Washington DC: In a show of ‘revolt’, the director of United States’ National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent announced his resignation because of the ongoing war with Iran.
Stating that Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the US and that the war was started due to “pressure” from Israel, Kent said he took the decision after ‘much reflection’.
“I 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,” Kent wrote in a letter addressed to President Donald Trump.
Expressing his disappointment over the 18-day-old war between the US-Israel and Iran, Kent said it serves “no benefit” to American people.
Kent shared his personal grief, about wife Shannon dying in a similar war, and he himself being a veteran who was deployed to combat 11 times.
“As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I 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 wrote in the letter.
A staunch backer of Trump who fully backed his foreign policies in the US presidential races in 2016, 2020 and 2024, Kent said that until June 2025, the US President “understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation.”
“In your first administration, you understood better than any modern President how to decisively apply military power without getting us drawn into never-ending wars. You demonstrated this by killing Qasam Solamani and by defeating ISIS,” Kent wrote to US President.
“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. 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 a swift victory,” Kent wrote.
“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,” he added.
“I pray that 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 slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards. It was an honour to serve in your administration and to serve our great nation.”
