Retired U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson became a household name with the release of the 2007 movie "Charlie Wilson's War." Starring Tom Hanks as the liberal Democratic congressman, the movie chronicled the real story of how Wilson wheeled and dealed to get the House Appropriations Committee to spend several billions of dollars on covert CIA support for Afghan rebels, who drove the Soviets out of Afghanistan in the 1980s. It was the biggest covert action in the history of the CIA. The movie is out on DVD.

The congressman from Texas had a well-deserved reputation as a "Good Time Charlie" and occasionally traveled with a belly dancer. Now at 74, Wilson has settled down and has been married since 1999. He left Congress in 1997. He is recovering from heart transplant surgery last fall.

Q: How are you feeling these days?

A: Well, thank you very much. I'm feeling pretty good. I'm in my seventh month since the operation. I'm just beginning to start regaining strength.

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Q: Is there anything you would change, add or delete about your portrayal in the movie?

A: As strange as it may seem, there's not. I was perfectly satisfied. I think the movie really is loyal to the book in so far as time allowed.

Q: What about your reputation as a playboy -- was it something you cultivated?

A: Yeah. I didn't make any secrets of anything. I think you could say there was a little bit of intentional cultivation there. Perhaps I didn't want people to take me too seriously [laughs]. But mostly I wanted to have a good time.

Q: Did you ever think that your colorful personal life would interfere with your efforts in Washington, D.C.? Or derail your political career?

A: No, I really didn't. I think as long as you're yourself and not hypocritical about your behavior that people take it in stride. You know the things I did weren't against the law or in violation of the ethics code.

Q: So, the difference between you and a lot of these guys who get caught is you weren't hiding anything.

A: Exactly. There wasn't anything anybody could catch me at because it was all in broad daylight [laughs]. I caught myself a lot.

Q: You did. There was that incident with the car accident on the Key Bridge [he was driving under the influence and left the scene of the accident].

A: That was bad. That was really bad. That really was a wild episode and one that I regretted.

Q: Looking back, do you believe in destiny?

A: Yes, I believe in destiny, but when destiny comes along you have to grab hold of it.

Q: It's been said that no one in the press or Congress seemed to care at the time that the CIA was running one of its biggest operations in history. Wasn't that because they didn't know about it?

A: It was partially that, but the press ignored us because they were absolutely mesmerized with what was going on in Central America. So we were just able to move a huge operation under the radar. Without that distraction for the press, I doubt we could have gotten away with it.

Q: If the CIA could defeat the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in a massive covert operation, why do you think we didn't use that same blueprint for Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden?

A: Well, everything is different, but you have a very good point. And it should have been tried.

Q: Do you think the CIA is as effective as it was when you were in Congress?

A: I think something has been lost, or we wouldn't have missed the weapons of mass destruction so, so hideously.

Q: You became very familiar with the mujahedeen, fighting alongside them at one point. Was it their faith that made them such fierce fighters?

A: Oh, yes, that was a huge part of it. But it's also something else that I have never seen anywhere else. They really considered their earth, the ground under their feet that was Afghan forever; they really considered it sacred. They are also such spectacular fighters, you know. Oh, man, I mean God, I'd rather take on a chainsaw.

Q: In the book, a strong connection between the Americans and the Afghan fighters is indicated. Then the Soviets leave and it changes. Did you encounter the Taliban? Did they even exist then?

A: No, it was 11 years after the Russians left Afghanistan before anybody had ever heard of them. The Berlin Wall had come down, all that before the Taliban reared its head.

Q: And our mistake was not staying there and helping to rebuild the country after the defeat of the Soviet Union?

A: Absolutely. You would never have heard of the Taliban. The Taliban was a result of the vacuum that we left.

Q: Are we in danger of doing the same thing in Iraq if we pull out?

A: I really don't know. I really believe we should give it a try in Iraq to rebuild the country because, after all, we destroyed it. Unlike Afghanistan, we destroyed Iraq, and I think we are indebted to do everything we can to rebuild it. But I don't think we need to do anything there that requires the presence of 169,000 soldiers. I think we should begin pulling them out. If we didn't have a big presence in Iraq (of course I was opposed to the Iraq War when it started), we wouldn't have had to take so many of our assets out of Afghanistan, and I think we can catch bin Laden. He's catchable. He is absolutely catchable. But it will take more soldiers than we have there now. Some of the really elite units they took out could be assigned that task, and I believe they'd have good luck.