Joe Kent Advocates for U.S. Withdrawal from Middle East Amid Iran Conflict
Joe Kent, the former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, has reiterated his call for the United States to withdraw its forces from the Middle East as tensions escalate with Iran. On Sunday, Kent used the platform X to urge immediate action, stating, “Get our troops out now before we suffer a mass casualty attack. Break the escalation trap.” He emphasized that former President Trump still possesses domestic political strength to declare victory, a move he believes is crucial before further casualties occur.
Fox News Digital sought a response from the White House on Monday concerning this call for withdrawal.
Recent developments in the region underscore Kent’s concerns. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that two American service members have died, with another missing following an Iranian attack in Jordan on July 17. After an exhaustive search, U.S. military personnel located unidentified remains at the site, and verification is underway. Separately, a U.S. service member died in Iraq on July 18 while handling unexploded ordnance from an Iranian drone, resulting in another soldier sustaining minor injuries.
Kent resigned from his government role earlier this year, opposing the ongoing conflict with Iran. In his resignation letter, he argued, “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.” He believes the conflict can be ended by strategically withdrawing U.S. troops and eliminating military targets for Iran, thus removing the justification for Iran’s disruptive actions in the region. In his view, this withdrawal is not a concession but a necessary adaptation to modern warfare.
In a separate post on X, Kent elaborated, “We restore order by ending the conflict on our terms: deprive Iran of military targets to strike by removing our troops, bases, & naval forces from the area. Our bases in the region are liabilities & relics of the past—abandoning them is not retreat, it’s strategic adaptation to modern warfare.” He suggests that offering sanctions relief in exchange for freedom of navigation could follow such a withdrawal.