Charlie Wilson Dies

Charlie Wilson, the fun-loving Texas congressman whose backroom dealmaking funneled millions of dollars in weapons toAfghanistan, allowing the country's underdog mujahedeen rebels to beat back the mighty Soviet Red Army, died Wednesday. He was 76.

Wilson died at Memorial Medical Center-Lufkin after having difficulty breathing after attending a meeting in the eastern Texas town where he lived, said hospital spokeswoman Yana Ogletree. Wilson was pronounced dead on arrival, and the preliminary cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest, she said.

Rest In Peace, Charlie.