Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
When a senior national security official walks away in the middle of a war, people notice.
That’s exactly what happened this week when Joe Kent stepped down from his role as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, citing deep concerns over the ongoing war with Iran.
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) March 17, 2026
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
And his resignation letter? It didn’t pull punches.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote. “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.”
That’s a direct shot at the core justification behind the conflict and it’s coming from inside the house.
Table of contents
A Break Inside the Administration
Kent’s resignation marks the first major internal break over the Iran conflict, exposing a growing divide within the administration over foreign policy.
On one side: those who believe Iran posed a legitimate and imminent threat.
On the other: a rising faction arguing this is another Middle East entanglement the U.S. should’ve avoided.
Kent clearly falls in the latter camp.
SEE ALSO: Colt’s Blued Python Is Back and It Still Bites
In his letter, he doubled down on an “America First” approach, arguing the U.S. was being pulled into yet another war with questionable justification.
He even went further, claiming the war was driven by outside pressure and misinformation, not a clear and present danger.
That’s a serious accusation and one that immediately drew pushback from the White House, which insists the decision was based on credible intelligence.
Not Just Politics. Personal Stakes
BREAKING: 11 tour SOF Veteran @joekent16jan19 labeled "THE QUITTER" by reservist harrier pilot ltcol @gregkellyusa , a man that couldn't find his flight suit after 9/11 pic.twitter.com/oG9ib7zMel
— Clay Martin ⚔️ (@wayofftheres) March 18, 2026
This isn’t some desk analyst throwing opinions around.
Kent is a combat veteran who deployed multiple times and lost his wife, Shannon, in a terrorist attack overseas. That context matters. And it adds weight to his argument that America should avoid “never-ending wars.”
In his resignation, he praised past decisive military actions (like the strike on Qasem Soleimani and the fight against ISIS) but warned against slipping back into long, drawn-out conflicts.
Translation: use force when necessary. But don’t get stuck in the sandbox.
Trump Fires Back
President Donald Trump didn’t exactly send Kent off with a salute.
Instead, he dismissed the resignation outright, calling Kent “weak on security” and reiterating that Iran was a real and immediate threat.
That response highlights just how wide the gap is right now even among people who were once aligned.
Bigger Than One Resignation
Joe Kent on why we actually went to war with Iran. pic.twitter.com/ghoSEW6fLy
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 19, 2026
This isn’t just about one official quitting.
It raises bigger questions:
- Was Iran truly an imminent threat?
- Did the U.S. get pulled into another unnecessary conflict?
- And how much internal disagreement is happening behind the scenes?
For a lot of Americans, especially in the 2A and veteran communities, this hits close to home.
Because the same people asked to fight these wars are often the ones questioning them the most.
Your Take
This one’s not black and white and it’s definitely not settled.
So let’s hear it:
What do you think about the war with Iran? Did Kent make the right call by resigning or should he have stayed and fought from the inside?
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After the first few words out of his mouth, he has lost all creditability with me. This person apparently does not care who he offends with his foul language and therefore has nothing to say. He seems to think that profanity makes him tough, it does not!, it makes him look like he skipped school a lot and ran with the wrong crowd who thinks profanity makes them tough.
I agree with president trump. It’s had to be done. Take out their military and leadership and set a new path for Iran sooner the better.
To tiny brained Dano, the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament stated they were indeed working on a bomb. On X, /EYakoby/status/2026884102838764002
Dano the tool bag. What a deranged TDS schlump. We know you simpletons do not have two brain cells to rub together but we do applaud your mental meltdown. So fun, so humorous to witness.
And you degenerate libtards are losing all over the place. Epic!
Little tiny keyboard warrior. Sounds like mama needs to bring you another juice box and a new diaper.
Bet that basement is getting cold and lonely.
LOL
What does the resignation of a tier-two administration official have to do with firearms, the Second Amendment, or the price of tea in China ? Why is the NSSF General Counsel writing blog posts about administration inside-baseball on Guns America? Rather strange.
You do know that he’s currently under investigation, right?
Give me a break. Everyone who disagrees with rhe orange turd is under investigation.
Iran is working on a nuclear bomb and they will use it as soon as they build it
Bullshit. No evidence of either. Literally the only person saying this is the orange turd and Israel.
The Iranian negotiators stated it to the US negotiators. If it hadn’t been for obozo and butthead giving billions to Iran, we wouldn’t be in this mess. I understand your simple thought processes and TDS makes it impossible to grasp the long term situation but radical islam doesn’t need a long range delivery system when they have people willing to hand deliver packages.
Netenyahu played Trump for a sucker and who knows what Jereds involvement is in this whole mess. American lives are not currency to be exchanged for political goals.
The Gangster Criminal Republicans cut millions for cancer research to save children at the beginning of Herr Drumpfs term.
The Criminal Republicans just did away with the Federal Watchdog agency that makes sure loans to college students are not deliberately violating the lending rules and bankrupting them.
The Criminal Republicans cut the Omama Care extensions that will “KILL ‘ many Americans because they can no longer afford preventive health care or have enough money to pay for prescriptions.
The Depraved Kennedy has made getting some vacintines more expensive and people have to jump through hoops to get them guarentting more outbreaks of diseases including even another pandemic.
Now Herr Drumpf wants billions to fight a war we cannot win and will cause another 1929 stock market type crash that will not only sink the U.S. Economy but cause a worldwide depression.
The Republican Stormtroopers always can find money for war but the American peoples health and welfare are expendable. Herr Drumpf stabbed his own Maga Morons in the back by not putting America first but putting himself first to cover up the investigation of the Epstein Files which now are pointing right at him.
Blah blah blah. Again with the nonsense. GFC!
Is this Clay or Larry Z? Either was it is a stupid take. No more Tucker Carlson, period.
Kent is today claiming Isreal killed Charlie Kirk. The guy is a real honest to god Fruit Loop, not the store brand kind.
As a veteran, I hate to say out loud what I feel about this. Joe Kent’s duty was to support the commander-in-cheif. He can do that by agreeing or disagreeing. Rather what he did was a chickenshit move much like a baby having a crying tantrum because he didn’t get his way. I think Trump is more right than wrong here as Iran is responsible directly or indirectly for too many American deaths and long imprisonments. Their chant “Death to America” is not a joke. I’ll also note that Tulsi Gabbard disagrees with our move on Iran. At least she is smart enough to have said her piece and then shut up. Joe Kent is not the POTUS but rather a spoiled brat crybaby.
He did it on moral grounds. Such as the murder of 175 school girls.
The truth is now finally coming out. Even the big bunker bomb back in 2025 was a bold face lie about Iran about to have a nuclear bomb. They were years away from making one and the leader of Iran even though he wanted a bomb had told his men to back off the projects because he knew that maybe even an evasion would result by either the U.S. or by Israel or by both countries combined. The President and the Military have been lying to the American people as far back as the made up Gulf of Tonkin lie that was an excuse to invade Vietnam Nothing much has changed except now the American people never believe anything the President or the war mongers in the U.S. Military try and feed them.
We are now finding out this latest war of rape, pillage, and conquest was a “diversion” to put an end to the investigation of the Epstein files which now seems to be almost certain to include Trump having sex with underage girls.
Sorry Pat the American Public was not born yesterday.
Shitbag Troll. Full on TDS
The libtards get more deranged the more they lose and the more irrelevant they become. Great to see.
Bullshit. He is a hero and a patriot. He couldn’t support the orange turd and he resigned. What else should he do? Support Trumps lies which are costing US lives and treasure?
You need to wipe your chin
Let’s see, a rogue nation ran by religious fanatics that seek nuclear warheads. To use against who ? Why we infidels of course. Obama even stated that Iran could never have nuclear weapons, but his “red line” was crossed and in true democrat fashion, he did nothing. Succeeding presidents did nothing as Iran’s progress marched on. So here we are, a decision had to be made. Negotiations were a farce due to Iran’s duplicitous nature, so Trump decided to strike. It was a matter of time before Iran struck Israel with a nuke. Russia and China were bolstering Iran and they needed a message sent also. Message received !
Simply not true. I thought we obliterated the nuclear capability with the earlier bombings? That is what Trump said. You are delusional and ignorant because your fanatic love for the orange turd clouds your thinking.
When the world decides that they love their people more then they hate the Jews, there will be peace. I’m looking at you – Martin.
Dude was an incessant leaker, couldn’t be trusted and was kept out of the talks the past few months, so what would he have known of the immanence lead-up? But now we know it was imminent; they told Jared to his face. Plus the IAEA had proof of >60% stockpiling where they were supposed to be stockpiling <20% for civil use.
Please don't ever put anything from Tucker Carlson on GunsAmerica ever again…
Kent did us all a favor. If leaked I information I would resign too. With his questionable past I doubt he was the right man for the job. For anyone to say the treat was not imminent after 47 year off spewing hate and death against America needs their head examined.
Khamenei was a piece of shit and the world is a better place without him in it.
However, getting rid of him is not worth a single American life or the trillions of dollars this war will cost American taxpayers.
No matter how many munitions we drop, the Iranian people are never going to overthrow their government and form a western style democracy that gives us access to their oil.
They weren’t a threat before, but by attacking them and murdering their children, we’re creating a whole new generation of Iranians who will hate America forever and try to commit acts of terrorism against us.
In the big picture this war is a colossal disaster, like pretty much everything cowardly cadet bone spurs the mentally unstable orange clown does.
Where are the epstein files with the fbi interviews with trumps victims?
Spot on
I wondered why I haven’t heard from Clay on Guns America for some time.
Now I understand why. Please put him back in the box at the bottom of the closet.
The only thing Joe Kent epitomizes is that not all Iranian proxies are foreigners.
It was the right call. The fact that we sat on our hands for decades while “death to America” was the foreign policy of an evil regime was the real problem.
Regarding Mr. Kent, when he ran for office in WA state he commented on conservatives leaving the state as follows, “why not stay and fight?”
That says it all. Kent flip flops when the money suits him. Same with Cucker.
Maybe they arent part of the cult of liars Trump has made?
Joe Kent was somewhat local to me, so I’ve been aware of what a nutter he is for some time now. He’s a real conspiracy theorist. He seemed eminently unqualified to direct the national counterterrorism center. So when Trump hired him I thought, “Yeah that fits.”
His departure at this juncture demonstrates how Trump’s coalition is fracturing as a result of this poorly planned war.
I’ve been to the circus and know how it works. If all those clowns get in the car, they will eventually all get back out.
Has anyone in MAGA ever heard of the Faustian Bargain?? You fuckers are unbelievable. Everyone that jumps on the Trump train eventually gets burned. You all think you can trick/beat the Devil and not lose you soul in the bargain. He might be a great combat veteran but he chose to make the Faustian Bargain and got burned.
Clay talks about moral compass. You guys voted for someone who you wouldn’t leave your 13 year old daughter alone with him. You guys supported someone who was grabbing women by the pussy, had multiple convictions, had multiple bankruptcies.
Trump is literally everything the Bible warns of and you guys still voted for him. Spare me the fake outrage.
I’m no hater on Clay. When his shit burned down I donated to him.
Exactly. They are lost to the orange turd cult.
Saying the number one sponsor of terrorism for the last several decades, who’s been stockpiling nuclear material and enriching it to weapons grade, who continuesly threatens to wipe Israel from existence and in the same breath, the entire United States, isn’t an imminent threat is just insane.
The big question is why he said that. Clearly his intent was to undermine the administration and strengthen Democrat opposition while also pulling some Republicans who actually trust him. So he wasn’t quitting on moral grounds, clearly there was more going on behind the scenes. I doubt the whole story ever comes, it rarely does but I think we are far better off without him than with him.
Do I trust the current administration? Hell no, most of them are duplicitous, feckless, bloviated, power mongers but their political alignment matches mine for the most part so I support them, mostly. They should immediately fire Pam Bondi though.
Kent was under investigation for leaking classified information.
Rather than some principled resignation this may be “you can’t fire me I quit”
Follow Jeff Childers – daily – for insightful perspective on current events.
While I certainly applaud Joe’s service, I’m more than convinced that anyone saying they’re not an “imminent threat” is a more than absurd comment.
Facts For perspective:
-they slaughtered 30,000+ of their OWN citizens and as of yesterday, they STILL are
-they had 22,000# of 60% enriched uranium before we whacked them the 1st time
-they were given the chance to not resume work on their nuke program…instead, they DID
-more sites were discovered after Epic fury started
-it takes less than 2 weeks to take the 60% enriched to the 90% level needed for bombs
-there is NO reason to have uranium over 5% (mostly 3%) for “civilian purposes”
-they started “negotiations” stating they had enough to build 10 (or 11) bombs
-they’re responsible for the death of “at least” 600 of our troops in Iraq-this excludes how many they’re almost certain to played a part on in Afghanistan
-the proxies they’ve funded have killed 10’s of thousands (so they’re responsible for that as well)
-they’re also responsible for the Beirut barracks bombing of 241 of our marines
-behind the October 7th barbaric slaughter in Israel (which also included American’s)
Saying it would be “foolish” to believe they aren’t working on ballistic missiles to be able to hit the US as that already can hit parts of Europe.is a massive understatement.
Regards Joe Kent, he’s on record stating several times the blatantly obvious that of course they are a threat to the US as well as the free world.
He was also under investigation by the FBI BEFORE his new position as well as had been removed from meetings over Iran due to his being suspected of leaking….based on that, how would he even know outside of what we all have access to what the threat level is?
Something very fishy there.
Their bombing of their neighbors should open the eyes of ANYONE that could possibly still have question as to who they are-imagine those true savages with nukes!!!!!!!!
They should have been taken out 47 years ago and every year since.
This is just for starters!
And guess what? We are responsible for the rise in Iranaian fundamentalism when we deposed a democratically elected leader and put in place the Shah of Iran. Know your history. So what is rhe end game? THERE ISNT ONE JUST LIKE IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN. Are you really that ignorant?
I see you have bought into the Mossadegh myth. We did no such thing. How could Mohammed Mossedegh be democratically elected when he was appointed the prime minister of Iran by Shah Reza Pahlavi (who was already the sovereign of Iran) PER THE IRANIAN CONSTITUTION and anointed as such by the Majlis Council (which the Shah was not obliged to do so, but did so out of respect for the Council)?
Mossedegh was removed per order of the Shah (also in accordance with the Iranian Constitution) after he made himself the Minister of Defense, appointed his cousin as his deputy, fired hundreds of military officers, and engineered a rigged election to dissolve the Majlis Council. His nationalization of the Iranian oil industry led to the pull out of all the Western experts, who kept the Iranian oil industry operating, which resulted in the collapse of Iranian oil operations and negatively affected the economy.
When Mossedegh was served with the order of removal and the order appointing a new prime minister, he had the officer delivering the message arrested and refused to step down, even after acknowledging the legality of his removal. Mossedegh managed to turn the Iranian military, the religious clerics, and the people against him, and they took to the streets in protest. They did not need what little assistance we may or may not have provided in removing him.
He is a traitor in my mind. Read about his background. Has some serious issues with the Jewish people. That aside, shut your mouth and do your job. Or WAIT until the conflict ebbs before you start a world of shit based on your opinion. Trump will not be conned by anyone. He has proven that. He deserves the benefit of doubt. Iran has needed their asses handed to them for decades.
DON IS THE CON AND YOU ARE A VICTIM!
Dano, do your kids”if you have any” know how stupid you are. Let me tell ya jackass. What if your grandchild was raped by an illegal that apparently your better President” Biden or Camalla” let in our country??? Assholes like you need to move to Iran.
This article completely ignores the problems Kent was having and the likelihood that he would soon be fired for security violations, a.k.a. leaks.
An honorable man would have either contested the violations he was suspected of committing or quietly resigned. Kent, realizing that any attack on Trump would gain him powerful supporters, chose the scoundrel’s way out.
Well Clay lets see, 13 service members KIA and thousands more put in harms way. 13 BILLION dollars for the first week alone and climbing every day. A war with NO stated goals or end result. I filled up the truck yesterday and paid $1.20 more a gallon than before the war and it is still going up. Yeah its a real good idea.
If you check Kent’s history, he’s not been in a good place with the administration for a while. Suspected of being a leak and originally backing military action against Iran. We have to face the fact that Iran has been at war with the US for almost 5 decades. They or their proxies have murdered US citizens and troops. The total goal of the fanatics in Iran is world control, that’s what their Quran teaches and they have been at it for over a millennium. Anyone who believes they will negotiate in good faith is a naive child, all you have to do is look at their history.
He was a democrat before and changed to republican in the past few years. Looks like he is returning to his roots.
His wife was killed in Syria. Sorry. That’s not Israel’s fault.
And Israel was against the Iraq war.
And he waited, what, an hour to go on the interview tour? This guy wants an analyst job and knew this was his best shot.
I’m really disappointed this clown is getting the hero treatment here. Stay in your lane. This stuff isn’t for you. You got played on this one.
I think that when a declared enemy says that they are seeking a nuclear weapon and have the capability to make it and the willingness to use it, we have to take that at face value and act to end that threat. That is what this is about.
Then why did’nt we kick North Korea’s ass? Maybe they’re next…who knows.
Because we had weak so-called “leadership” when they reached the point that Iran was at. Now that they have a nuclear weapon, it’s too dangerous a proposition. And bordering China, they will definitely get involved if we attacked North Korea without overt provocation. North Korea was also not chanting death to America and promising for decades that they would destroy us if they achieved nuclear capability. North Korea is a communist dictator ship, Iran is a theocracy filled with violent idealist. What-about-ism never works, the situations are very different.
Yeah because the US is responsible for what Iran has become.
This a a quote from Larry Correia. Really explains how halfwitted this article is.
“It’s bizarre to me, that in this great big world full of competing nations who are all in it to win it, these dummies really can’t conceive of any reasons why a super power would stomp on an asshole government run by death cultists who’ve been f_cking with us for five decades, even when they repeatedly plotted to kill our rather impulsive president, after he previously slap chopped their generals and proxies into meeting Allah early.
Nope. Gotta be TEH JOOOOS.
Hey, what about how cutting off Venezuela and Iran really long term nut kicks our only real global adversary rival, China? Nope. Can’t be that either. It’s all TEH JOOOS.
Stomping the world’s biggest sponsor of terror groups? Revenge for EFPs? Nope. JOOS.
Could it be because the timing was right, with the Iranian people rising up, and no previous American admin had this level of technical and intelligence advantage lined up? Nope. JOOS.
What if Israel and the USA are both sovereign nations, allied on this particular issue, because it behooves both of us to get rid of this particular government of apocolpytic assholes who were dumb enough to tell Marco Rubio they could still scrape together 11 nukes, even after we pushed their shit in?
Can’t be. Tucker and Candace said so, and they’re totally sane and honest.
So that’s it. That’s the only possibility. Donald Trump, the most head strong, FAFO, YOLO, f_ck it full send, US president of the last century, stomped on a country that he’s publicly talked shit about since 1988, only because he is secretly a puppet of a country that has the GDP of Michigan.
Brilliant.”
Any society that constantly chants “Death to America” probably has bad intensions in mind for their nuclear program.
Bongino praises Kents military service, but labeled him a liar after the Tucker Carlson interview. You can watch his reasoning on his podcast.
Correct, Dan laid out the full details of the lies Kent was spewing on Tucker and has all the receipts.
You beat me to the punch Me Too.
Bongino is an entertainer which is why he couldn’t hack having a real job. He even admitted it. It’s easy to say whatever is on your mind with no facts when you are a microphone jockey with no real responsibilities.
Hum…NYPD officer, Secret Service, Deputy Director of the FBI. And he did not admit to any of your BS. Also, he always brings the receipts. You do not. Typical Libtard. What a life loser. Bet you are for abortion also. Too bad your mom wasn’t.
What are your qualifications? Juice box drinker and basement dweller? LOL
I don’t know anything about Greg Kelly, but I do know just enough about Joe Kent to be troubled that he would resign over this military action. I sure hope Joe Kent’s assessment is wrong.
It is often useful to review the past while evaluating the present.
How different is Iran’s attempt to develop “weapons of mass destruction” than that of Israel in the early 1960’s and beyond?
How honorable are undeclared military attacks since the last world war was started on “a day which will live in infamy”?
How wise is it team up with Israel when at some point strategic goals with the US may clash?
The war in Panama promised to stop the global narcotics trade and promote democracy, how successful was that effort?
The long war with Iraq promised to protect the global oil flow, curtail terrorism and promote democracy, how successful was that costly effort?
The long war in Afghanistan promised to curtail terrorism, establish a democratic government, promote human rights and economic development, how successful was that costly effort?
Can the US really claim to promote democracy abroad when democracy is in jeopardy at home?
Exactly. All the orange turd cult members will never admit what Trump is even as the brown shirts are knocking down their doors
these are hardcore fanatics that believe they will go to their heaven if they combat and die to fight evil. any non-muslim and some muslims are evil so yes they are a threat to all. lets also address that sleepy joe gave them a nuclear program with his agreements.
No, let’s not because it’s bullshit
no whoopie ain’t going to let you suck her dick so stop trying.
Does he have any evidence that Trump is being influenced?
I know many Trump supporters that pay close attention to who may influence the man were upset that Miriam Adelson was a massive political donor?
Trump is influ3nceed by anyone with power and money. There has never been a greedier president. He couldn’t care less about US citizens or troops