@britexpat they can, but they haven't got it wrong in this subject, now you as a little girl in a village in Afghanistan, would you want to be ruled by Mullas and religious warlords or would you like to see your country prosper with freedom and love knowing that your economy is growing with the help of many other foreigners?
And you can't deny the critical role of the Soviets when they installed more schools and universities and provided training and education, jobs and economy!