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Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Inga Sarda-Sorensen
Director of Communications
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
646.358.1463
isorensen@theTaskForce.org
Calla Devlin Rongerude
Communications Director
National Center for Lesbian Rights
415.392.6257, ext. 324
crongerude@nclrights.org
Justin Tanis
Communications Director
National Center for Transgender Equality
202.903.0112
jtanis@nctequality.org
Michael Cole
New Media Director
Human Rights Campaign
202.216.1553
michael.cole@hrc.org
Today, the nation's leading lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organizations, along with allies in the faith, labor and civil rights communities, issued the following statement to members of the United States Congress:
"Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act NOW."
Equality Federation, Toni Broaddus, Executive Director
Family Equality Council, Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director
Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), Lee Swislow, Executive Director
Human Rights Campaign, Joe Solmonese, President
National Black Justice Coalition, Sharon J. Lettman, Executive Director/CEO
National Center for Lesbian Rights, Kate Kendell, Esq., Executive Director
National Center for Transgender Equality, Mara Keisling, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund, Rea Carey, Executive Director
National Stonewall Democrats, Michael Mitchell, Executive Director
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays National, Jody M. Huckaby, Executive Director
Pride at Work, AFL-CIO, Peggy Shorey, Executive Director
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, Selisse Berry, Founding Executive Director
Transgender Law Center, Masen Davis, Executive Director
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers, Terry Stone, Executive Director
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, Shawn Gaylord, Director of Public Policy
A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI), Clayola Brown, President
Advocates for Youth, James Wagoner, President
African American Ministers in Action, Rev. Timothy McDonald, Chairman
AID Gwinnett, Larry M. Lehman, Executive Director
AIDS Action Council, William D. McColl, Political Director
Alabama Gender Alliance, J. D. Freeman, President
Alaska Together for Equality, Inc., Elias Rojas, Board President
Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Debra Kolodny, Executive Director
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Gerald W. McEntee, President
American Federation Of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, President
American Humanist Association, Karen Frantz, Communication and Policy Director
Arizona Stonewall Democrats, Erica Keppler, Chair
Arizona Trans Alliance, Erica Keppler, Co-Chair
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), Amado Uno, Executive Director
Association of Flight Attendants - CWA, Patricia Friend, President
Atlanta Stonewall Democrats, Tim Cairl, President
Basic Rights Oregon, Jeana Frazzini, Executive Director
Baystate Stonewall Democrats, Claire Naughton, President
Bi Writers Association, Sheela Lambert, Founder
Bisexual Resource Center, Ellyn Ruthstrom, President
Black Pride Los Angeles, Milton Smith, Board President
California Council Of Churches/IMPACT, The Rev. Dr. Rick Schlosser, Executive Director
California Faith for Equality, Kerry Chaplin, Interfaith Organizing Director
Celtic Circle Church of US and Scotland, Rev. Lord Arteo MacAiken Sneath, Founding Elder Clergy/CEO
Central City AIDS Network, Inc, The Rainbow Center, Johnny Fambo, Executive Director
Cleveland Stonewall Democrats, Robert F. Rivera, President
Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), Karen J. See, President
COLAGE, Beth Teper, Executive Director
Colorado Stonewall Democrats, Karen Bachman, Vice-Chair
Communications Workers of America, Annie Hill, Executive Vice President
Community Alliance and Action Network, Tim Pierce, President
Community Health Awareness Council, Monique Kane, Executive Director
Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, Rabbi
Consortium for Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals, Debbie Bazarsky, Co-Chair
Coqsure, Cris Land, Founder and Administrator
DC Trans Coalition, Sadie-Ryanne Baker, Leadership Committee Co-Chair
Democratic Party of Oregon, Meredith Wood-Smith, Chair
Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE), Paul Almeida, President
DignityUSA, Marianne Duddy-Burke, Executive Director
Empire State Pride Agenda, Joe Tarver, Interim Executive Director
Equal Rights Washington, Joshua Friedes, Executive Director
Equality Alabama, Lori Stabler, Board Co-Chair
Equality Arizona, Mike Remedi, Co-Chair Board of Directors
Equality California, Geoff Kors, Executive Director
Equality Florida, Nadine Smith, Executive Director
Equality Hawaii, Paul Gracie, Co-Chair
Equality Illinois, Bernard Cherkasov, Esq., CEO
Equality Iowa, Sandy Vopalka, Founder
Equality Maine, Betsy Smith, Executive Director
Equality Maryland, Morgan Meneses-Sheets, Executive Director
Equality North Carolina, Ian Palmquist, Executive Director
Equality Ohio, Sue Doerfer, Executive Director
Equality South Dakota, Robert Doody, Chair
Equality Texas, Chuck Smith, Interim Executive Director
Equality Toledo Community Action, David Mann, President
Fair Housing of Marin, Nancy Kenyon, Executive Director
Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh, Peter Harvey, Executive Director
Fair Wisconsin, Katie Belanger, Executive Director
Fairness West Virginia, Stephen Skinner, President
Families United Against Hate (FUAH), Gabi Clayton, Board President
Female-To-Male International, Rabbi Levi Alter, President
Fight OUT Loud, Waymon Hudson, President
Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus, Michael Albetta, Caucus President
Florida Together, Ted Howard, Executive Director
FORGE, Michael Munson, Executive Director
Forum For Equality, SarahJane Brady, Managing Director
Forward Montana, Matt Singer, CEO
Freedom to Marry, Evan Wolfson, Executive Director
FTM International Albuquerque, NM Chapter, Adrien Lawyer, Leader
FTM International Atlanta, GA Chapter, BT, Leader
FTM International Bay Area, CA AFLOAT-SOFFA Chapter, Genie Moore, Leader
FTM International North Texas Chapter, Clay Rieber, Leader
FTM International Ohio Chapter, Jake Nash, Leader
FTM International Sacramento, CA Chapter, Marty Diaz, Leader
FTM International San Buenaventura, CA Chapter, Seth Mwansa, Leader
FTMI International San Diego, CA Chapter, Connor Maddocks, Leader
Garden State Equality, Steven Goldstein, Chair and CEO
Gay And Lesbian Labor Activist Network
Gay & Lesbian Medical Association, Rebecca Allison, MD, President
Gay City Health Project, Fred Swanson, Executive Director
Gay Grassroots of Northwest Florida, Doug Landreth, Founder
Gay Liberation Network, Andy Thayer, Co-Founder
Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools, Cindy Crane, Executive Director
Gays and Lesbians United Against Discrimination, Caleb Laieski, Executive Director
Gay-Straight Alliance Network, Carolyn Laub, Executive Director
Greater Seattle Business Association GSBA, Louise Chernin, Executive Director
Gender Justice LA, Latrice Johnson, Executive Director
Gender Rights Advocacy Association of NJ, Barbra Casbar Siperstein, Director
Gentle Spirit Christian Church, Rev. Paul M. Turner, Senior Pastor
Georgia Equality, Jeff Graham, Executive Director
Georgia Rural Urban Summit, Larry Pellegrini, Executive Director
Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, Jeffrey D. Richardson, President
GetEQUAL, Kip Williams, Co-Founder
GLBT Bar Association of Washington, Cynthia Buhr, President
Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, San Francisco, David Waggoner, Co-President
H.E.R.O., Meg Sneed, Co-founder
Holy Sprit Ecumenical Church - Largo, FL, Rev Steven M. Rosczewski, Pastor
Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Inc, Scott W. Gehl, Executive Director
Human Rights Campaign of Vanderbilt University, Luis Munoz, President
Immigration Equality, Julie Kruse, Policy Director
Ingersoll Gender Center, Marsha Botzer, Co-President
Integrity USA, John Clinton Bradley, Acting Executive Director
Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality, The Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge, Co-Chair
International Court Council, Coco LaChine, President
International Federation of Black Prides, Inc, Earl Fowlkes, President/CEO
International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, AFL-CIO, James A. Williams, General President
Jacksonville Now, Jeremy Gould, CEO
Jefferson County, Colorado, Democratic Party, GLBT Caucus, David Reaser, Chair
Jewish Family & Career Services - The Rainbow Center in Atlanta, Gary Miller, CEO
Juxtaposed Center for Transformation, Inc, Tracee McDaniel, Executive Director
Kalamazoo Gay Lesbian Resource Center, Antonio David Garcia, Executive Director
Kentucky Fairness Alliance, Travis Myles, Chairperson
Keshet, Idit Klein, Executive Director
KnoxBoyz of East Tennessee, BEAR A-M Rodgers, Founding Executive Director
KnoxGirlz of East Tennessee, Deirdre Radcliffe, Executive Director
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), Hector E. Sanchez, Executive Director
LaGender Inc, Dee Dee Chamblee, Executive Director
Lambda Legal, Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director
Lavender Caucus SEIU, Eastern Region, Tony Fernandes, President
Legal Aid Services of Broward County, Anthony J. Karrat, Esq., Executive Director
Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center, Joan M. Graff, President
Legal Voice, Lisa Stone, Executive Director
Lepoco Peace Center, Nancy Tate, Executive Director
Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens (LGBDQ), Bruce Friedman, President
Lesbian and Gay Family Building Project, Claudia E. Stallman, Project Director
LGBT Stonewall Caucus of the Democratic Party of Virginia, Roland Winston, Chairman
Long Island Housing Services, Michelle Santantonio, Executive Director
Love Makes a Family PAC, Martin L. Heft, Chairman
Lutherans Concerned/North America, Ross Murray, Interim Executive Director
Maine Transgender Network, Inc, Alex Roan, Executive Director
Massachusetts Lesbian & Gay Bar Association, David Eppley, Co-Chair
Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, Gunner Scott, Executive Director
Mautner Project: The National Lesbian Health Organization, Leslie J. Calman, Ph.D., Executive Director
MEGA Family Project, Kathy Kelly, Executive Director
Metropolitan Community Churches, The Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, Moderator
Miami Valley Fair Housing Center, Inc., Jim McCarthy, President/CEO
Michigan AIDS Coalition, Detroit, Michigan, Craig Covey, Operating Officer
More Light Presbyterians, Michael J. Adee, Executive Director
NAACP, Hilary O. Shelton, Director NAACP Washington Bureau & Senior VP for Advocacy and Policy
National Caucus SEIU, Tom Barbera, President
National Coalition for LGBT Health, Rebecca Fox, Executive Director
National Council of Jewish Women, Nancy Ratzan, President
National Fair Housing Alliance, Shanna L. Smith, President and CEO
National Marriage Boycott, Laura Wadden, Executive Director
National Organization for Women - Alabama, Shirley Ann Rawls, President
National Student Genderblind Campaign, David Norton, Executive Director
National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC), Gregory Varnum, Executive Director
New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition, Mo Baxley, Executive Director
New Mexico GLBTQ Centers, David Stocum, Executive Director
New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA), Pauline Park, Chair
New York Transgender Rights Organization (NYTRO), Joann Prinzivalli, Executive Director
Northwest PA Trans Group, Joanne Lynn Benjamin, Founder
Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), Nancy Wohlforth, Secretary-Treasurer Emerita
One Colorado, Lea Ann Purvis, Interim Executive Director
Our Family Coalition, Judy Appel, Executive Director
Out4Immigration, Amos Lim, Founding Board Member
OutFront Minnesota, Amy Johnson, Executive Director
Outlet Program, Eileen Ross, Director
Outright Vermont, Melissa Murray, Executive Director
PA Diversity Network, Liz Bradbury, Executive Director
Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, Rand Hoch, President and Founder
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transgender Individuals of Jacksonville, FL, Frieda Saraga, President
People For the American Way, Michael B. Keegan, President
Perpetual Transition, Casey Lanham, Co-Founder
PFLAG-Vero Beach, Carl Burns, Treasurer
Pikes Peak Gay & Lesbian Community Center, Ryan Acker, Executive Director
Pride At Work, Martin Luther King County WA Chapter, Mike Andrews, Secretary-Treasurer, Chapter Lead
Pride Tampa Bay, R. Zeke Fread, Executive Director
PROMO (Missouri), A. J. Bockelman, Executive Director
Religious Institute, The Reverend Debra W. Haffner, Executive Director
Respect Resource Group, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Randy Kammer, Executive Sponsor
Rockway Institute, a unit of the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, San Francisco campus, Robert-Jay Green, Executive Director
Room for All (Reformed Church in America), Rev. Robert D. Williams, Founding Co-President
RU12? Community Center and Vermont TransAction, Kara DeLeonardis, MSW, LICSW, Executive Director
S. U. R. E. Foundation, Dr. Mekah Gordon Ph.D., Founder/CEO
Safe Schools Coalition, Kyle Rapinan, Co-chair
San Francisco LGBT Community Center, Rebecca Rolfe, Executive Director
Santa Cruz County Task Force for LGBTIQ Youth, Stuart Rosenstein, Chair
SEIU 509 Lavender Caucus, Tom Barbera, President
Service Employees International Union, Anna Burger, International Secretary Treasurer
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS), Joseph DiNorcia Jr., President and CEO
SOFFAs of East Tennessee Transgenders, Valerie Knight, Executive Director
South Bay Transmen, Lance Moore, Organizer
South Carolina Equality, B. Dean Pierce, Chair, Board of Directors
Stonewall Democratic Club of New York, Joseph G. Hagelmann, III, President
Stonewall Democratic Club of Southern Nevada, Derek Washington, Chair
Stonewall Democrats of Volusia & Flagler, Larry Glinzman, President
Stonewall Democrats of Pasco County, Jocelyn A. Dickman, President
Sunshine Social Services, Inc/SunServe, Mark Adler, MPH, Executive Director
Tennessee Equality Project, H.G. Stovall, Board President
Tennessee Equality Project Foundation, Randy Cox, President/Chair
Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, Marisa Richmond, Ph.D., President
Tennessee Vals, Vickie Davis, Chair Woman
The American Institute of Bisexuality, Denise Penn MSW, Director
The Center (Des Moines, Iowa), Sandy Vopalka, Administrator
The Center for HIV Law and Policy, Catherine Hanssens, Executive Director
The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry (CLGS), Bernard Schlager, Ph.D., Executive Director
The Crystal Club, Barbie Rogers, President
The Family Tree LGBT Community Center, Jim Van Riper, Co-Chair
The Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation, Hebrew Union Collage-Jewish Institute of Religion, Dr. Joel Kushner, Director
The Pride Center at Equality Park, Paul Hyman, Executive Director
Trans/Giving Arts Showcase, Kalil Cohen, Lead Organizer
Trans-Action Initiative of Bard College, Kira Gilman, Club Head
TransActive Education & Advocacy, Jenn Burleton, Executive Director
Transgender at Work, Mary Ann Horton, Chair
Transgender Education Network of Texas, Lisa Scheps, Executive Director
Transgender Equality Rights Initiative (TERI), Jacqui Charvet, Co-Administrator
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, Michael Silverman, Executive Director
TransOhio, Shane Morgan, Founder & Chair
Triangle Community Center, Norwalk, CT, Christopher J. Spiegelman, Board President
Triangle Foundation/Michigan Equality, Alicia Skillman, Executive Director
Tucson GLBT Chamber of Commerce, Sheldon Fishman, President
UNITE HERE International Union, John Wilhelm, President
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries, Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo, Executive Minister
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry, CA, Rev. Lindi Ramsden, Executive Director
Vermont Freedom to Marry Action Committee, Beth Robinson, Chair
Washington Gender Alliance, Rory Gould, President
Western Mass Pride at Work, David James, President
WKJCE TLGB Radio, Alanna Maneer, Co Founder
Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER), Mary E. Hunt, Executive Director
YouthPride, Inc, Terence McPhaul, Executive Director
(236 Organizations)
"This disgraceful vote does not change Congress' legal duty, and it certainly does not silence the millions of Americans who oppose another illegal war," said an ACLU director.
As US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared Thursday that "the amount of firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically," four Democrats in the House of Representatives voted with nearly all Republicans to reject a bipartisan war powers resolution that would have halted President Donald Trump and Israel's assault on the Middle East country.
Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Jared Golden (Maine), Greg Landsman (Ohio), and Juan Vargas (Calif.) stood with the GOP for the 212-219 vote against H.Con.Res.38, which was led by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). The only other Republican to support the resolution was Rep. Warren Davidson (Ohio)—though GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales (Texas), who is facing an unrelated scandal, did not participate.
Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the think tank Center for International Policy, highlighted that given Massie and Davidson's votes, "if those four Democrats had stuck with their caucus and their voters, it would have passed."
"Everyone who opposed the resolution owns this war—along with the casualties, rising gas prices, and regional chaos that comes with it."
The House vote came just a day after Democratic US Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) and all of the chamber's Republicans but Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) rejected S.J.Res.104, a similar resolution sponsored by Paul and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). As with the Wednesday vote, a range of critics called out Congress for enabling Trump's illegal and already seemingly endless war.
"This is a shameful abdication of Congress' constitutional authority to take the country to war," said Defending Rights & Dissent, noting the rising death toll. "US and Israeli strikes have hit elementary schools, hospitals, and the capital city of Tehran, home to 10 million. Six US service members have died. Trump is carrying out yet another regime change war of choice, and the American people have been overwhelmingly clear that they don't support it."
"This was Congress' best chance to stop further killings, to stop an all-out regional war with no end in sight, and to uphold the constitutional principle that prevents presidents from going rogue," the group continued. "We are deeply disappointed in both chambers' failure to stand up to this dangerous insanity."
Christopher Anders, director of the ACLU's democracy and technology division, stressed in a statement that "this failed war powers vote is nothing short of cowardly, but Congress can't dodge the Constitution forever."
"By refusing to rein in President Trump's unauthorized war with Iran, Congress has allowed President Trump to make a mockery of the Constitution and is trying to duck responsibility for putting service members and civilians in great danger," Anders added. "But, this disgraceful vote does not change Congress' legal duty, and it certainly does not silence the millions of Americans who oppose another illegal war. We will hold President Trump accountable for this abuse of power."
In the lead-up to Thursday's vote, one unnamed "senior progressive House Democrat" told Axios that the groups including Justice Democrats, MoveOn, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and Our Revolution "will primary anyone" who votes no.
After the vote, Justice Democrats shared the congressional office numbers of the four Democrats, and said to "call these spineless Dems who support Trump's new forever war with Iran and tell them to go to war themselves if they want it so bad."
Another progressive group, a youth-led climate organization Sunrise Movement, also took aim at the House Democrats who voted with the GOP, declaring on social media: "Absolutely ridiculous. Call them out. Vote them out."
Council on American-Islamic Relations government affairs director Robert S. McCaw commended all lawmakers "who voted to uphold Congress' constitutional duty and demand an end to unauthorized hostilities with Iran," particularly Massie and Davidson for their "courage to break with their party and stand on principle."
It is also "deeply disappointing" that some Democrats "joined Republicans to defeat this effort and enable an unconstitutional war," he said, warning that "their votes helped give the administration a green light to continue a dangerous escalation that threatens American lives and regional stability."
Earlier this week, Cuellar, Golden, and Landsman joined Democratic Reps. Jim Costa (Calif.), Josh Gottheimer (NJ), and Jimmy Panetta (Calif.) to introduce a competing war powers resolution that would let Trump wage war on Iran for a month. Noting that proposal, McCaw argued that "Americans did not elect Congress to issue a '30 days of carnage hall pass' for an unauthorized war. If a war is unconstitutional today, it should not be allowed to continue for another month."
“The Constitution is clear: Congress, not the president, has the authority to decide when this nation goes to war," he added. "The American people must continue pressing their elected representatives to reclaim that authority and stop another disastrous war in the Middle East before it spirals further out of control."
As of Thursday, the Iranian government put the death toll at 1,230, though US and Israeli attacks continue, and Hegseth said that "we have only just begun to fight and fight decisively... If you think you've seen something, just wait. The amount of combat power that's still flowing, that's still coming, that we'll be able to project over Iran is a multiples of what it currently is right now."
On top of the lives lost, recent reporting suggests that Trump's war on Iran could be costing US taxpayers $1 billion per day. Calling the House vote "profoundly disappointing," Demand Progress senior policy adviser Cavan Kharrazian said that "everyone who opposed the resolution owns this war—along with the casualties, rising gas prices, and regional chaos that comes with it."
"Congress needs to stop listening to warmongering elites," Kharrazian added, "and start listening to the American people who are sick and tired of being dragged into forever wars."
"Israel built AI targeting systems in Gaza—approved kills in 20 seconds, 10% error rate accepted," said one expert. "Now those same systems are running over Iran... and there’s an arms industry IPO-ing off the back of it."
After Israel's unprecedented use of artificial intelligence to select bombing targets in Gaza, experts are now sounding the alarm regarding what one analyst on Thursday called a lack of human supervision over Israeli AI targeting in Iran.
"Similarities between Israel's bombing of Gaza and Tehran are growing stronger," Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft executive vice president Trita Parsi said Thursday on X. "In both cases, it appears Israel is using AI without any human oversight."
"For instance, Israel has bombed a park in Tehran called 'Police Park,'" Parsi added. "It has nothing to do with the police. But it appears AI identified it as a target since Israel is bombing all government-related buildings. No one in Israel bothered to check and find out that it is just a park."
Borrowing from startup vernacular, tech journalist Jacob Ward calls Israel's use and export of AI technology in the post-Gaza era "lethal beta."
"Gaza was the prototype," Ward explained in a video posted this week on Bluesky. "Iran is the launch."
"[It's] a live-fire, live-ordnance lab experiment on people, killing people, that creates a pipeline of exportable products to the rest of the world, and it has become a big industry in Israel—and it's something that we in the United States have been dealing with and doing business with for some time as well."
Israel built AI targeting systems in Gaza — approved kills in 20 seconds, 10% error rate accepted. Now those same systems are running over Iran and being exported all over the world. I’m calling this “lethal beta,” and there’s an arms industry IPO-ing off the back of it. Full breakdown at
[image or embed]
— Jacob Ward (@byjacobward.bsky.social) March 3, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Previous investigations have detailed how the IDF uses Habsora, an Israeli AI system that can automatically select airstrike targets at an exponentially faster rate than ever before. One Israeli intelligence source asserted that the technology has transformed the IDF into a “mass assassination factory” in which the “emphasis is on quantity and not quality” of kills.
Mistakes were all but inevitable, but expert critics argue Israeli policy has made matters worse. In the tense hours following the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, mid-ranking IDF officers were empowered to order attacks on not only senior Hamas commanders but any fighter in the resistance group, no matter how low-ranking.
According to a New York Times investigation, IDF officers were also permitted to risk up to 20 civilian lives in each airstrike, and up to 500 noncombatant lives per day. Even that limit was lifted after just a few days. Officers could order any number of strikes as they believed were legal, with no limits on civilian harm.
Senior IDF commanders sometimes approved strikes they knew could kill more than 100 civilians if the target was considered high-value. In one AI-aided airstrike targeting one senior Hamas commander, the IDF dropped multiple US-supplied 2,000-pound bombs, which can level an entire city block, on the Jabalia refugee camp in October 2023.
That bombing killed at least 126 people, 68 of them children, and wounded 280 others. Hamas said four Israeli and three international hostages were also killed in the attack.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the US military in Iran has "leveraged the most advanced artificial intelligence it’s ever used in warfare, a tool that could be difficult for the Pentagon to give up even as it severs ties with the company that created it."
According to the Post, Palantir's Maven Smart System—which contains Anthropic's Claude AI language model—reportedly helped US commanders select 1,000 Iranian targets during the war's first 24 hours alone.
Experts are urging a more cautious approach to military AI use. Paul Scharre, executive vice president at the Center for a New American Security, told the Post that “AI gets it wrong... We need humans to check the output of generative AI when the stakes are life and death.”
It is not publicly known whether AI was used in connection with any of the deadliest massacres of the current war on Iran, which has left more than 1,000 Iranians dead, including around 175 children and others who were killed by what first responders and victims' relatives said was a double-tap strike on a girls' school last Saturday in the southern city of Minab.
Last week, Trump ordered all federal agencies including the Department of Defense to stop using all Anthropic products in apparent retaliation for the San Francisco-based company's refusal to allow unrestricted government and military use of its technology over fears it could be used for mass surveillance of Americans and in automated weapons systems, also known as "killer robots."
Trump gave the Pentagon six months to phase out Anthropic products, allowing their continued use in the Iran war pending replacements.
Project Nimbus—a $1.2 billion cloud-computing and AI contract signed in 2021 between the Israeli government and Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud—provides cloud infrastructure, AI tools, and data storage for the IDF and other agencies. The deal prohibits Google or Amazon from refusing service to Israeli government, military, or intelligence agencies.
Academics and jurists are gathered this week in Geneva, Switzerland—with a second four-day round of talks starting August 31—for a United Nations-sponsored conference on lethal autonomous weapons systems.
Attendees are examining the risks posed by killer robots that can select and engage targets without meaningful human control. They are also studying the legal, military, and technological implications of autonomous weapons systems and working to build international consensus on regulation.
“The current failure to regulate AI warfare, or to pause its usage until there is some agreement on lawful usage, seems to suggest potential proliferation of AI warfare is imminent,” Craig Jones, a political geographer at Newcastle University in England who researches military targeting, told Nature's Nicola Jones on Thursday.
While some proponents of AI weapons systems have claimed their use will reduce civilian harm, Jones stressed that "there is no evidence that AI lowers civilian deaths or wrongful targeting decisions—and it may be that the opposite is true."
"If the United States is at war, then Pete Hegseth is a war criminal. If the United States is not at war, then Pete Hegseth is a murderer."
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday was condemned for his boasts on Wednesday about sinking an Iranian military ship after allegations emerged that it was "defenseless" at the time it was torpedoed in international waters by a US submarine.
Military.com reported Thursday that the Iranian ship had been departing from a biennial multinational naval training exercise that it had been invited to participate in by the Indian government.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has so far remained silent on the US attack on the ship, but other politicians in India delivering sharp condemnations.
According to the Times of India, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi tore into Modi for not speaking up after the US torpedoed a boat that his government had invited into its waters.
"The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean," Gandhi said. "Yet the PM has said nothing. At a moment like this, we need a steady hand at the wheel. Instead, India has a compromised PM who has surrendered our strategic autonomy."
In a social media post, former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal said there was no way that the Iranian ship could have been perceived as any kind of military threat.
"I am told that as per protocol for this exercise ships cannot carry any ammunition," he wrote. "It was defenseless... The attack by the US submarine was premeditated as the US was aware of the Iranian ship's presence in the exercise to which the US navy was invited but withdrew from participation at the last minute, presumably with this operation in mind."
Drop Site News reporter Ryan Grim noted that, in addition to striking what appears to have been a defenseless boat, the US also didn't help rescue any of the shipwrecked men who were aboard the vessel.
"The Sri Lanka Navy was left to pull the dead bodies from the water," Grim commented. "I am hard pressed to think of any other nation throughout history that would do something so cowardly and despicable. We are genuinely in a league of our own, and American media—mostly shrugging off the bombing of a girls school and acting as if carpet bombing Tehran is a normal military tactic—is deeply complicit."
Author Bruno Maçães also pointed to the decision to leave the shipwrecked crew at sea as an act of historic depravity.
"Really quite extraordinary that the US bombed an Iranian ship and then left the surviving sailors to drown," Maçães wrote. "There are many many accounts of the Nazis or Imperial Japan saving survivors at sea. I see we have now dropped below that level."
Mohamad Safa, executive director of PVA Patriotic Vision, an international multilateral organization with special consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council, said that the US attack on the Iranian ship constituted either a war crime or straight-up murder.
"What Pete Hegseth ordered the military to do violates international law," he wrote. "The Iranian ship was near Sri Lanka, in international waters outside the combat zone and on a training exercise. Under the Geneva Conventions, you are obligated to rescue the crew of a ship that you sink during war. Abandoned any survivors and leaving them to drown is illegal and a war crime."