Yes, hindsight is 20/20. We should have allowed the Soviets to take Afghanistan and dumped Jimmy over their to build houses.
That would make for an interesting alternate history novel. In some ways, Afghanistan did unfold as Reagan had hoped - as the USSR's Vietnam, overextending the Soviet military and hastening its bankruptcy. What would have come of things had we not backed the mujahadin? The Soviet economy was near collapse just trying to compete with SDI and it probably would have collapsed anyways. Had we kept our fingers out of the Afghan pie, would the Soviets have had another Chechnya on its hands with 9/11 type strikes aimed at Moscow instead of NYC and DC? Did our Stingers in some small way keep bin Laden from being killed by a Soviet airstrike? Lots to ponder how things might have unfolded. Thanks for the thought experiment!