Beauty & diplomacy, charm & compassion for refugee. Joanne Herring, Charlie Wilson, Avrakotos: trio ended Afghan war

History won’t forget each one who deploys diplomacy rather than weaponry to end war which inevitably imposes tremendous suffering on humanity. History remembers that a team of three once did the impossible, ending the Afghan war, ending misery of refugees due to war. The trio also won "Charlie Wilson's War" (a movie based on the true story stars Tom Hanks (Charlie Wilson), Julia Roberts (Joanne Herring) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Gust Avrakotos).

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Charles Wilson

Joanne Herring played a significant role in helping the Afghan resistance fighters get support and military equipment from the U.S. government. She persuaded Wilson to visit the Pakistani leadership, and after meeting with them he was taken to a major Pakistan-based Afghan refugee camp so he could see for himself the atrocities committed by the Soviets against the Afghan people. About that visit, Wilson later said: "That was the experience that will always be seared in my memory, was going through those hospitals and seeing, especially those children with their hands blown off from the mines that the Soviets were dropping from their helicopters. That was perhaps the deciding thing... and it made a huge difference for the next 10 or 12 years of my life…"

Socialite Joanne Herring wins 'War'

"People think it's Joanne the social queen. That's not me at all. I get bored to death when people talk about nothing." "It's very hard to be a woman. It isn't enough to be supposedly intelligent, you have to be glamorous and elegant, too. And if you're not, men are very disappointed. If I only had to put on a tie and run a rag over my shoes, that would be just wonderful."

"Charlie Wilson's War" is a drama based on a true story, Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.

Former Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson and his ex-fiancee, Joanne Herring, won a second victory at Monday's L.A. premiere of "Charlie Wilson's War." Herring admitted that, just like in the movie, she wore slinky dresses to meet men in power. "That's the only way anyone would listen to me," she laughs. "I'm a Christian, but even Christ liked to have a good time." Herring, played by Julia Roberts in the Mike Nichols film, tells us she "practically choked" when she read Aaron Sorkin's original screenplay. The movie ended with a shot of the Pentagon in flames, implying that Herring and Wilson (played by Tom Hanks) had abetted Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda crew. After sharing the script with Wilson, she says, "We wept and wailed and gnashed our teeth." Then they brought in some legal muscle - powerful attorney Dick DeGuerin; he got the attention of Universal and the producers, who flew Wilson and Herring to meet the stars in Morocco, which was doubling as Afghanistan. Assured that the script would be changed, Herring flew to the L.A. premiere with Houston pals. To everyone's great relief, she and Wilson liked what they saw on the screen.

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Photos courtesy of Universal Studios, David Gabber / PR Photos, Wikipedia and joanneherring.com

Original Source: Wikipedia and NY Daily News