Charlie Wilson's War

I went out to see Charlie Wilson's War at the cineplex this evening in Mason City (incidentally, where the cineplex seemed to be doing a brisk business on Christmas afternoon. This is perhaps how we Iowans survive the holidays).

It was a movie that hit a bit close to home, or one such adopted home of mine as Afghanistan. I trust that those of you reading this will know history and therefore I can't really spoil the ending of this movie about the Americans--Soviets--Mujaheddin in Afghanistan in the 70s. Still, skip the next paragraph if you really need to:

The end of the movie, though victorious in a billion-dollar battle to push back the Soviets, is that once the battle is won, Congress won't even approve a mere million to rebuild the schools in a country where half the population is under 14 years old. The character who knows the situation best says, you mustlisten, the crazies are already coming in and setting up camp. The rest, as we know, is history. Charlie Wilson, though honored for his service to the country, later says, "These things happened and they were glorious. Trouble is, we F***'d up the end game."

We forgot to clean up our mess, and we undid any good we might have done. Human rights plunged to even worse conditions than they had previously. Sound familiar? And so goes Iraq in '91, Afghanistan again in 2001, and Iraq in 2007. What have we done and what misery have we brought on these poor people? And, having abandoned them or neglected them, how can we blame them when they turn to the extremists?

When I was in Afghanistan in 2005, the civil society leaders from all different backgrounds said the same thing--that Americans had abandoned them 25 years ago, and terrible things resulted. We cannot abandon them again, without rebuilding schools and hospitals and roads and the things that make daily life and survival possible. And yet we dashed off to the next war, and perhaps even yet the next.

The movie theater was nearly silent when the film finished. Everyone it seemed took the lesson to heart, at least in that moment. I wonder if it might change hearts for good.