Backsliding and Glimmers

So apparently the Taliban's influence in Afghanistan remains. In Salon they have an article about these Taliban assholes threatening to kill schoolgirls for (horrors!) the act of going to school for a basic education.

While the idea that the Taliban is doing this is quite repulsive, I do like the end of the article:

Still, the news isn't all bad. At the girls' school in Qosh Tappeh, likewise near Kunduz, the school director, a veteran of the mujahedeen, took things into his own hands. When the Taliban showed up to his school for the second time to present their threats, he found a uniquely Afghan solution to the problem. He told his visitors that, when it comes to fighting to the death, he is much more experienced than they. Should they like to find out for sure, he offered, he would be happy to accommodate them.

His threat seemed to have worked. The girls in Qosh Tappeh continue to attend school.

I guess what they say about confronting bullies still holds true. Especially if the bullies are facing out with a badass who has already fought his share of battles.