GORBACHEV ON AFGHANISTAN: WE SHOULD LEARN LESSONS, AVOID REPETITION OF MISTAKES

Tue 17 August 2021:

The failure in Afghanistan should have been admitted earlier, while now it is important to learn lessons and avoid repetition of mistakes, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev told Sputnik on Tuesday.

“The failure should have been admitted earlier. Now it is important to learn lessons and to at least avoid repetition of such mistakes … This idea was unsuccessful from the very beginning, although Russia supported it at the first stage.

Like many similar projects, it was based on threat exaggeration and some not quite clear geopolitical plans, which was followed by unrealistic attempts to democratize a multi-tribal society,” Gorbachev said.

Gorbachev considered the Soviet Union’s presence in Afghanistan a political mistake, and the withdrawal of Soviet forces was his initiative. Gorbachev later recalled in his interview with Sputnik that the final decision was made following many rounds of discussions, and that the policy was supported both by the Soviet political and military leadership and by the people.

———————————————————————————————————————-

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent