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On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General
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Randy George, in a struggle to exert his will over the career officers in the service.
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On Friday at 8.15 pm, the official social media account of the joint staff, the chairman
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of the joint chiefs of staff, and the vice chairman, appeared to express their opinion
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of the firing when they posted.
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On behalf of the joint force and the joint chiefs, we extend our deepest gratitude to chief
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of staff of the Army General Randy George for his decades of steadfast service to our
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Since 1988, General George and his family have consistently answered the nation's call
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with honor and dedication.
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We are profoundly thankful to General George and his wife Patti for their many years of
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sacrifice and devotion to those who serve.
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As they graduate from this distinguished chapter of service and look forward to the future,
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we wish them both continued happiness and success in all that lies ahead.
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On Friday, Iranian shot down a U.S. F-15E fighter jet over Iran.
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U.S. forces quickly rescued the pilot of the jet, but the second crew member, a weapons
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systems officer, was not rescued until late today, with the news breaking just minutes
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Iranians also hit a U.S. A-10 Warthog aircraft, a ground attack plane designed for close support
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of ground troops as it was engaging in the search.
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This pilot ejected and was rescued.
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A helicopter also engaged in search and rescue was hit by small arms fire that injured crew
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members, but it landed safely outside Iran.
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The strikes came two days after Trump told the American people that the U.S. military
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had beaten and completely decimated Iran that they have no anti-aircraft equipment and
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that their radar is 100 percent annihilated.
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We are unstoppable as a military force.
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Meanwhile, Iranian TV should people headed into the mountains to find the airmen.
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Dan Delus, Courtney Kubay, and Gordon Lubold of NBC News identified the last time an airplane
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was shot down by enemy fire as 2003, with a crash near Baghdad International Airport
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The pilot ejected safely and was rescued.
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The social media accounts of the Defense Secretary and a U.S. Central Command went silent
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after Thursday night.
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Trump did not speak to the public about the missing airmen.
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When the White House wants to tell the press there will be no more public information
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released that day, it calls a LID, so journalists will stop waiting for news.
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The White House called the LID yesterday at 4.12 pm, and the president did not go to
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Mar-a-Lago as he has been in the habit of doing on the weekends.
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Trump did not appear at all today, and the White House called the LID at 11.08 am.
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But Trump did post on social media.
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Yesterday, while the search for the airman was underway, his account posted, with a little
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more time, we can easily open the Hormuz Strait, take the oil, and make a fortune.
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It would be a gusher for the world.
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President Donald J. Trump.
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At 10.05 this morning, Trump posted, remember when I gave Iran 10 days to make a deal or
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open up the Hormuz Strait?
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Time is running out, 48 hours before all hell will rain down on them.
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Glory be to God, President Donald J. Trump.
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Economist Paul Krugman noted today that this post didn't sound like Trump.
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His speech on Wednesday was low energy and delivered in a monotone.
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Its suggested Trump was abandoning the idea of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and handing
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off the problem to other countries.
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Now he is threatening to rain down all hell on Iran to get it to restore the conditions
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that existed before he attacked.
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And then, as Krugman noted, he added, Glory be to God, which sounds a lot more like
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Hegsitz, Christian holy war language than Trumps.
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Krugman says, it sounds like he's going to try and do something truly awful in an attempt
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to somehow redeem himself and the situation in Iran.
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Michael R. Gordon, an Alexander Ward of the Wall Street Journal, reported today that
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Trump's aides have been telling him Iran's civilian infrastructure is a legitimate war
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time target, despite the understanding among experts that such attacks are illegal.
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The journalists say Hegsitz has embraced the aides argument that attacking infrastructure
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would make it more difficult for Iran to transfer the materials they need to develop
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A White House official added that destroying electric plants could foment civil unrest,
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which would in turn make it more difficult to produce a nuclear weapon.
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Ryan Goodman of Just Security commented, that would be an F on a bar exam.
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He observed, this isn't legal analysis, it's idiocy.
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Reuters reported today that Israel is prepared to attack Iranian energy facilities, but
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is waiting for the U.S. to agree.
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Tonight the White House released the President's schedule for tomorrow, Easter Sunday.
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It has a scheduled 8 o'clock AM executive time and a 7 o'clock PM family Easter dinner.
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He has no scheduled public appearances.
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Reuters from an American was written and read by Heather Cox Richardson.
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It was produced at Soundscape Productions, Data Massachusetts, recorded with music composed
