Top counterterrorism official Kent resigns over Trump’s Iran war, says Iran posed no imminent threat
By: SEUNG MIN KIM and DAVID KLEPPER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday, citing his concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran and saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war.
“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,” Kent said in a statement posted on social media, making claims President Donald Trump has denied.
Kent, a former Green Beret and political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists, was confirmed last July on a 52-44 vote. As head of the National Counterterrorism Center, he was in charge of an agency tasked with analyzing and detecting terrorist threats.
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Rubio calls for new Cuban leaders as latest blackout underscores deepening economic crisis
HAVANA (AP) — The Trump administration made clear Tuesday that it sees Cuba as the next country where the U.S. can play out its desires on the world stage.
“Cuba right now is in very bad shape,” President Donald Trump said, a day after Cuba’s third nationwide blackout in four months as the socialist island’s economy suffers under U.S. sanctions.
“And we’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon,” the president added.
Until recently, Trump’s comments on change in the socialist island nation might have been considered remarkable. But they come after his administration’s audacious U.S. military raid that captured then-President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, cutting off oil exports from that nation that had propped up the Cuban economy. They also follow the launch of U.S. military strikes against Iran earlier this month.
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Trump postpones his China trip to focus on the war in Iran
By: COLLIN BINKLEY
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is delaying a diplomatic trip to China that had been planned for months but began to unravel as he pressured Beijing and other world powers to use their military might to protect the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said Tuesday while meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office that he would be going to China in five or six weeks’ time instead of at the end of the month. He said he would be “resetting” his visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“We’re working with China — they were fine with it,” Trump said. “I look forward to seeing President Xi. He looks forward to seeing me, I think.”
