The resignation letter of former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent raises a question that will become increasingly important in the coming months and years: How do we address Israel’s undeniable role in pushing the United States into a catastrophic war without letting Washington, and President Donald Trump himself, get off the hook or slide into hate-mongering?
When it comes to the war in Iran, Kent has reaffirmed what we already knew. In his letter, which he has been published on the social network, Kent said that “Iran was no threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its strong influence of the United States.”
The resignation letter of former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent raises a question that will become increasingly important in the coming months and years: How do we address Israel’s undeniable role in pushing the United States into a catastrophic war without letting Washington, and President Donald Trump himself, get off the hook or slide into hate-mongering?
When it comes to the war in Iran, Kent has reaffirmed what we already knew. In his letter, which he has been published on the social network, Kent said that “Iran was no threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its strong influence of the United States.”
The first part of Kent’s claim should not be controversial. The Trump administration he did not testify that Iran posed an imminent threat (ie, beyond Israel’s intent to attack Iran). Leaders have not bothered to try to make a point beyond occasional services the word salad about a nuclear weapons program that Iran does not have, or claiming that Iran has actually been at war with the United States since 1979 and Washington is now responding, or simply that Trump Spidey’s mind it was hurting. It is incoherent and stupid.
The second point in Kent’s earlier remarks—that Israel and pro-Israel organizations in the United States that support the war put pressure on Trump to join in launching it—should be unambiguous. Still a number of these convince groups he jumped to declare this fact as not only untrue, but hateful in nature.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been campaigning for a US-led war against Iran for most of his political life. He strongly opposed US diplomacy with Iran, taking the unprecedented step of appearing before Congress. contradict each other The non-proliferation agreement signed between the United States and its international partners and Iran 11 years ago. He managed to convince Trump to withdraw from the agreement in 2018, putting the United States on the path to the current war.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 2 that the cause of bringing rain in the war it was Israel’s intention to attack, which would lead to Iranian retaliation against American forces. He later he demanded was not understood, but Speaker of the House Mike Johnson he confirmed again this version of events after a classified briefing, like many other members of the House and Senate.
However, what is controversial is Kent’s claim that the US was also pushed into the Iraq-Israel War, as well as his sad but baseless claim that he lost his wife Shannon, a US Navy technician who was killed in 2019 bombing in Manbij, Syria, “in a war made by Israel.”
Kent has many other far-fetched, conspiratorial ideas. He has said that he believes that the 2020 election was stolen; that federal officials instigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol; that The covid-19 vaccine it was actually “experimental gene therapy”; and that former health chief Anthony Fauci will face murder charges. Unfortunately, many of these views are shared by the Republican base, including the president.
Kent goes to great lengths to absolve Trump of responsibility for his own decisions, claiming, in tradition of “good kings, bad boys,” that Trump has been drawn into this war by a “disinformation campaign” by “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media.”
Kent’s claim that Israel was involved in the Syrian civil war is in the same category as his comments on January 6. As for the Iraq War, the truth is more complicated. Some commentators have emphasized that the Israeli government only opposed it. Indeed, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government took a cautious stance, because Sharon saw the conflict as a distraction from the real threat: Iran. At first, Sharon privately he urged the Bush administration not to invade, but publicly supported the operation once it became clear that the president was committed to it. But the bottom line is that the United States was about to go to war in Iraq with or without the support of the Israeli government. The same is not true of the Iran war.
However, if the Sharon government’s position on the Iraq War was changed, there was no such difference from Sharon’s political opponent Netanyahu. Netanyahu came to Washington to strongly lobby for the invasion, insisting in parliament testimony“if you get rid of Saddam, Saddam’s regime, I can assure you that you will have great positive words in this area,” which stands alongside Neville Chamberlain’s “peace in our time” speech as one of history’s most inaccurate predictions. While Netanyahu was out of power at the time, for many Americans, the former Israeli prime minister publicly advocating for such a war put Israel’s nonsense on him.
And this is where it is important to understand the deep historical context that produced this war. The truth is that there is a well-organized and lavishly funded group of American and Israeli leaders, policymakers, advocates, media, and journalists who have a particular vision of US-Israeli military rule in the Middle East, and who for years have relentlessly attacked anyone who disagrees with or suggests an alternative. They supported the Iraq War; they opposed US efforts to end the Israeli occupation and create a Palestinian state (in fact, they have opposed any effort to put pressure on Israel for anything); and opposed President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. The list goes on.
Against this background, Kent’s version of events carries real risks. Blaming the nation of Israel for a war that has cost the United States so much blood and money turns into anti-Semitism, which unfortunately would sit well among other conspiracy theories that Kent has espoused in the past. We can already see some commentators embracing Kent’s claims in full and suggesting, like Cenk Uygur. he didthat anyone who disagrees “works for Israel.” In times of democratic crisis, we must be especially careful about buying into these kinds of simplistic but dangerous arguments.
Another problem with Kent’s claim is that it allows the US foreign policy establishment to withdraw. Yes, Netanyahu has been in Trump’s ear. So does Senator Lindsey Graham. Likewise Senator Tom Pamba. The fact that such people enjoy such influence in Washington’s foreign policy discourse is not Israel’s problem; it’s very much a Washington problem, and not just a Republican one. There’s a hawkish group of Democrats dealing with this, too.
Unfortunately, this group had influence in the Biden administration, including President Joe Biden himself, who, along with supporting the Gaza genocidealso supported the territory of Israel “to cut the grass“A strategy that has now been extended to Iran. It’s no coincidence that in the past few weeks, perhaps the most visible ex-Biden administration official has been Brett McGurk, who is now overseeing Trump’s war effort.
As Center for American Development Patrick Gaspard he saidKent’s resignation is the highest level the country has ever received from anyone in the Biden administration over the Gaza genocide. This does not bode well for the Biden administration.
Finally, Kent’s claims about Israel’s origin America’s eternal war it is wrong and harmful. It’s a bad history that feeds anti-Semitism and undermines the important project of reforming American foreign policy. While the Israeli government and its supporters have great influence, the United States ultimately makes its own decisions. The main problem is in Washington, not Jerusalem or anywhere else.
