Charlie Wilson's War

[pscot]

It's a movie now, starring Tom Hanks. I read the book a while back. Josh Marshall recommended it. Wilson struck me as the perfect blue dog Democrat. He was a hard livin' good ole boy with a great admiration for Israel and a knack for inside wheeling and dealing. Couple of things stood out for me. One, was the willingness of the Israelis to arm certain Arabs when it served their ends. The other thing was the insight into the way the Congress worked at that time. Made me wonder if things are really so different now. We think we understand what the Congress is doing, but those people are spending Billions of dollers, and there is precious little accountability for any of it. It was the slush that made Wilson's war possible. If you have idealistic notions about how Democracy is supposed to work, this book won't do much to ease your mind. If you like a ripping yarn, this might be your cup of tea.