{"id":26346,"date":"2026-08-03T18:18:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T13:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=26346"},"modified":"2026-08-03T18:18:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T13:18:25","slug":"joe-kent-calls-keeps-up-calls-for-removing-us-military-from-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=26346","title":{"rendered":"Joe Kent calls keeps up calls for removing US military from Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div data-layout-index=\"4\" class=\"featured featured-video video-ct\" data-v-7b1896ea=\"\"><!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"contain\" data-v-7b1896ea=\"\">  <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"info\" data-v-7b1896ea=\"\">\n<div class=\"caption\" data-v-7b1896ea=\"\">\n<h4 class=\"title\" data-v-7b1896ea=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6402655894112\" data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_featured-video_5_1\" data-v-7b1896ea=\"\">Trump puts Iran strikes on hold<\/a><\/h4>\n<p data-v-7b1896ea=\"\">President Donald Trump halts retaliatory military strikes against Iran, signaling a push for a new diplomatic agreement. Former senior Pentagon official Justin Fulcher analyzes U.S. strategic patience and military readiness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"beyondwords-wrapper\" data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"beyondwords-wrapper\">\n<p><span class=\"label-bg\">NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent is continuing to advocate for President <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_335201\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/donald-trump\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Trump<\/a> to remove U.S. forces from the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">&#8220;President Trump again called off strikes on Iran\u2014this is a good decision. It is clear that he wants out of this war, for all the obvious reasons. It is also clear that Iran will not simply return the SOH [Strait of Hormuz] to how it was before the war. We need to accept that we can\u2019t use military force to open the SOH (we\u2019ve tried that) without a catastrophic escalation into a bloody, years-long war,&#8221; Kent <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_335202\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/joekent16jan19\/status\/2083919214973181978\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Now is the time for President Trump to pull our troops out of the region. He can declare victory (reiterate the previously stated goal\u2014no nukes\u2014was met) &amp; quietly use the carrot of sanctions relief to open the SOH once our troops are out of harm\u2019s way. If we stay, we risk accelerating an escalation\/retaliation cycle we can\u2019t control,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_335203\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/ex-counterterrorism-official-joe-kent-continues-calling-us-military-withdrawal-middle-east\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>EX-COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL JOE KENT CONTINUES CALLING FOR US MILITARY WITHDRAWAL FROM MIDDLE EAST<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/343\/192\/7c8577ae-joe-kent-dec-2025.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/686\/384\/7c8577ae-joe-kent-dec-2025.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/672\/378\/7c8577ae-joe-kent-dec-2025.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1344\/756\/7c8577ae-joe-kent-dec-2025.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1200\/675\/7c8577ae-joe-kent-dec-2025.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Joe Kent\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Then-National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.<\/span> <span>(Daniel Heuer\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Kent cited his opposition to the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_335204\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/defense\/wars\/war-with-iran\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Iran<\/a> war when he resigned from the National Counterterrorism Center director role earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Fox News Digital reached out to request comment from the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_335205\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/executive\/white-house\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">White House<\/a> early on Monday morning.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">President Donald Trump indicated in a Saturday night Truth Social post that the U.S. was going to hold off on launching new attacks against Iran.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_335206\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/live-news\/trump-iran-war-israel-hormuz-august-2\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TRUMP SAYS IRAN DEAL &#8216;IMMINENT&#8217;; PLANNED STRIKE WOULD&#8217;VE BEEN LARGEST SINCE WORLD WAR II<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/343\/192\/president-trump-july-31-2026.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/686\/384\/president-trump-july-31-2026.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/672\/378\/president-trump-july-31-2026.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1344\/756\/president-trump-july-31-2026.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1200\/675\/president-trump-july-31-2026.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"President Donald Trump\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>U.S. President Donald Trump walks to a waiting Air Force One at the Hagerstown Regional Airport on July 31, 2026 in Hagerstown, Maryland.<\/span> <span>(Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II. Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to. This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran\u2019s nuclear threat,&#8221; Trump <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_335207\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/117023461141824050\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL. The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE. Thank you for your attention to this matter!&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Iran&#8217;s semi-official Mehr News Agency pushed back against the notion that Iran requested for America to refrain from additional attacks, calling Trump&#8217;s claims, &#8220;nothing but a new lie,&#8221; the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_335208\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cjwx74qgld2o\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">BBC<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_335209\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/08\/02\/nx-s1-5917113\/trump-says-hes-cancelling-iran-strikes-deal-pending\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">NPR<\/a> reported that Mehr described the U.S. president&#8217;s assertions as &#8220;simply a new lie,&#8221; citing unnamed Iranian military figures.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_335210\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/irans-war-americans-began-decades-ago-families-still-carry-scars\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>IRAN&#8217;S WAR ON AMERICANS BEGAN DECADES AGO. THESE FAMILIES STILL CARRY THE SCARS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><u>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">While speaking to the press aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump, referring to negotiation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6OyAg4YczaY\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a>, &#8220;It begins tomorrow afternoon.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p>Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump puts Iran strikes on hold President Donald Trump halts retaliatory military strikes against Iran, signaling a push for a new diplomatic agreement. Former senior Pentagon official Justin Fulcher analyzes U.S. strategic patience and military readiness. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent is continuing to advocate&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7c8577ae-joe-kent-dec-2025.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}