Fred Klonsky’s PREA Prez Blog

We watched a terrific movie last night. Netflixed Charlie Wilson’s War.

It is all about the work of a Texas congressman (Tom Hanks), a rich right-wing Texas born-again played by Julia Roberts and a CIA operative acted by Seymour Phillip Hoffman, to get covert support to the mujahadeen fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 80s.

The movie was a funny and fascinating bit of important history. How much of it is factual is Hollywood problematic. But it is a good yarn.

Hoffman as CIA agent Gust Avrakotos tells a little story:

Gust Avrakotos: There’s a little boy and on his 14th birthday he gets a horse… and everybody in the village says, “how wonderful. the boy got a horse” And the Zen master says, “we’ll see.” Two years later The boy falls off the horse, breaks his leg, and everyone in the village says, “how terrible.” And the Zen master says, “We’ll see.” Then, a war breaks out and all the young men have to go off and fight… except the boy can’t cause his legs all messed up. and everybody in the village says, “How wonderful.”

Charlie Wilson: Now the Zen master says, “We’ll see.”