Former Counter-Terrorism Chief Urges Trump Administration to Withdraw US Forces from Middle East
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, former US counter-terrorism chief Joe Kent has urged the administration of President Donald Trump to withdraw American forces from the Middle East, shut down its regional bases, and officially recognize Iran as a significant regional power. Kent issued a warning that any further escalation of tensions could lead to substantial damages impacting both the US economy and the global economy. This call comes amid heightened military tensions between Washington and Tehran in the region.
Kent recently stated, “In any chaotic situation, the party that restores order is victorious.” He emphasized that there is no “military solution” to the current conflict, cautioning that continued hostilities risk greater American casualties and further destabilize the region. He described US military bases in the region as “commitments and relics of past eras,” asserting that ending the conflict with Tehran and restoring the free flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20 percent of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass, should be the US government’s top priority.
Kent believes that as long as American forces remain within Iran’s strike range, Tehran is unlikely to offer any meaningful diplomatic concessions. He advocated for the withdrawal of “US forces, bases, and naval presence from the region” to remove military targets from Tehran’s reach and restore stability. He stressed that this action would eliminate Iran’s primary justification for disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and attacking its neighbors, after which “incentives” such as sanctions relief could be offered in exchange for freedom of navigation in the strait.
Kent views a US withdrawal from the region not as a defeat, but as a “strategic move.” He commented, “The war has transformed the region; Iran has emerged as a major regional power, and the sooner we accept this reality and adjust our position accordingly, the stronger our standing will be.” Kent, a former US Army special forces soldier and former CIA officer with 11 operational deployments during his military career, resigned in March in protest of Washington’s actions against Iran. In his resignation letter, he asserted that Iran does not pose an immediate threat to the United States and that engaging in another “endless” conflict under Israeli pressure is not in America’s strategic interests.
