Taliban poisons students in Afganistan

At the end of the video, one of the girls said, "I care more about Afghanistan than I care about myself."

This is entirely inconsistent with her requirements for survival. The Taliban says that Afghanistan is best served by a strict adherence to Islam, and that if the girl really cares about Afghanistan, she should submit to the Taliban law (which is based on Islam) and stop going to school. To much of the population in her country, the Taliban's ideology holds sway - her assertion, however heartfelt, does not attack the ideas that have enslaved her.

I would be far more hopeful about the prospects for Afghanistan if the message was in effect, "I care more about my long-term rational self-interest and my individual rights than I care about Afghanistan or Islam."

Note: Link is to a video / wants to fire up the MSNBC player, IIRC (I backed out), without a surrounding page/text.