According to reports by the New York Times, Reuters and other media, Joe Kent, Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on the 17th local time, and said in a letter to US President Trump, “We can not in good conscience support the war against Iran.”. On the same day, Trump welcomed Kent’s resignation, telling reporters that he was“Weak on security” and that“Iran is a huge threat”. The New York Times said Kent was the first senior official in the government to resign over the war. The incident has exposed the divisions that are emerging within the Republican Party.
Joe Kent
Kent reportedly posted an open letter to Trump on social media, “I have decided to resign as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective immediately,” it said. I can not in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran does not pose an imminent threat to our country, and it is clear that this war is being waged under pressure from Israel and its powerful lobby in the United States,” he said, he could not support sending American troops into a war that would“Do no good to the American people or justify the loss of American lives”. Kent is not the first government official to publicly resign over the war. Last week, Samira Mush, a junior member of the Trump administration, announced her resignation from the White House Committee on Religious Freedom, citing the war with Iran as the main reason.
The National Counterterrorism Center, part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, collects and analyzes counter-terrorism intelligence and helps the government develop counter-terrorism plans. Kent“Served 20 years in the U.S. Army and completed 11 combat deployments in the Middle East and other high-threat areas,” according to the office of the director of National Intelligence website. Kent served in Special Forces and received six bronze stars for his military service. Last year, he was appointed Director of the National Counterterrorism Center by President Donald Trump.
Kent’s resignation was unexpected, the New York Times said. The top echelons of the Trump administration have been remarkably stable, and no senior leader has ever resigned over a major public policy disagreement with the president. Unsurprisingly, Kent’s position has been roundly dismissed by Trump. On the 17th, “I always thought he [ Kent ] was a nice guy, but I also always thought he was weak on security,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. It’s a good thing he’s gone because he said Iran is not a threat.”
In response to Kent’s resignation, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt issued a statement on the 17th saying that Trump has decided to launch joint military action with Israel against Iran, because he decided it would“Significantly reduce the risk to American lives and respond to an imminent threat to our national security interests from a pre-emptive strike by the Iranian terrorist regime”. Leavitt said Kent’s letter to trump contained“False allegations”. “As President Trump has made clear and clear, he has clear and compelling evidence that Iran will attack the United States first,” Levitt said. “The evidence is a combination of multiple sources and factors.”.
Some Republicans also criticized Kent’s resignation, but others applauded his move. Kent is a close friend of Trump ally and former Fox News Channel host Tucker Carson, who has become one of the most vocal critics of the Iraq War. “Joe is the bravest man I know,” Carlson said in an interview. The job he gave up gave him access to the highest level of relevant intelligence. Someone will now try to destroy him for it. He knew that, and he did it anyway.” But some Democrats and progressives also questioned Kent’s suitability as an antiwar standard-bearer. A senior Biden administration official, Amos Hochstein, called Kent a neo-nazi and racist on social media. “No one should take his words seriously-even if you happen to agree with some of them,” he wrote
“New York Times” reported on the 17th, Kent’s resignation and Trump’s position, the director of National Intelligence and Kent’s superior Tursi Gabbard embarrassing situation. She expressed support for the president, but in a carefully worded statement on social media, she neither mentioned Kent nor directly disputed his comments. Reported analysis, the United States and Israel in Iran, the war does not seem to have a clear time limit, has caused serious divisions among Trump’s supporters. Anti-interventionists in the coalition, who had backed Trump for his criticism of long-running conflicts overseas, were quick to fret about the war. There are other senior officials in the administration who, like Kent, are skeptical of long-term military operations abroad and often advocate a more restrained foreign policy, including Gabad and Vice President Vance, but both have been careful not to stray too far from Trump’s position.
Some media analysts believe that the divided reaction within the Republican Party to Kent’s resignation shows that, the episode raises questions about how far a war with Iran will tear at the President’s MAGA coalition, which opposes selective war. Vance has expressed some skepticism about the war, and Trump has described his enthusiasm for the effort as“Lower than the rest of the administration.”. Asked about the war, Vance said he would not allow the media to create a“Wedge” between him and the president. Despite polls showing Americans deeply divided over the war, a majority of Republicans still support Trump’s actions. To his critics in his own party, Trump claimed they were no longer part of the Maga movement.