The Afghanistan invasion by the Soviet Union in 1979 sparked a brutal campaign that lasted throughout the 1980s, pitting well-equipped and well-trained Soviet forces against the Islamic Alliance of Afghan Mujahideen. Supported by weapons, supplies, and financial aid from the United States, China, and neighboring Islamic nations, the mujahideen carried out a successful guerrilla war that ultimately led to a cease-fire in 1988 and a full Soviet withdrawal in 1989.

Such is the backdrop for Charlie Wilson's War, a true-story drama scheduled for release in the United States on December 25, 2007. Directed by Mike Nichols and based on the book of the same name by George Crile, the film explores the role of Texas representative Charlie Wilson (played by Tom Hanks) in escalating the involvement of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the conflict. After taking up the Afghan cause at the encouragement of Texas socialite Joanne Herring (played by Julia Roberts), Wilson determined that the CIA's limited involvement in the conflict was insufficient. He formed a partnership with rogue CIA agent Gust Avrakotos, and without authorization, they secretly worked with Pakistani president Mohammad Zia ul-Haq to channel funds and weapons to the mujahideen. Aided by Wilson's position on the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee and Avrakotos's contacts in the region, their backdoor dealings contributed to the development of the largest and most successful covert operation in history.

The subject of Charlie Wilson's War highlights the broader significance of the Soviet-Afghan War and provides an excellent starting point for examining the short- and long-term consequences of the conflict. The CIA's covert involvement made the war another chess piece in the ongoing Cold War struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, and many scholars have characterized the Soviet defeat as a contributing factor to the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991. Ironically, some of the rebels who fought the Russians with U.S. aid later became sworn enemies of the United States, as evidenced by Osama bin Laden's orchestration of the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks and the subsequent U.S. invasion of Afghanistan to overthrow the fundamentalist Taliban regime.