{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreih36fltmkdisvx6bt2wvuvjcdoei5bc55eca2lpusdwj2rdxfjdnm",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:xkz32c6cte4uowstz3cl433p/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfwouutcp2o2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreigw7oozpvvoy37bhbylzxalwouzdbrqcfefs6ihv5dlg3zsnjlq4m"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 301153
  },
  "description": "The US and Israel launched a massive war on Iran Saturday morning. A girls' school was bombed, killing dozens of children. Here's how this affects Langley residents and what you can do right now, from filling your gas tank to cutting ties with the tech companies powering the war machine.",
  "path": "/the-us-launched-a-war-langley-will-feel-it/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-28T16:54:34.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.langleyunion.ca",
  "tags": [
    "At least 85 girls killed in strike on school in southern IranEyewitness tells MEE girls aged between seven and 12 seen lying dead across their schoolMiddle East EyeMEE correspondent",
    "Carney rules out Canadian military participation in Middle East conflictPrime Minister Mark Carney said while he has had discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump about the possibility of strikes in Iran over “recent weeks,” he does not expect Canada to take a military role in any continued escalation, after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, Saturday.CP24Abigail Bimman",
    "What to know about the US and Israel attacks on IranThe US and Israel bomb multiple Iranian cities, including capital Tehran. Iran hits back, launching missiles at Israel.Al JazeeraAl Jazeera Staff",
    "U.S. and Israel launch a major attack on Iran as Trump urges Iranians to ‘take over your government’Some of the first strikes appeared to hit areas around the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iranian media reported strikes nationwide, and smoke could be seen rising from the capital. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old leader was in his offices at the time of the strike.PBS NewsJoe Gambrell, Associated Press",
    "OpenAI strikes a deal with the Pentagon, just hours after Trump orders end to Anthropic contracts | FortuneThe deal comes as rival Anthropic is locked in a more contentious standoff with U.S. defense officials.FortuneSharon Goldman",
    "Hours after rival’s ouster, OpenAI inks classified AI partnership with US militaryOpenAI struck a Pentagon deal to supply AI to classified networks, hours after Anthropic was banned in a high-profile dispute over safeguards.WGBA NBC 26 in Green BayBy: AP via Scripps News Group",
    "Casualties of the Iraq War - WikipediaWikimedia Foundation, Inc.Contributors to Wikimedia projects",
    "Take the Survey"
  ],
  "textContent": "💚\n\n****Support Local News—Spread the Word****\nThe best way to help __The Langley Union__ grow is simple: share this newsletter. Forward it to a friend, mention it to your family, or post it on social media and encourage others to subscribe.\n\nThe United States and Israel launched a massive joint military assault on Iran early Saturday morning.\n\nThe attack has already killed children in their classrooms.\n\nAnd if history is any guide, working families here in Langley are about to feel the consequences at the gas pump, in the grocery aisle, and in the broader economy for years to come.\n\n## Sign up for The Langley Union\n\nGet daily news updates and feature community stories from the only independent source that is 100% owned and operated in Langley, BC.\n\nSubscribe\n\nEmail sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.\n\nNo spam. No paywalls. Unsubscribe anytime.\n\nThe operation, which the Pentagon is calling \"Operation Epic Fury,\" struck cities across Iran including the capital of Tehran. President Trump called it \"major combat operations\" and made his goal clear: regime change. He told the Iranian people to \"take over your government\" once the bombing stops. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu echoed the message, saying the strikes would \"remove the existential threat\" posed by Iran.\n\nIf this sounds familiar, it should. The last time the United States tried to overthrow a government in this part of the world was the 2003 invasion of Iraq.\n\nThat war, sold to the public on the basis of weapons of mass destruction that did not exist, killed between half a million and over one million Iraqis depending on which study you reference.\n\nA Brown University project found that post-9/11 US wars have killed an estimated 4.5 to 4.7 million people in total when indirect deaths are counted.\n\nThe US has actually overthrown an Iranian government before, too. In 1953, the CIA staged a coup against Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher made the connection on Saturday: this is the same playbook, except now it's being done with bombs instead of covert operations.\n\nThe human cost is already becoming clear.\n\nAn Israeli strike hit a girls' elementary school called Shajareh Tayyebeh in the city of Minab, in southern Iran.\n\nAt least 53 students were killed, according to Iran's state news agency. The victims were between seven and 12 years old. A staff member at the school told Middle East Eye that she had stepped outside briefly when she heard the explosion.\n\nWhen she came back, she found children's bodies lying on classroom benches and in corners of the building. Saturday is the first day of the school week in Iran. It is also Ramadan.\n\nThese children were starting their day when the bombs fell.\n\nThere has been no comment from the US or Israel on the school strike.\n\n## Fill up your tank this weekend.\n\nOil markets are closed until Monday, but analysts are already warning of a major spike. Some forecasts suggest prices could hit $80 or even $100 per barrel if the conflict drags on.\n\nIran sits next to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that carries roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply. Iran has already retaliated against US bases across the Gulf, and the strait is now effectively a war zone.\n\nGasoline prices in the Fraser Valley were already climbing before this. They are about to get worse.\n\nDo not wait until Monday to fill your tank.\n\n## The AI connection you need to know about.\n\nThis war launched less than 24 hours after OpenAI signed a deal with the Pentagon to provide artificial intelligence for classified military networks.\n\nThat deal came about because Anthropic, the company that makes Claude, refused to let the military use its technology without restrictions on autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance of Americans.\n\nAnthropic held its ground even as the Pentagon threatened to invoke the Korean War-era Defense Production Act to force compliance, and even as Trump personally ordered every federal agency to stop using Anthropic's products and called the company \"leftwing nut jobs.\"\n\nDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth then blacklisted Anthropic entirely, barring any military contractor from doing business with them.\n\n**OpenAI stepped in the same day and took the contract.**\n\nCEO Sam Altman claimed his deal includes the same safety restrictions Anthropic had asked for, which raises an obvious question: why was Anthropic punished for demanding protections that OpenAI was then granted? The answer seems clear. Anthropic stood firm. OpenAI played ball. And now OpenAI's technology is deployed on classified military networks while bombs fall on elementary schools.\n\n## If you use ChatGPT, it is time to stop.\n\nDelete your data, cancel your subscription, delete any custom GPTs you have built, and close your account.\n\nIf you still need an AI tool, move to Anthropic.\n\nWhatever you think about AI companies in general, there is a meaningful difference between a company that refused to let its technology be used for autonomous weapons and mass surveillance, and a company that signed up for the war machine the moment the opportunity presented itself.\n\n## Call your MP and demand Canada stay out.\n\nPrime Minister Carney has already expressed support for the US action, saying Canada backs the United States \"acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.\"\n\nHe says Canada was not involved in the military planning and does not envision a military role.\n\nBut words of support matter. They signal to Washington that allies are on board, and they make further involvement easier to justify down the road.\n\nCanada does not need to be part of another catastrophic American war in the Middle East.\n\n**Call your Member of Parliament. Tell them you oppose Canadian involvement or support for this conflict.**\n\nFor residents of Langley, your MP is Tako van Popta (Langley-Aldergrove) or Tamara Jansen (Cloverdale-Langley City). Both can be reached through the House of Commons directory at ourcommons.ca.\n\nThis is not a conflict happening in a faraway place with no connection to your life.\n\nIt will affect the price you pay for gas and groceries. The technology powering it was built by companies whose products you may use every day.\n\nAnd your government is already choosing a side. The question is whether you will make your voice heard before this escalates further.\n\n## References and Further Reading\n\nAt least 85 girls killed in strike on school in southern IranEyewitness tells MEE girls aged between seven and 12 seen lying dead across their schoolMiddle East EyeMEE correspondentCarney rules out Canadian military participation in Middle East conflictPrime Minister Mark Carney said while he has had discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump about the possibility of strikes in Iran over “recent weeks,” he does not expect Canada to take a military role in any continued escalation, after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, Saturday.CP24Abigail BimmanWhat to know about the US and Israel attacks on IranThe US and Israel bomb multiple Iranian cities, including capital Tehran. Iran hits back, launching missiles at Israel.Al JazeeraAl Jazeera StaffU.S. and Israel launch a major attack on Iran as Trump urges Iranians to ‘take over your government’Some of the first strikes appeared to hit areas around the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iranian media reported strikes nationwide, and smoke could be seen rising from the capital. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old leader was in his offices at the time of the strike.PBS NewsJoe Gambrell, Associated PressOpenAI strikes a deal with the Pentagon, just hours after Trump orders end to Anthropic contracts | FortuneThe deal comes as rival Anthropic is locked in a more contentious standoff with U.S. defense officials.FortuneSharon GoldmanHours after rival’s ouster, OpenAI inks classified AI partnership with US militaryOpenAI struck a Pentagon deal to supply AI to classified networks, hours after Anthropic was banned in a high-profile dispute over safeguards.WGBA NBC 26 in Green BayBy: AP via Scripps News GroupCasualties of the Iraq War - WikipediaWikimedia Foundation, Inc.Contributors to Wikimedia projects\n\n* * *\n\n###  What did you think?\n\nHelp us improve! Take a quick 60-second survey to share your thoughts on this article.\n\n Take the Survey ",
  "title": "The US Launched a War. Langley Will Feel It.",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-28T16:54:35.813Z"
}