Letters from an American - Exerting Their Will

Episode Date: April 6, 2026

April 4, 2026Pete Hegseth fires US Army chief of staff, Iran shoots down a US fighter jet and hits a Warthog aircraft and a helicopter, One airman was missing but later rescued, Strikes come two days after Trump's claim that Iran has been beaten, No one in the administration has commented to the public about the strikes, A post on Trump’s social media suggests that he may be about to attack civilian targets. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

April 4, 26. On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Higgseth fired the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General Randy George, in a struggle to exert his will over the career officers in the service. On Friday at 8.15 p.m., the official social media account of the joint staff, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the vice chairman appeared to express their opinion of the firing when they posted, On behalf of the Joint Force and the Joint Chiefs, we extend our deepest gratitude to Chief of Staff of the Army General Randy George for his decades of steadfast service to our nation. Since 1988, General George and his family have consistently answered the nation's call with honor and dedication. We are profoundly thankful to General George and his wife Patty for their many years of sacrifice and devotion. to those who serve.

As they graduate from this distinguished chapter of service and look forward to the future, we wish them both continued happiness and success in all that lies ahead. On Friday, Iranian shot down a U.S. F-15E fighter jet over Iran. U.S. forces quickly rescued the pilot of the jet, but the second crew member, a weapons Systems Officer, was not rescued until late today, with the news breaking just minutes before midnight. Iranians also hit a U.S. A.10 Wharthog aircraft, a ground attack plane designed for close support of ground troops as it was engaging in the search. Its pilot ejected and was rescued. A helicopter also engaged in search and rescue was hit by small arms fire that injured crew members,

but it landed safely outside Iran. The strikes came two days after Trump told the American people that the U.S. military had beaten and completely decimated Iran, that they have no anti-aircraft equipment, and that their radar is 100% annihilated. We are unstoppable as a military force. Meanwhile, Iranian TV should people headed into the mountains to find the airmen.

Dan DeLuce, Courtney Kubay, and Gordon Lubold of NBC News identified the last time an airplane was shot down by enemy fire as 2003, with a crash near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. The pilot ejected safely and was rescued. The social media accounts of the Defense Secretary and of U.S. Central Command went silent after Thursday night. Trump did not speak to the public about, the missing airmen. When the White House wants to tell the press there will be no more public

information released that day, it calls a lid so journalists will stop waiting for news. The White House called a lid yesterday at 4.12 p.m. and the president did not go to Mar-a-Lago, as he has been in the habit of doing on the weekends. Trump did not appear at all today, and the White House called a lid at 11.08 a.m. But Trump did post on social media. Yesterday, while the search for the airman was underway, his account posted, With a little more time, we can easily open the Hormuz Strait, take the oil, and make a fortune. It would be a gusher for the world?

President Donald J. Trump. At 10.05 this morning, Trump posted, Remember when I gave Iran 10 days to make a deal or open up the Hormuz Strait? time is running out 48 hours before all hell will rain down on them glory be to God President Donald J. Trump

Economist Paul Krugman noted today that this post didn't sound like Trump his speech on Wednesday was low energy and delivered in a monotone it suggested Trump was abandoning the idea of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and handing off the problem to other countries now he is threatening to raise

down all hell on Iran to get it to restore the conditions that existed before he attacked. And then, as Krugman noted, he added, glory be to God, which sounds a lot more like Hegzitz Christian Holy War language than Trump's. Kroogman says, it sounds like he's going to try and do something truly awful in an attempt to somehow redeem himself and the situation in Iran. Iran. Michael R. Gordon and Alexander Ward of the Wall Street Journal reported today that Trump's AIDS have been telling him Iran's civilian infrastructure is a legitimate wartime target, despite the understanding among experts that such attacks are illegal. The journalists say Hegzeth has embraced the AIDS argument that attacking infrastructure would make it more

difficult for Iran to transfer the materials they need to develop nuclear weapons. A White House official added that destroying electric plants could foment civil unrest, which would in turn make it more difficult to produce a nuclear weapon. Ryan Goodman of Just Security commented, that would be an F on a bar exam. He observed, this isn't legal analysis, it's idiocy. Reuters reported today, that Israel is prepared to attack Iranian energy facilities, but is waiting for the U.S. to agree. Tonight, the White House released the president's schedule for tomorrow, Easter Sunday.

It has a scheduled 8 o'clock a.m. executive time and a 7 o'clock p.m. Family Easter dinner. He has no scheduled public appearances. Letters from an American was written and read by Heather Cox Richardson. It was produced at Soundscape Productions, Dead in Massachusetts. Recorded with music composed by Michael Moss.