Kent, who served in the US army for two decades, has been a vocal critic of the country’s recent “forever wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people,” he wrote in a letter to US President Trump, which he shared on his X account.
He said: “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation,” contradicting Trump’s previous justifications for the strikes, and said the US had been drawn into the war by Israel.
His resignation angered the President, who said “it’s a good thing that he’s out”.
The FBI is reportedly looking at whether Kent leaked classified information, it has since emerged, though that investigation is said to have predated his resignation.
Speaking on Carlson’s show, he questioned the events surrounding Kirk’s death, saying his intelligence agents wanted to look into possible Israeli involvement but the investigation was “stopped”.
There is no evidence that Israel was involved in Kirk’s assassination, a conspiracy theory Carlson has given weight to. The suspected gunman, Tyler Robinson, who is believed to have acted alone, is awaiting trial.
Carlson – once one of Trump’s confidants who has been accused of anti-Semitism in recent months – has previously described the war with Iran as “absolutely disgusting and evil”.
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