WASHINGTON — Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, became the first member of the Trump administration to resign in opposition to President Trump's decision to start a war with Iran. Kent cited both the lack of a direct threat to the United States and the administration's capitulation to Israel.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote in a letter to the president. “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 is a former United States Army warrant officer and a former CIA agent who served in his current role from 2025 to 2026. He was a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment and served eleven combat tours, mostly in Iraq, during the GWOT. He retired from the military in 2018 and entered the CIA, where he served as a paramilitary officer.
Kent unsuccessfully sought election to Congress on two occasions. He has been closely allied with President Trump, on many occasions echoing the president's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and serving as a J6 apologist.
Kent also requested that the National Intelligence Council conduct an intelligence assessment on connections between the government of Venezuela and Tren de Aragua to bolster its plan to invoke the Alien Enemies Act. When the report failed to show associations between the government and the gang, Kent pressured acting chairman Michael Collins to reassess the NIC analysis.
2 comments on this item
Only paid subscribers can comment
Please log in to comment by clicking here.
kmskepton
When extremists are even saying this war is indefensible…
Wednesday, March 18 Report this
RRICH69176
War.......who benefits........munitions companies..makers of lethal weapons.......and those in government that have monetary interests in those companies....
Wednesday, March 18 Report this