Top Aide to Tulsi Gabbard Resigns in Explosive Letter, Blames Israel for ‘Iran War’ – RedState
Joe Kent, a top aide to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, took to X Tuesday morning to announce his resignation as director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), writing, “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. »
Kent, a military veteran with two failed congressional elections under his belt, also released his official resignation letter and tweeted: “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 under pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
After careful consideration, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective immediately.
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… pic.twitter.com/prtu86DpEr
– Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) March 17, 2026
After careful consideration, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective immediately.
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 under pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
It has been an honor to serve under @POTUS and @DNIGabbard and lead the professionals at NCTC.
God bless America.
In his letter to President Trump, Kent wrote: “I support the values and foreign policies that you campaigned for in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and that you implemented in your first term. Until June 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 our nation’s wealth and prosperity.
SEE ALSO: After Iran tries to pretend Netanyahu is dead, he informs them over coffee that he is alive and well
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After praising the president for his diplomatic prowess during his first administration, Kent then turned to his belief that “high-ranking Israeli officials” had engaged in a “disinformation campaign” that led the United States to launch Operation Epic Fury on February 28.
“Early in this administration, senior Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a disinformation campaign that completely undermined your America First agenda 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 if you struck now, there was a clear path to rapid victory. It was a lie and is the same tactic as the “The Israelis used it to drag us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women.”
Kent, whose first wife was killed in 2019 by an ISIS suicide bomber in Syria while he was a Navy cryptology technician, urged the president to “think about what we are doing in Iran and who we are doing it for,” also writing, “I cannot support sending the next generation to fight and die in a war that does not benefit the American people and does not justify the cost of American lives.” »
In his role as director of NCTC, Kent was responsible for gathering intelligence reports from across the government, tracking terrorist threats, maintaining terrorism-related data, and helping coordinate strategy among federal agencies; he reported to DNI Gabbard on intelligence matters and advised the president on counterterrorism planning.
The White House has yet to formally respond to the high-profile resignation, but a reporter revealed in a tweet that she “was being ridiculed inside the White House this morning because the people who actually have influence in this Admin don’t care about Joe Kent or what he thinks for some time now and seem happy about his departure.”
Editor’s note: For decades, former presidents did nothing but talk. Now, Donald Trump eliminates the Iranian threat once and for all.
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