[2-12]US Congressman Who Backed Afghan Fighters Against the Soviets Dies

A former U.S. lawmaker who played a key role in the ouster of Soviet forces from Afghanistan has died.

Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson helped funnel millions of dollars to fund Afghan fighters during the 1980s. 

He was known around Washington as "Good Time Charlie" for his love of drinks and women, and his life story became a Hollywood movie starring famed actor Tom Hanks.

The 2007 film "Charlie Wilson's War" introduced a new generation to the exploits of Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson and his role in shaping the future of Afghanistan.

Wilson was a member of the Appropriations Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, and used his position to help buy Afghan fighters weapons, including Stinger missiles, that inflicted heavy damage on Soviet gunships.

In 2008, Wilson talked to VOA about why he decided to take action. Wilson said he was looking down on a refugee camp from a hillside: "I got involved in Afghanistan because I went there and I saw what the Soviets were doing," Wilson said. "And I saw the refugee camps."

M.J. Gohel, an expert on South Asia and executive director of the London-based Asia Pacific Foundation, says Wilson's efforts changed the region and the world. "Wilson has to be given the credit for delivering a major defeat to the Soviet Union at a time when the Soviet Union was a threat to the free world," Gohel said.

Gohel says what no one could have predicted at the time was how Wilson's support for Afghanistan's mujahedeen would encourage Muslims from around the world to rally to their cause or what would come as a result. "This led to a threat, a new kind of threat, to the West and of course the events that eventually ended with 9-11 [the terror attacks of September 11, 2001] and the other acts of terrorism we have seen since then," Gohel stated.

Wilson said that one of his regrets was that he was not able to get more funding for schools, hospitals and roads in Afghanistan once the Soviets finally left.  Still, he remained optimistic. "I would just tell the Afghan people that I still love them," he said. "And that I hope that somehow we find a way to achieve a military tranquility."

Wilson died Wednesday from a heart attack in his home state of Texas.  He was 76.

前美国国会议员谁发挥了来自阿富汗的苏联军队推翻的关键作用已经死亡。

得克萨斯州国会议员查理威尔逊漏斗帮助数百万美元的资金在80年代的阿富汗战士。

他被称为华盛顿周围的“好时光查理”，他的饮料和女人的爱，他的人生故事，成为好莱坞的电影主演的著名影星汤姆汉克斯。

2007年的影片“查理威尔逊的战争”推出了新一代的得克萨斯州国会议员查理威尔逊和他在塑造阿富汗的未来作用的攻击。

威尔逊是在美国国会众议院拨款委员会成员，并利用职务之便，帮助阿富汗战士购买武器，包括毒刺导弹，即在苏联武装直升机造成严重破坏。

2008年，威尔逊交谈美国之音为什么他决定采取行动。威尔逊说，他期待在一个山坡上，从难民营下来：“我参与了在阿富汗，因为我去那里，我看到了苏联在做，”威尔逊说。 “我看到的难民营。”

兆焦耳，对南亚和伦敦执行主任的专家Gohel的亚太基金会说，威尔逊的努力，改变了地区和世界的。 “威尔逊应给予交付一次重大挫败苏联的信贷时，苏联是对自由世界的威胁，”Gohel说。

Gohel说什么没有人能够预测的时间是怎样威尔逊对阿富汗的圣战者的支持，鼓励来自世界各地的穆斯林集会，他们的事业或将带来什么结果。 “这导致了威胁，一种新的威胁，西方，当然还有最终以9-11结束[事件9月11日的恐怖袭击，2001]和恐怖主义自那时以来，我们看到的其他行为， “Gohel说。

威尔逊说，他感到遗憾之一是，他没能获得更多的资金用于学校，医院和道路，一旦在阿富汗的苏联最终离开。尽管如此，他仍然持乐观态度。 “我只想告诉我仍然爱他们的阿富汗人民，”他说。 “而且，我希望我们总是觉得来实现军事宁静。”

威尔逊从1月30日死于在他的家乡得克萨斯州的心脏病发作。享年76岁。