Ex-Counterterrorism Chief Quits Over Iran War, Vows No More Young Lives Lost

Addressing at the third annual "Catholic Prayer for America" Gala in Washington DC, Kent said his decision was guided by his conscience after decades of military service in the Middle East.

"I will not in good conscience send young men and women off to die on foreign battlefields," Kent said. "We're at a critical juncture in the war in Iran; we need to let our leaders hear that we do not support this war."

Kent, who served for about 20 years with multiple deployments in the Middle East, said his experiences in past conflicts influenced his decision to step down.

"After serving 20 years, mostly deployed to the Middle East, fighting the wars over there, and just seeing how our country had been lied to and brought down the wrong path in those wars, and that we were getting sucked into another one, and that the American people didn't have the full story and our country did not have a vital national interest in this current fight, I said, 'Hey, I in good conscience can't do this'," he said.

He added that he had made a personal promise during his early deployments in Iraq that if ever held a position of responsibility, he would not send American troops into wars he believed lacked a clear national interest. Kent also said the current conflict does not serve a vital US national security objective.

"Because that was a promise I made to myself probably 20-plus years ago when I was deployed to Iraq. Once I realized after my first couple deployments that we weren't there for the reasons that our government told us we were there for, I said, "If it's ever my turn, if I'm ever an adult in this situation, I ever have a position of responsibility, I will not in good conscience send young men and women off to die on foreign battlefields," he said.

During the discussion, moderated by John Yep, president of the organisation Catholics for Catholics, Kent said his faith played a significant role in helping him make the decision.

"Having faith, I think I was able to hear God's voice, I was able to hear that I was exactly where I was supposed to be and it was my time to actually take action, which made taking the action incredibly easy, actually, and actually made me feel very liberated and like I'm in the right spot", he said.

Kent also said he remains optimistic about the future of the United States, pointing to growing public engagement and the role of technology in amplifying voices that challenge government decisions.

He said, "I have a great deal of hope for America. I think this is a very exciting moment. I think the fact that we're seeing people who speak out on behalf of their faith or who are willing to speak truth to power and the fact that the people who support them are able to actually have a voice because of the technology, which obviously can be used for a lot of bad, but in the case of connecting like-minded people and getting our word out, that technology is a very powerful weapon in our hand."

At the same time, he urged Americans to pressure political leaders to avoid prolonged overseas wars.

He said," Our leaders will hear us if we all speak out. We're at a critical juncture in the war in Iran. We need to let our leaders hear that we do not support this war, we do not think there's a vital national security interest, we want to bring our troops home, we want to work towards peace in that region. We do not want 20-plus more years of blood-letting."

- ANI