In a not too long ago aired episode of the CBS tv collection Seal
Staff, there was a fast phrase that in all probability went unnoticed by a lot of the
viewing viewers. Even when they heard it, they in all probability will not be conscious of the
which means.
In Season 3, Episode 19, Bravo Staff is working in a
village in
Overwatch for the operation is being supplied by a Predator drone. As proven in
this display seize, a surface-to-air missile is launched at and hits the
drone.
The lack of the drone brought on a lack of communications with
the operational headquarters, and a lack of situational consciousness. Because the group
realizes what has simply occurred, one of many SEALs remarks, “Thanks, Charlie
Wilson.”
For these viewers who weren’t conscious of the extent of
occupation of
within the 1980’s, the comment could not imply something. To these of us who
have been concerned within the American effort to help the Afghan resistance fighters
– the self-proclaimed mujahidin (holy warriors) – it was a reminder of
the idea of unintended penalties.
From 1987 till Saddam Husayn invaded
Intelligence Company on the Pentagon because the Assistant Protection Intelligence
Officer for the Center East and
After I was not in
working the operation helping Iraqi forces, my workplace was peripherally
concerned within the Protection Division’s slice of the CIA program supporting the
Afghan mujahidin – “holy warriors” opposing the Soviet invasion of
That Protection Division help included the supply of the FIM-92 Stinger
shoulder-fired air protection missile.
Sooner or later in
1986 – Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson insisted that the “muj”
wanted an air protection weapon to fight the closely armed Soviet MI-24 assault
helicopter gunship, the Hind. He insisted that they be supplied the U.S.-made
state-of-the-art Stinger.
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| Afghan mujahidin with Stinger missile |
Charlie Wilson was an enthralling Southern gentleman. After I
visited his workplace the primary time, the launcher that fired the primary Stinger in
was hanging on the wall – he was extraordinarily pleased with that. He appreciated to speak
in regards to the Confederacy, in truth, a lot of the artwork in his workplace portrays battles
of the Civil Warfare. When my boss remarked a couple of depiction of Pickett’s July 3,
1863 unsuccessful cost at
quietly nodded his head and remarked, “If Pickett had been profitable,
we would be having this dialog in
Again to the Stinger. There was completely no curiosity on the
Pentagon in supplying the world’s most deadly shoulder-fired air protection system
to a bunch of tribesmen in
– for a number of causes. First, we believed they may have achieved the identical
impact with lesser-capability Soviet weapons, such because the readily-available
(and never traceable to the
States
Second, and extra importantly, nobody needed the Stinger in
the palms of potential dangerous guys. Since we had to supply all the weapons and
gear by way of the Pakistani intelligence service – the notoriously unreliable
ISID – we have been involved that cash talks and the Stinger would discover itself
the place we didn’t need it to go.
We have been confirmed proper in October 1987 when the U.S. Navy
seized the Iran Ajr whereas it was laying mines within the
Guard Corps (IRGC) vessel was a battery of a Stinger launcher. The serial
variety of the battery was traceable to the CIA Afghan Job Group – it had been
despatched to
destined for the muj.
I’m not certain the place it was diverted, however I’m betting on the
ISID. We within the HUMINT (human intelligence) enterprise used to joke that you simply had
to recruit an “x” (the nationality of your selection), however you could possibly purchase
a Pakistani – in south
make issues worse, throughout the operation, one other Iranian boat fired two
Stingers at a U.S. Navy A-6. We concluded that weapons we had despatched to help
anti-Soviet fighters in
have been getting used in opposition to us within the
That is euphemistically known as “unintended
penalties.”
When Congressman Wilson was in
1987, he needed to make use of the U.S. Protection Attaché’s C-12 plane to fly
someplace. Fantastic, however
needed to take his girlfriend alongside. The Protection Attaché, a USAF colonel, stated,
“Sir, you imply your assistant.”
girlfriend alongside. The colonel refused; it brought on us (properly, me) hours of grief
attempting to save lots of the airplane as soon as
to
All in all, am I a fan of Charlie Wilson’s? Let’s examine – a former
Navy intelligence officer, a drunken womanizer, however somebody who received issues
accomplished. His coronary heart was in the precise place, however permitting the Stinger to finish up within the
palms of the IRGC, the Taliban, and who is aware of who else, is the epitome of unintended
penalties.
