A ProPublica investigation published March 11, 2026 revealed that the Trump administration dismantled approximately 90% of the Pentagon's Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response (CHMR) program before the Iran war began. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made 'lethality' the top priority and fired military JAGs (Judge Advocate General lawyers) who provided legal guidance on targeting decisions, calling them 'roadblocks.'
Trump lowered authorization levels for lethal force, broadened target categories, and fired inspectors general who would have provided oversight. These changes preceded the February 28 airstrike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran, which killed more than 150 people, including 120 schoolchildren. The Pentagon's preliminary assessment found the US military was responsible.
The CHMR program was established specifically to prevent civilian casualties after years of lessons learned from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. It provided pre-strike analysis, post-strike assessment, and accountability mechanisms. Dismantling it before launching a major military operation meant the military went to war without the safeguards designed to prevent exactly what happened at the Minab school.
The sequence is damning: remove civilian protections, fire the lawyers who enforce them, lower the authorization bar for lethal force — and then a school full of children is destroyed.
Correction (September 17, 2026): an earlier version of this entry described the Minab school as a girls' school. A UN fact-finding mission describes it as a primary school for girls and boys aged 6 to 13 and cites a final local toll of 156, including 120 schoolchildren.
Related entries: Trump Denies Bombing an Iranian Elementary School Where More Than 150 People Were Killed, Calling Reports 'Fake News' Despite Satellite Evidence, UN Fact-Finding Mission Finds Reasonable Grounds to Believe the U.S. Committed War Crimes in Strikes on an Iranian School and Sports Center.