Well, we'd do so if it wasn't for the fact that when it came to us vs. the Soviet Union, both Uncle Sam and Ivan used global hegemony as an excuse to pull rank douchebaggery of the greatest degree. The reality is that Afghanistan is one of the biggest open sores of the Cold War, where the very existence of the Islamic Republic is another legacy. As is the devastation of Iraq.

All I'll note is that the reason Tamerlane succeeded where everyone else didn't was that his definition of counterinsurgency tactics was to build pyramids of skulls.