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United States Representative Charlie Wilson dies at 76
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February 12, 2010
Original URL: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/United_States_Representative_Charlie_Wilson_dies_at_76



Charles Nesbitt Wilson, a former United States naval officer and
twelve-term Democratic Representative from the 2nd congressional
district in Texas, died on Wednesday in Lufkin, Texas.  He was 76 with a
history of heart ailments, receiving a transplant in 2007.

Memorial Medical Center, Lufkin said the preliminary cause of death was
cardiopulmonary arrest. Jack Gorden Jr., the mayor of Lufkin, confirmed
the death.

He was best known for initiating Operation Cyclone, the largest CIA
covert operation, which supplied military equipment, anti-aircraft
missiles, and paramilitary officers to the Afghan Mujahideen during the
Soviet war in Afghanistan. His campaign was the subject of the
non-fiction book ''Charlie Wilson's War'' and the film  'Charlie
Wilson's War'.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wilson's "efforts and exploits
helped repel an invader, liberate a people, and bring the Cold War to a
close. [...] After the Soviets left, Charlie kept fighting for the
Afghan people and warned against abandoning that traumatized country to
its fate — a warning we should have heeded then, and should remember
today".

Born in Trinity, Texas, Wilson graduated from Trinity High School in
1951. While a student at Sam Houston State University, he was appointed
to the United States Naval Academy. Between 1956 and 1960, Wilson served
in the Navy, attaining the rank of lieutenant. After four years as a
surface fleet officer, he was assigned to the Pentagon as part of an
intelligence unit that evaluated the Soviet Union's nuclear
capabilities.

== Sources ==

* http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/us/politics/11wilson.html
* http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/10/AR2010021003848.html?hpid=topnews
* http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/6861727.html