Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent has resigned from his position, citing opposition to the war in Iran.
With his resignation, Kent, a US special forces and CIA veteran, becomes the most high-profile figure from within the Trump administration to publicly criticise the US-Israeli operation in Iran.
Kent wrote in a post on X that after much reflection, “I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.”
In a letter attached to his post on X, the Trump administration’s top official on counterterrorism asserted that he “cannot in good conscience” support the ongoing war in Iran. “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.” he stated.
In the letter, Kent said that had previously supported US President, Donald Trump’s foreign policy platform and until last year believed that he “had understood that the wars in the Middle East that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation.”
Additionally, Kent noted that “high-ranking Israeli officials” and influential US journalists had sowed “misinformation” that caused Trump to undermine his “America First” platform.
“This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to 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.”
Joe Kent
Kent’s resignation marks the first high-profile departure of the US President’s second term over a major policy issue.
Kent, a long-time supporter of Trump’s who unsuccessfully ran for Congress twice, was nominated by the US President early in his administration and narrowly confirmed to his post in, with many Democrats criticising his links to extremist groups including members of the Proud Boys.
In the confirmation hearing, Kent also refused to back away from claims that federal agents had fomented the January 6 riots at the US Capitol or that Trump had won the 2020 election.
At the National Counterterrorism Center, he reported to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and oversaw the analysis and detection of potential terrorist threats from around the globe.
Previously, Kent had deployed 11 times overseas with the US military, including with the US Army’s special forces in Iraq. He later became a paramilitary officer at the CIA, before leaving government service after his wife’s death. His wife, navy cryptologic technician Shannon Kent, was killed in a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019.
Kent Says Iran War Serves No Benefit To US
Kent cited his military service and his wife’s death in his letter, saying that he “cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.”
He urged the US President to “reverse course,” saying, “I pray that you will you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for.”
“The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to sip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards. It was an honor to serve in your administration and to serve our great nation.”
Joe Kent
Some lawmakers and experts have raised doubts over the intelligence the US President used to justify the war, and the departure of Kent, a key intelligence official, will increase scrutiny of the administration’s case.
Trump’s rationale for attacking the Iranian regime has whipsawed from protecting the demonstrators who protested in the streets of Iran in January to defending the US against the risk of Iran building nuclear and long-range weapons and eliminating a regime that’s backed terrorist groups’ killing Americans for decades. He’s called for the Iranian people to take control of their country even as top officials say the war is not about regime change.
There have been a number of resignations among senior officials in the Trump administration, including Security and Exchange Commission enforcement Director Margaret Ryan and Kennedy Center President Ric Grenell.
The President’s second term, however, has seen far less turnover than his previous tenure at the White House between 2017 and 2021.
