Her name was probably Fatimeh, or Zahra, or Narges — the most common names in the southern Iranian province where she lived. She was between 7 and 12 years old. She was at school on a Saturday, the way Iranian children are, and she was changing classes when the roof came down. Between 85 and 108 children died at Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab today. The New York Times, the Washington Post, Reuters, and an Iranian verification outlet called Factnameh have all authenticated the footage — footage that matches pre-strike imagery of the school, that shows the collapsed roof, the cranes moving debris, and the security cordons as bodies were transferred to families [1]. The Iranian regime lies about a lot of things. Independent journalists confirmed this one. This is what unilateral war looks like when it goes wrong. And nobody voted for it.
This Morning It Was Procedural
I wrote this morning that Tim Kaine should take his war powers vote even though he would lose. That the point of forcing a losing vote is accountability — a roll-call record that tells constituents whether their senator thinks Congress has a role in sending this country to war. I want to come back to that piece now, not to say I told you so — that would be both premature and obscene given what actually happened — but because the events of the last 14 hours illustrate exactly why the procedural argument was never just procedural. When there is no vote, there is no debate. When there is no debate, there is no mechanism for anyone to slow down and ask: what happens if the strikes hit a school? What is the plan if Iran retaliates? What are our assumptions about civilian proximity to military targets, and are they sound? Those questions don't get asked in a Gang of Eight briefing delivered moments before impact. They get asked in a congressional debate — if someone forces one [2]. Nobody forced one. And here we are.
