Colourful Texan Congressman Charlie Wilson has died in hospital.
Mr Wilson, 76, was instrumental in supplying Afghan rebels with arms to fight the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
He represented Texas in the House of Representatives from 1973 to 1996 and was nicknamed "Good Time Charlie" for his party-loving ways.
The 2007 film Charlie Wilson's War told of his efforts to arm the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet occupation. Actor Tom Hanks portrayed Mr Wilson in the movie.
As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, he obtained massive increases in the CIA's Afghan budget.
After the Soviets left in 1989, Mr Wilson expressed concern about the reduction in US Congressional funding for Afghanistan, to equip Afghan fighters with Stinger missiles to shoot down Soviet helicopter gunships.
After the Soviets left in 1989, he expressed concern about the reduction in US Congressional funding for Afghanistan.
The BBC reports some of the warlords he helped arm are now fighting US and other foreign troops in Afghanistan.
A Democrat, Mr Wilson started his political career at the age of 27 as a state representative for his home district in Texas, in the heart of the East Texas Bible Belt.
He then went on to become a state senator before being elected to the United States Congress, where he served 12 terms until his retirement in 1996.
