Having just watched the film- which I for the most part agree with the reviewer- I had to comment after reading Andrew's comment.

Truly ignorant. You'd have thought we'd have learnt that the first time round.

Natalie M, Brighton, UK

I totally disagree with this review - the film was excellent with great performances from all the main leads. Any film which highlights the irony and absurdity of the cold war should be applauded. The relevance to today's situation in Afghanistan and Iraq is particularly poignant.

p.s. as for Andrew's comment, the main reason the British are back in Afghanistan started as part of Operation Enduring Freedom which was led and contolled by America in 2001. I guess you guys don't learn from history either !

Don, London,

Charlie Wilson was actually a US Congressman from the 2nd Congressional District of Texas and not a US Senator. It's truly unfortunate that the current resident of the White House has given a bad name to every American that hails from that State. I bet ole Charlie was probably a lot of fun to hangout with back in the early 80's. Party on!!

Matt Rausch, Jacksonville, Florida

If I remember the book correctly one of the outcomes was that dollar for dollar the Russian ended up spending a ridiculous amount of money to combat the American support of the Afghans which was another step in the collapse of the Soviet Union.
ps. history says that everyone gets kicked out of Afghanistan eventually, you'd have thought the British learnt that lesson the first time round.

Andrew, Austin, Texcess

The support for the Afghans actually started before the Soviet invasion, the consequences were foreseeable and the Taliban were acceptable business partners, for a while...

Other than that, Hanks was miscast in this fine piece of revisionism.

John Kelly, Troon, UK

This is an execrably bad review, by a reviewer whose hostility to America -- and also to the means used to defeat a truly appalling enemy, even though the consequences were unforeseeable -- is apparent in every paragraph. (I'm not surprised, either, that he hadn't heard of Charlie Wilson before seeing the film. That's what happens when you have the historically and politically ill-informed review films.) What is good about the film, apart from the story itself, and some good acting, is that is shows that the America of conspiracy theorists doesn't and didn't exist. America muddles through, with junior politicos like Wilson -- a Democrat of all things! -- sometimes at the helm. So much for the notion that it was all coordinated from the top. Also, it shows the complexity of having to deal with Pakistan. But it was ever thus.

tkehler, Vancouver, Canada

He was a U. S. Representative, not a U . S. Senator!

David Lunt, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA