Trump’s Top Counterterrorism Joe Kent Resigns Over Middle East War Image:X
Joe Kent, a senior US counter-terrorism official, resigned from his post on Tuesday. He said that he cannot support the current war involving Iran.
Kent, who served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation in a post on social media. In this post he directly criticized the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the circumstances which he believes led to America’s involvement in this war.
What was written in the post?
“I cannot in conscience support this ongoing war in Iran,” Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said in a post on social media. He further wrote, “There was no immediate threat to our country from Iran, and it is clear that we started this war under pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
Resignation letter sent to Trump
Along with the post, Kent also shared a resignation letter addressed to US President Donald Trump. In this letter, Kent claimed that Israeli officials had played a role in pushing the US into conflict with Iran. He argued that a campaign of disinformation helped garner support for military action.
Kent wrote that what he described as a “disinformation campaign” conducted by senior Israeli officials and parts of the news media had undermined Trump’s “America First platform” and fostered pro-war sentiment, leading to conflict with Iran.
Kent, an Iraq War veteran, said the arguments now being made to justify attacking Iran remind him of the debate that took place before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He said the promises being made about a quick victory were similar to claims made before the start of the Iraq War.
opposition to war
Kent also spoke about his personal loss during the Syrian war. His wife Shannon, a military cryptologist, was killed while serving there.
He wrote, “As a veteran who deployed 11 times to the battlefield, and as a ‘Gold Star husband’ who lost his beloved wife, Shannon, in a war created by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation to fight and die in a war that neither benefits the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.”
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