position in Congress to influence American foreign policy in other regions of the world:
- He visited Pakistan numerous times and forged a close alliance with Pakistani dictator Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Wilson helped secure economic and military aid for Pakistan’s support of the mujahideen.
- Wilson provided support for Israel, including lobbying for aid and arms sales to the country. He made over 50 trips to Israel and received awards from multiple Jewish organizations.
- He was an advocate for Kurdish independence and lobbied for American recognition of the Kurdish genocide by Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
- Wilson helped funnel covert aid to anti-communist forces in Angola and Nicaragua. He supported the Contras against the socialist Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
Critics accused Wilson of being reckless in throwing American support behind various anti-communist causes around the world with little regard for the long-term consequences. However, Wilson saw it as the U.S. duty to combat the spread of Soviet influence. According to Wilson, “The U.S. had a moral obligation to assist people fighting for their freedom against communist aggression.”
Scandals and Controversies
Throughout his time in office, Wilson was frequently embroiled in scandal and allegations of impropriety:
- Drug Use – Wilson was open about using recreational drugs like alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his career. This earned him the nickname “Cocaine Charlie” among detractors.
- Hot Tub Photos – In 1980, candid photos surfaced of Wilson in a hot tub with two strippers during a trip to Las Vegas. The scandal may have cost Wilson the chairmanship of the Intelligence Committee.
- Drug Probe – The FBI and Justice Department investigated Wilson for drug use and suspicious links to drug traffickers in the 1980s, but the case was eventually dropped.
- ABSCAM Scandal – Wilson was named by an FBI informant as the recipient of cash bribes in the ABSCAM bribery sting, but he was never formally charged.
- Savings and Loan Scandal – Questions were raised about Wilson’s ties to unstable Texas savings and loans that eventually collapsed at great taxpayer expense.
Despite the steady stream of controversies, Wilson was a gifted politician who always managed to charm voters in his district and avoid serious consequences. As he told NBC in 1980, “The voters know me and they figure that’s just Charlie Wilson.”
Post-Congressional Career
In August 1995, Wilson announced he would not seek re-election in 1996 due to health issues. He retired from Congress in January 1997 after serving 12 consecutive terms.
After leaving politics, Wilson worked as a lobbyist and business consultant in Washington D.C. Some of his lobbying clients included American companies seeking oil and gas pipelines in Central Asia.
From 2001 to 2008, Wilson served as a member of the board of directors of Michael Baker International, an engineering firm. He also served on the board of directors of Cogar Investment Corp and a number of other companies.
Though out of politics, Wilson remained active with philanthropic causes, including raising money for Afghan schools and children disabled by landmines from the Afghan War. He also worked to spotlight the ongoing plight of the Kurdish people.
Later Life and Death
In 1999, Wilson met Barbara Alberstadt, a Las Vegas socialite and former dancer. The couple married in 1999 when he was 66 and she was 39. They resided primarily in Las Vegas during his later years.
In 2007, a feature film called Charlie Wilson’s War was released chronicling Wilson’s efforts to support the mujahideen in Afghanistan. Actor Tom Hanks portrayed Wilson in the film.
On February 10, 2010, at the age of 76, Wilson suffered cardiopulmonary arrest and died at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston following complications from a lung transplant. He had suffered from heart disease in his later years and underwent a heart transplant in September 2007.
Wilson was buried at Athens Cemetery in Athens, Texas. Former Congressman Martin Frost gave the eulogy at his funeral on February 13, 2010.
Legacy
Charlie Wilson left behind a complex political legacy defined by both his foreign policy influence and personal scandals. Supporters credit him with playing a decisive role in winning the Cold War and ending Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Critics argue he promoted shortsighted policies that fueled Islamic extremism and future national security threats.
Regardless of one’s view on his legacy, Wilson was undeniably one of the most colorful figures in Washington during his era. His backroom dealmaking and high-flying lifestyle made him the very embodiment of the phrase “Good Time Charlie.” Wilson lived by his own rules and bucked the system right up until the end of his long Congressional career.