"If you mean the Stinger missiles, those funds were provided half by the US and matched by the Saudis after July, 1980."
They were developed under Carter.
Actually, the first shoulder fired Stinger was launched in mid-1975 under a program that began during the Nixon presidency.
"If you mean the Stinger missiles, those funds were provided half by the US and matched by the Saudis after July, 1980."
Considering Reagan wasn't elected until November of 1980, it is hard to credit him with that funding if the above is true.
You can say what you want to, but the reality is that it was Ronald Reagan, NOT Charlie Wilson, who provided the Mujs with Stingers and that's what turned it around.
This really isn't in dispute other than by idiots who think the Hollywood movie was factual. The initial funding was in the 1980 Budget for $5-10 Million which involved no Stingers. Ultimately, this was a billion dollar operation, so obviously, 5-10M was nothing.
Charlie Wilson and Joanne Herring hired an attorney out of Houston to get the script changed because they were so pissed about parts of it (particularly, the part that showed a smoking Pentagon in the end, which ultimately was removed). |
