Joe Kent, a former top US counterterrorism official, has said the United States could leave NATO to support Israel in a potential conflict with Turkey in Syria, responding to President Donald Trump’s criticism of the alliance.
Kent, a former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, made the remarks in a post on X on Thursday while responding to Trump’s criticism of the NATO alliance.
“NATO wasn’t there when we needed them, and they won’t be there if we need them again,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Responding to the post, Kent said the United States might leave NATO not to avoid foreign entanglements but to back Israel in a possible clash with Turkey.
“Unfortunately leaving NATO won’t be to avoid foreign entanglements, we’ll be leaving NATO so we can side with Israel when Turkey & Israel eventually clash in Syria,” he wrote.
Unfortunately leaving NATO won’t be to avoid foreign entanglements, we’ll be leaving NATO so we can side with Israel when Turkey & Israel eventually clash in Syria.
This is after we helped topple the secular Syrian gov & installed a former AQ/ISIS leader as president.
Time to… https://t.co/hfYTLd4J87
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) April 9, 2026
Kent resigned from his position in March, citing opposition to the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began in late February, saying that Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the US and claimed the administration “started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
With his departure, he became the most high-profile figure within the Trump administration to publicly criticize the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
In his tweet Kent also criticized Washington’s approach in Syria, claiming it helped remove the country’s former government led by Bashar al-Assad and empowered a leader with alleged extremist ties.
“Time to stop playing arsonist & fireman in the Middle East, it’s just not worth it,” he added.
Turkey and Israel have taken different positions on Syria’s future following the fall of al-Assad in December 2024.
Ankara has moved to normalize relations with the transitional government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former leader of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, and supports the formation of a centralized Syrian state.
Israel, by contrast, has conducted more than 800 airstrikes and over 400 ground incursions across Syrian territory since Assad’s fall, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, targeting weapons depots, command centers and military infrastructure.
Israeli officials openly stated their preference for a divided and weakened Syrian state, fearing that a strong government dominated by HTS veterans and backed by Turkey could pose a long-term threat.
Turkey and Israel restored full diplomatic relations in 2022 after years of strain. The relationship then fell into crisis after Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.
Turkey has called Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide and backed cases and initiatives at international courts and forums. Israel rejects the genocide allegations and says it is acting in self-defense against Hamas.