come with us to Cairo

Charlie Wilson -- Now, you and I know we have to get Soviet-made weapons into the hands of the mujahideen.  And you and I know where the largest stockpile of Soviet weapons outside the Soviet Union is.


Zvi Rafiah -- I can't tell you offhand how many and what kind of weapons we've confiscated.


Gust Avrakotos -- I can.  These are Keyhole-11 satellite photos.  They've been degraded so I can show 'em to you.


(Zvi eyes Gust with an attitude of "no one gets anything over on me, don't even consider it")


Zvi -- All right, that's a five-wheeled chassis tank.


Gust -- That's not the M-K 1, that's the T-55.  [he adds, wisely] And it and four others are about 12 miles from here.


Wearying of the contest, Zvi glowers at Gust and demands querulously, "What do you want tanks in mountains for?"


Gust -- Oh we don't.  I just wanted you to know I know you've got them.
Zvi -- 35.5 million dollars.  [turning to Charlie Wilson]  Which you'll be able to appropriate.
Charlie -- Yeah.
Zvi -- [wary and skeptical] Without the press asking questions about it.


Gust -- You know, there's good news there, because the press is going to be busy asking about a weekend in Vegas and his pending arrest on charges of narcotics possession.


Wilson -- Ah, Gus.
Zvi -- Shit, Charlie!
Wilson -- It's nothing.


Zvi stares at Charlie.  "Is this true?"


Gust -- For our purposes, it doesn't really matter. 
Wilson -- Thank you.
Gust -- I was just explaining to him that as long as the press sees sex and drugs behind the left hand, you can park a battle carrier behind the right hand and no one's gonna [flipping] notice.


Zvi's still shocked over the idea of the "narcotics" and his friend Charlie Wilson's apparent trouble.


Zvi -- What the hell happened?
Charlie -- It's not germane.  It's not germane to these people who are fighting and dying, and being massacred in their homes.  Now for the love of Christ, will you help us help them shoot down these [freaking]  helicopters?


Zvi regards the congressman with affection and pity and impatience.  He says, his voice growing in volume and intensity throughout the sentence, "I love you, Charlie, but you are a grown man who still hasn't learned to look both ways before he crosses the fucking street!"


Silence.  Congressman Wilson looks humbly down at the table before him.  Taking it.  Avrakotos doesn't speak or move a muscle.


Zvi -- Ye-e-ss, I'm in!
[indicating Avrakotos, and speaking to Charlie], But I don't like thees guy!


Charlie -- I know how you feel.
Zvi -- What happens now?
Charlie -- You come with us to Cairo.
Zvi -- This meeting's gonna be run professional?
Gust -- Oh, absolutely.  We'll be talking to the Deputy Defense Minister while his boss gets a belly-dance from a friend of Charlie's.


Zvi -- What?!
Charlie -- A good friend of mine back in Texas is a well-known belly dancer.  It's always been her dream to perform in Egypt, so she's our way in.  While she's dancin' for the Defense Minister, we'll be talkin' to the Deputy.


Zvi -- Oh my God.


Gust -- No, she's supposed to be good.





{Charlie Wilson's War - script by Aaron Sorkin}


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