Foreign Policy > Iran

Joe Kent’s Spurious Reasoning About Israel’s Role In Trump’s Iran Decisions

Kent, a former Bernie Bro who substitutes his military experience for wisdom, is entirely wrong about the imminent and very real threat Iran poses to America.

Jonathan Gault | March 24, 2026

Former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), Joe Kent, resigned, raising two issues. First, does Kent’s experience equal wisdom? In his case, no. And second, was he correct in his resignation letter that Israel is really why we’re at war? Again, the answer is no.

Kent, a former Democrat and Bernie Bro, shows an ideological flexibility that seems more grounded in opportunity than in conviction. Regardless of his position, he argues, implicitly and explicitly, that his military service—something he volunteered for— lends weight to his views. He implies that, having “been there,” he sees more clearly.

It turns out that the anti-Israel, anti-war crowd is flexible about whether experience matters. It turns out not to matter when someone experienced opposes their position. A glaring example occurred during an April 10, 2025, debate between Douglas Murray and Dave Smith on The Joe Rogan Experience, in which Smith made arguments similar to Kent’s. Smith’s anti-war, anti-Israel position carried weight because he is ostensibly “Jewish” (although it’s doubtful he’s very familiar with the Torah), while Murray’s firsthand experience in the Gaza War theatre (because of his pro-Israel views) was dismissed.

So, no. For the anti-Israel crowd, experience matters only if it supports their positions. That’s pure hypocrisy and should be discounted.

The next question is whether Israel forced the U.S. into war, and that’s a more serious question. Certainly, Israel has an interest in destroying Iran’s current governing system. Before Operation Epic Fury, Israel bore the full brunt of direct attacks from Iran and fought on its own against Iran and its proxies.

The October 7, 2023, attacks and previous........

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