Moscow: Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev who ended the USSR’S decade-long war in Afghanistan in 1989, on Tuesday warned against repeating the mistakes of the US invasion of the country.
"From the very start (the US invasion) was a bad idea, although Russia initially supported it," Gorbachev told the RIA Novosti news agency. "Now it is important to learn from the situation and at least not repeat such mistakes," he added.
Taliban freedom fighters on Sunday completed a military takeover of Afghanistan with little resistance, capitalising on the withdrawal of America-led troops from the country. The US military had been present in Afghanistan since 2001 when it invaded following the Taliban’s refusal to hand over Al-Qaeda’s leader Osama bin Laden in the wake of the September 11 attacks.