Heed the Young Voice of Experience on the School Bombing
By Jo-Ann Johnston
We have numerous objections to the U.S.-and-Israeli strikes on Iran that began over the weekend and have continued since then. The war was started without the approval of the U.S. Congress, making it an illegal action. Our Project 2029 philosophy on armed conflict, explained in our Pillars, states clearly that we should “End non-essential military interventions” as we lament that for too long American “foreign policy has been built on intervention, occupation, and economic exploitation that determines the fate of others while claiming to stand for democracy.”
There is no justification for the attacks that we find credible – and administration reasoning seems to shift frequently — other than we believe the administration wants to distract the public and media from further revelations from the Epstein files. Additionally, the administration, we have learned from their comments, in conducting these bombings, is doing Israel’s bidding at the expense of U.S. taxpayers.
We are against spending money needed for domestic investments to underwrite international violence; we have, at this writing, already lost seven military service members in the conflict (and another service member who died from a medical emergency). We’ve seen heartbreaking civilian casualties.
Further, we have heard no clear strategy for us to be able to exit this widening conflict in the Mideast. You have likely already heard or read all those points. If you agree, we urge you to share these views with your congressional representative.
In addition, allow us to share another voice worth elevating now: education advocate and Nobel Peace Prize Malala Yousafzai’s. Most remember that when she was a teen in Pakistan, Yousafzai survived a shooting committed in 2012 by a Taliban gunman. She was targeted for daring to attend school and speak about her motivations in defiance of the Taliban’s ban on education for girls. Since her recovery and university education in England, she has become an even more prominent supporter of education for children internationally.
Naturally, when news emerged that 170 or more civilians were killed in Iran when a girl’s school was bombed during a Saturday morning session, Yousafzai addressed the horror. Girls between the ages of seven and 12 perished, along with some school staff.
“They were girls who went to school to learn, with hopes and dreams for their future. Today, their lives were brutally cut short,” Yousafzai posted on X, the social media platform.
Though it was not immediately clear who bombed the school and President Trump has tried to blame Iran, independent investigations using satellite imagery, sophisticated mapping software and other means suggest it was a mistake for which the U.S. is responsible. The horror that schoolgirls became innocent casualties will remain a cause of suffering for generations.
Yousafzai, who is now 28, further called for accountability, justice and an end to the violence rising in the region.
“All states and parties must uphold their obligations under international law to protect civilians and safeguard schools,” she wrote. “Every child deserves to live and learn in peace.”
We agree.
