(Washington) Joe Kent, the former director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center who resigned this week over concerns about the war with Iran, said Wednesday that he and other senior officials with doubts about the airstrikes “were not allowed” to raise them with President Donald Trump.
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Speaking on Tucker Carlson’s show, Kent said the president relied on a small circle of advisers to make his decision to strike Iran. He claimed that Israel had forced Mr. Trump’s hand when there was, he said, no evidence that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States.
“A lot of key decision-makers were not allowed to come and express their opinions to the president,” Mr. Kent told the famous conservative commentator. There was no in-depth debate. »
His comments offer a behind-the-scenes look at Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran on February 28 and highlight the risk that the war will divide his political base. They also suggest that the strikes raised concerns within the administration.
As director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Mr. Kent led an agency responsible for analyzing and detecting terrorist threats. His work was overseen by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who explained Wednesday that it was up to Donald Trump — and Donald Trump alone — to decide whether Iran posed a threat.
Mme Gabbard, a veteran and former Hawaii congresswoman, has previously criticized talk of military strikes in Iran. She did not offer her opinion on the current strikes and a spokesperson declined to answer questions.
Mr. Kent refused to say who blocked his access to Donald Trump when asked by Tucker Carlson.
Joe Kent said there was no intelligence to suggest Iran was working to develop nuclear weapons, and that he believed Israel had succeeded in forcing the United States into action by promising to act first, potentially jeopardizing U.S. interests in the region.
He said Israeli officials and U.S. media pundits helped make the argument that Iran posed a threat.
“It was the Israelis who pushed the decision to take this action,” Mr. Kent told Mr. Carlson. He cited comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson suggesting that Israel’s plans had prompted the United States to act.
Comments deemed anti-Semitic
Joe Kent, who has past ties to right-wing extremists, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials personally pressured Donald Trump, often based on information that U.S. officials could not confirm.
“When we heard what they were saying, it didn’t match the intelligence sources,” Mr. Kent said. His assertion that an “Israeli lobby” was behind Donald Trump’s decision to launch the war drew criticism from Jewish groups and others, who said it amounted to anti-Semitism.
Joe Kent chose to make his first public statements since his resignation during an appearance alongside Tucker Carlson, who was also criticized for comments deemed anti-Semitic.
Donald Trump has offered shifting reasons for the strikes and rejected allegations that Israel forced the United States to act.
He rejected Joe Kent’s criticism of the war on Tuesday and noted that he always thought Joe Kent was “weak on security” and that if anyone in his administration didn’t believe Iran posed a threat, “we don’t want those people.”
“They’re not smart people, or they’re not wise people,” Donald Trump explained. Iran posed a considerable threat. »
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about Kent’s comments on Tucker Carlson’s show.
As a Green Beret, Joe Kent saw combat on 11 deployments before retiring to join the CIA. He also experienced tragedy: his wife, a cryptologist in the Navy, was killed by a suicide bomber in 2019 in Syria, leaving him alone with his two young sons. Mr Kent, aged 45, has since remarried.
Joe Kent told Tucker Carlson that he decided to resign after it became clear his concerns would be ignored.
“I know the path we’re on isn’t working,” Kent said, adding that he had made the decision: “I can’t go into this in good conscience.” »
