Very Complete?

Plus: Trump waves off missile blame, Virginia's latest firearms ban, a California representative leaves the GOP, and more...

Is the Iran war "very complete"? While I was messaging with colleagues yesterday about the president's latest statements on the war in Iran, my 2-year-old hijacked my keyboard and typed: "GBCFDC] GAH] SIQRTIKHrFBG|." This makes about as much sense as the Trump administration's messaging.

Hours after markets slumped in response to concerns about escalation and expansion of the war, President Donald Trump told CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang that U.S. efforts were "very complete."

But just a day earlier, Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on 60 Minutes that "this is only just the beginning," while scoffing at the idea that U.S. goals in Iran were nearly accomplished. And the department's official "rapid response" account posted to X yesterday: "We have Only Just Begun to Fight."

At a press conference yesterday afternoon, Trump seemingly tried to reconcile these inconsistencies, saying we could call the war "a tremendous success right now, as we leave here…or we could go further. And we're going to go further."

But Trump's statements yesterday only drive home the aimlessness of our current military marauding. It's been a success, but we're going to "go further"? Why? Does anyone even know?

Some have suggested that Trump's more optimistic statements were merely meant to rally the markets. Maybe. Or maybe he believes it. Or maybe nobody involved in this believes anything. (Again, I would like to echo my toddler:  "GBCFDC] GAH] SIQRTIKHrFBG|.")

Whatever the case, this recent round of contradictory huffing and puffing fits right in with the administration's whole vibe surrounding the war so far. No one in power seems much concerned with concrete goals, or a somber analysis of tradeoffs, so much as they do with projecting a macho insouciance toward such trivialities. We're bombing bad guys—isn't that enough for you?

It's like a bunch of reality TV stars playing at war—but with all too real consequences.

Trump waves off missile blame: At yesterday's Iran press conference, the president waved away responsibility for the Tomahawk missile that hit near a school in southern Iran and reportedly killed at least 168 people, including over 100 children.

"I haven't seen it," he said of the missile. "A Tomahawk is very generic; it's sold to other countries, but that's being investigated right now."

Experts who've seen video of the strike "told us the presence of a Tomahawk missile, along with evidence the area was hit with multiple strikes, indicates this was a US operation," reports the BBC. "Neither Israel nor Iran are known to possess Tomahawks, experts said."

Q: "You just suggested that Iran somehow got its hands on a Tomahawk and bombed its own elementary school…but you're the only person in your government saying this…Why are you the only person saying this?"

Trump: "Because I just don't know enough about it." pic.twitter.com/dNshJCXRqo

— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) March 9, 2026

And, from The New York Times:

Mangled missile fragments purporting to be from the deadly strikes that hit a naval base and elementary school in southern Iran on Feb. 28 bear the markings of an American cruise missile….

Photos of the fragments were posted to Telegram by Iran's state broadcaster and were characterized as showing 'the remains of the American missile that landed on the children of Minab school….

While it is not clear where or how the fragments were recovered — or whether they pertain specifically to the school strike — they contain serial numbers and other details that are consistent with how the Department of Defense and its suppliers categorize and label munitions.

An altruistic war, upon information and belief. Trump told reporters yesterday that "we're doing this for the other parts of the world, including countries like China." He claimed that Iran had been building a new facility—"protected by granite"—to develop nuclear weapon material, and this was why we had to attack.

"If I didn't hit them first, they were going to hit our allies first. I believe upon information and belief," Trump told reporters.

Upon information and belief is a phrase used in lawsuits when someone believes something to be true but doesn't quite have direct knowledge or evidence of this.

Trump also suggested that the U.S. is going to be meddling in Iran for a long time. "It's the beginning of building a new country," he said.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - A top Iranian security official tells Trump: 'Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.'

— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) March 10, 2026

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Scenes from Cincinnati: Trump is scheduled to visit Reading, Ohio—a Cincinnati suburb just outside of city limits (and where I grew up)—tomorrow to talk about TrumpRx at Thermo Fisher Scientific. It's unclear what time, or whether the event is open to the public, and no one knows what he's slated to talk about at a nearby northern Kentucky event the same day, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. Reading schools are being dismissed early to accommodate the visit and planned protests.

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QUICK HITS

???? BREAKING: Virginia Senate Democrats have voted 21-19 to send SB 749 — a bill banning certain semi-automatic firearms, including many semi-automatic rifles, pistols and shotguns, and arbitrarily limiting magazine capacities — to @GovernorVA's desk. pic.twitter.com/avJcBhB4fQ

— NRA (@NRA) March 9, 2026

• U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, who represents California, is switching his affiliation from Republican to independent. "I'm also today asking the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives to have that reflected in the official roster," Kiley told reporters on Monday.

• A U.S. citizen was detained for over 30 hours after being picked up by federal immigration officials at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago and questioned about her travel patterns.

• Fifty-three percent of U.S. voters surveyed by Quinnipiac last week are against American military action in Iran; 40 percent said they support it.