Remembering Charlie Wilson
This week we lost a champion and friend of the International Affairs Budget with the passing of former Congressman Charlie Wilson (D-TX, 1973-1996). As told in the movie “Charlie Wilson’s War,” he was a passionate believer in a smart power approach to foreign policy, particularly in regards to Afghanistan. Commenting on Wilson’s death, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said, “After the Soviets left, Charlie kept fighting for the Afghan people and warned against abandoning that traumatized country to its fate — a warning we should have heeded then, and should remember today.” As a USGLC Advisor, Congressman Wilson wrote a compelling piece in The Washington Post in August of 2008, about how important development and diplomacy are to our national security.
