"We Are The Terrorists": Former Intelligence Officer Condemns US Strike on Iranian Girls' School as Deliberate War Crime
Josephine Guilbeau denounces the documented bombing of the Minab school that killed over 165 children, dismissing claims of an accident and issuing a desperate plea to US Naval commanders.
In a highly charged and emotional speech, Josephine Guilbeau, a former US Army intelligence and counter-terrorism officer, publicly condemned the United States military for the devastating February 28 missile strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab, Iran.
The bombing, which resulted in the deaths of over 165 people—primarily young schoolgirls—is a documented tragedy. However, Guilbeau’s address goes beyond mourning the martyred victims; she explicitly dismisses any narrative that the strike was an accident, using her 17-year intelligence background to argue that the attack was a premeditated war crime.
A Rejection of the “Targeting Error” Narrative
While US military investigations have suggested the strike on the school—located adjacent to an IRGC military base—was the result of a targeting error or outdated intelligence maps, Guilbeau argued that the military’s advanced technology makes such an accident virtually impossible.
She noted that the school was surrounded by bright, colourful murals and paintings of children, making its identity obvious. Furthermore, she emphasised that modern Tomahawk missiles are equipped with real-time targeting imagery and onboard cameras. Paired with constant satellite surveillance by multiple intelligence agencies, she asserted that the military command had to have known exactly what they were hitting.
“We just bombed a school knowing it was a school,” Guilbeau stated, condemning the subsequent silence and what she described as “lies and excuses” from leadership.
The Timeline of the Strike
Guilbeau provided a chilling timeline of the attack, which began around 10:00 AM. As school staff at Minab desperately attempted to evacuate the children, she detailed how the compound was struck repeatedly by Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance.
According to her account, one of the strikes specifically hit a prayer room where children had been moved for shelter, resulting in the massive loss of life. She further highlighted a disturbing lack of accountability: following the massacre, the USS Spruance simply conducted a replenishment at sea to restock its weapons. She noted there was no pause for review, no immediate investigation, and no calls for the command structure—specifically naming the ship’s executive officers—to answer to Congress or the American people for the civilian casualties.
Applying the Definition of Terrorism
Drawing on her background as a counter-terrorism officer, Guilbeau turned the US government’s own definitions against it. She defined terrorism as the premeditated use of violence against civilians or property to induce fear or coercion for political or ideological objectives.
Looking at the undeniable reality of the girls killed in Minab, she delivered a damning conclusion regarding the actions of her former employer: “By our own definition of terrorism... we are the terrorists. We are the bad guys.”
A Desperate Plea to the Navy
Warning of an impending “bloodbath” and framing US service members as pawns for the political elite, Guilbeau concluded her speech with a direct and urgent plea to Captain Patrick J. Sullivan, commander of the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli.
She implored him to “stop the ship now” and “turn the USS Tripoli around.” She warned that continuing to follow orders in this conflict would make him complicit in war crimes, stating that the blood and death of his own Marines would ultimately be on his hands.
The Human Cost
Ultimately, beyond the geopolitical manoeuvrings, the intelligence reports, and the military strategies, remains a devastating and irreplaceable loss. One hundred and sixty-five little girls—children with names, families, and futures—went to school to learn and never returned home. Their laughter, dreams, and potential were silenced in a place that should have been their ultimate sanctuary. As the world grapples with the justifications of war and the actions of military superpowers, the haunting reality of the Minab school bombing serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the true cost of conflict. The memories of those martyred girls demand that we do not look away, and that we deeply question the devastating price of war when it is paid by the most innocent among us.