Iâm frustrated by the resignation of the NCTC Director Kent at a moment when the threat environment demands steadiness, but first I wish him well.
These are difficult roles with real consequences, and transitions like this should not come at the expense of continuity in our counterterrorism posture. We have a serious problem, and we need a steady hand at the helm to confront it directly.
There are two larger issues that have been discussed around his resignation that cannot be ignored. First, Iran has been the primary state sponsor of terrorism for nearly 50 years. That is not a talking point, it is a foundational reality that has shaped the modern counterterrorism fight. Other actors matter, including al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Muslim Brotherhood, but Iran has consistently been a central driver, a persistent threat, and a key force behind the scale of terrorism we face today.
Second, we cannot afford to rewrite the origins or evolution of conflicts like Syria. I watched how that war began in real-time, with foreign fighter returnees from jihadist battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan mobilizing others to join them in efforts to topple Bashar al-Assad. I saw fighters leaving places like Derna and Benghazi to join that fight.
These terrorists led the early phases of the war in Syria long before outside powers like U.S. or Israel developed strategies or showed meaningful concern. Groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS were not byproducts of the conflict, they were architects of it. They bear responsibility, and we should not obscure that.
In later years, as external powers became more involved, particularly Russia and the U.S., the focus drifted. Strategic competition began to overshadow core counterterrorism objectives. That shift created space for terrorist groups to adapt, regroup, and believe they could outlast us.
And in many ways, they have. Just months ago, more than 3,000 hardened ISIS fighters, some with prior ties to al-Qaeda and al-Nusrah Front, were freed from detention in Syria. Approximately half of those released in Syria have already showed up in Afghanistan saying they were ready to work with the Bin Laden sons in the next 25 year phase of al-Qaedaâs jihad on America. This is how it works they move to the next battlefield.
We cannot afford revisionist history when it comes to our terrorist enemies. These networks are patient, adaptive, and committed. They are not sleeping, they are planning, and many of those plans are aimed at our homeland.
The priority now is not narrative, it is readiness. We either confront this threat honestly, or we deal with the consequences later.