National Counterterrorism Center Director Resigns, Saying He ‘Cannot In Good Conscience Support The Ongoing War In Iran’ – OpEd |
A high-level national security official in the Trump administration resigned from his position on Tuesday. National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent cited as the reason for his resignation that he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.”
President Donald Trump, in coordination with the Israel government, started the war via a February 28 surprise attack in the midst of negotiations between Iran and the United States.
In his resignation letter addressed to Trump, Kent made substantial arguments supporting his resignation and opposing the US war against Iran. Below is the complete text of Kent’s letter to Trump:
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.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.I support the values and the foreign policies that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020, 2024, which you enacted in your first term. Until June of 2025, you 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........