Washington, March 18 (IANS) Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard defended President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran, after National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Director Joe Kent resigned in protest, marking the first high-level exit from the administration over the war.
Donald Trump “was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief,” Gabbard said.
“As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the safety and security of our troops, the American people, and our country.”
Gabbard, the highest-ranking Hindu American in any presidential administration, stressed that the decision was based on intelligence assessments. “The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is responsible for helping coordinate and integrate all intelligence to provide the President and Commander in Chief with the best information available to inform his decisions.”
“After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion.”
The remarks came after Kent announced his resignation. “After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today,” he said.
Kent directly challenged the basis of the war. “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 due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
The White House also rejected Kent’s claims. “There are many false claims in this letter, but let me address one specifically: that ‘Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation,’” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
“This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over.”
She said President Trump had “strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first” and that the decision was based on intelligence compiled “from many sources and factors”.
Trump himself criticised Kent following the resignation. “It’s a good thing that he’s out because he said Iran was not a threat. Every country recognised Iran was a threat,” he told reporters.
“I always thought he was a nice guy. But I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security,” Trump said, adding, “When I read a statement, I realized that it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat.”
The resignation triggered sharp reactions on Capitol Hill.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell accused Kent of anti-Semitism. “Joe Kent testified before the Senate one year ago that Iran and its terror proxies threatened US servicemembers in the Middle East,” he said.
“The virulent anti-Semitism of his resignation letter makes it clear that Mr. Kent is incapable of upholding these pledges, and those who mistake its baseless and incendiary conspiracies for brave truth-telling are only fooling themselves.”
“Isolationists and anti-Semites have no place in either party, and certainly do not deserve places of trust in our government,” he added.
Representative Jared Moskowitz also criticised Kent’s record. “This is a guy who went on Nazi Sympathizer podcast,” he said, adding that Kent had “espoused pro-Kremlin talking points”.
“You know, he said Anthony Fauci should be charged with murder. He’s not exactly the messenger here that I think we should be putting up, even if you agree with some of his points in the letter.”
“So I’m glad he’s gone. You know he should never have gotten that position, quite frankly,” Moskowitz said.
Kent, however, stood by his position, warning against repeating past mistakes. He said he could not support sending “the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives”.
His exit underscores growing divisions in Washington over the intelligence and justification behind the Iran conflict.
–IANS
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