.jpeg)
Trump
counter-terrorism chief quits over Iran war, blaming Israel
Joe Kent
resigned as national counter-terrorism center director, saying Iran posed no
imminent threat to the US
George
Chidi
Tue 17
Mar 2026 15.05 GMT
Joe Kent,
director of the National Counterterrorism Center and a far-right political
figure and supporter of Donald Trump, resigned from his position on Tuesday in
protest of the war in Iran.
“I cannot
in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote in a
resignation letter posted to X. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation,
and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its
powerful American lobby.”
Kent, who
worked under the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is a former
special forces warrant officer with extensive combat experience. His wife,
Shannon Kent, a navy cryptologic technician, was killed in action in 2019
during a suicide bombing in Manbij, Syria.
Kent’s
letter lauded Trump’s foreign military actions in his first administration,
such as the killing of Qassem Suleimani and “defeating Isis” while avoiding
being drawn into “never-ending wars”. But he charged the president with
abandoning this posture after an influence campaign.
“Early in
this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of
the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined
your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war
with Iran,” Kent wrote. “This echo chamber was used to deceive you into
believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and you
should strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory.
“This was
a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous
Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women.
We cannot make this mistake again.”
Kent ran
for Congress in south-west Washington state after his wife’s death in 2022 and
2024, losing both times to Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Though the district is
relatively conservative – Trump won this district in 2024 – Kent’s campaigns
were marred by associations with figures on the far right and white
nationalists, such as Graham Jorgensen, a member of the far-right military
group the Proud Boys, and Joey Gibson, the founder of the Christian nationalist
group Patriot Prayer.
Kent also
embraced anti-government conspiracy theories such as the argument that the FBI
and the intelligence community were involved in the January 6 attack at the US
Capitol and that the 2020 election was stolen by Joe Biden.
Democrats
highlighted this activity, as well as his participation in a Signal group chat
with administration officials discussing attacks on Houthi militia which
erupted in scandal after Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the Atlantic,
revealed he had been accidentally added to the chat. He was confirmed in July
on a partisan 52-44 vote.
Trump
responded to the news of Kent’s resignation at a White House St Patrick’s Day
reception, saying he had read Kent’s resignation statement and claiming he
“didn’t know him well”.
“I always
thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security, very
weak on security,” he said.
“When I
read that statement, I realised it was a good thing that he was out because he
said Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a
threat Iran was … So when someone is working with us that says they didn’t
think Iran was a threat, we don’t want those people ... they’re not smart
people. They’re not savvy people.”
Robert
Tait contributed reporting
.jpeg)
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário