National Counterterrorism Director Resigns Over Trump’s “Manufactured” Iran Conflict
Blue Press Journal
The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) is without its director following Joe Kent’s dramatic resignation over President Donald Trump’s escalating military campaign against Iran. In a scathing departure letter obtained by multiple outlets, the former Green Beret accused the administration of launching an unjustified war under foreign influence, marking the highest-level protest yet against Trump’s third-week offensive in the Persian Gulf.
Kent, who assumed the post last summer under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, charged that the President was manipulated into military action by Israeli officials and domestic lobbying interests. According to The Washington Post, Kent asserted that Tehran presented “no imminent threat” to American security, contradicting administration justifications for a conflict that has already claimed thirteen U.S. service members’ lives and injured approximately 200 others.
“The same tactics used to draw us into Iraq are being deployed again,” Kent wrote, referencing what he called a coordinated “misinformation campaign” by Israeli leaders and media allies. The Associated Pressnoted that Kent’s letter drew parallels between current Iran policy and the 2003 Iraq invasion, while alleging Israeli involvement in “manufacturing” regional conflicts—claims that have drawn fierce rebuttals from the White House.
The resignation underscores growing contradictions in Trump’s “President of Peace” branding, a central campaign promise now overshadowed by aerial bombardments and failed diplomacy. Despite Trump’s pledge to end “endless wars,” his unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear accords and reliance on non-expert envoys—real estate figures Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner—paved the path to confrontation, The New York Times reported.
With American casualties on the rise and diplomatic avenues shut down, Kent’s resignation underscores a growing institutional opposition to a conflict he cautioned provides “no advantage to the American people.”
Blue Press Journal 