A Feud Between Former Counterintelligence Official and CNN Host
A recent controversy has erupted between former National Counterterrorism Center chief Joe Kent and CNN host Jake Tapper, following Kent’s sharing of false information about the Iran War. The dispute began when Kent shared a story from Drop Site News, a left-wing outlet, claiming that the Pentagon had lost hope of rescuing an Air Force colonel and instead intended to kill him before Iran could capture him.
Kent, who resigned several weeks ago, stated in his resignation letter that Iran posed no imminent threat and that the war was driven by pressure from Israel. He posted the story just hours before the US staged a daring military operation to rescue the Air Force colonel. Tapper responded by quote-tweeting Kent’s post, calling it “Iranian state-linked outlet nonsense” and criticizing Kent for spreading false information.
Kent, an Iraq War veteran whose wife was killed on active duty, did not take kindly to Tapper’s criticism. He accused Tapper of being a war propagandist, stating that the corporate media’s purpose is to promote the war and attack anyone who questions its necessity. Kent encouraged his followers to read independent media, Iranian media, and US media, while also urging them to question those who cheer on wars and pray for the troops.
Tapper shot back, emphasizing that he does not “promote” the war but rather covers it critically. He clarified that he was not attacking Kent personally but pointing out that Kent had promoted false information suggesting the US was seeking to kill the missing pilot. Kent, however, doubled down on his claims, suggesting that there was a large-scale media effort to support the war. He cited the New York Post’s labeling of him as a “conspiracy theorist” and claimed that this attack was designed to divert attention from the main issue: that the war is not in the nation’s interest and only benefits Israel.
Trump Reveals Details of the Daring Rescue Mission
President Donald Trump revealed extraordinary new details about the daring rescue mission that extracted a wounded US airman who spent almost 48 hours stranded in Iran. The President described an all-hands-on-deck operation involving 155 aircraft, including 64 fighter jets, 48 refueling tankers, 13 rescue aircraft, and three helicopters. Trump praised the operation as a “breathtaking show of skill and precision, lethality and force,” as US forces swooped into mountainous terrain in southern Iran to rescue the weapons systems officer (WSO) whose F-15E fighter jet went down on Good Friday.
The WSO, still unidentified, was rescued on Easter Sunday after scaling cliff faces, treating his own wounds, and contacting American forces. Trump admitted that there were military officers who opposed the operation, which risked hundreds of lives. “God was watching us,” the President said. The pilot was rescued the day of the crash after both airmen ejected over enemy territory, but the WSO had remained missing.
Trump noted how the weapons officer was able to activate a “beeper” that showed US forces where to search for him, leading to the airman’s rescue and likely saving his life. “It was like finding a needle in a haystack,” Trump said. He also criticized the media for reporting that the second airman was still missing, accusing outlets of alerting the Iranians to a target. He warned that “the person who reported the story will go to jail” if they refuse to reveal their source.
Destruction of US Aircraft and Contingency Plans
Trump revealed that US forces blew up their own planes before leaving because they had become bogged down in the makeshift runway at the extraction point. Iran’s military claimed that two US C-130 military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed during the operation. “We blew them up to smithereens,” Trump claimed.
“It was sandy, wet sand, so we thought there may be a problem taking off because of the weight of the plane,” he continued. “And then we also had all the men jumping back onto the planes, and they got pretty well bogged down.” The President said US forces used a “farm not a runway” to land and execute the search and rescue operation.
Trump mentioned that the US military had a “contingency plan” for exactly that scenario, which involved lighter, faster aircraft coming in to take the personnel out. He explained that the old planes were destroyed because they had equipment that the US didn’t want in enemy hands. “We didn’t want anybody examining our anti-aircraft equipment and other equipment. So these were large planes that were old, pretty old, and we blew them up,” Trump divulged.
The Rescue Operation and Military Response
The downed airman first made contact by radioing in “God is good,” according to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who added, “we leave no man behind.” The plane’s callsign was “Dude 44,” as revealed by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine, with scores of aircraft scrambled within hours.
Caine praised the swift recovery of the pilot on Friday and the planning that went into rescuing the WSO. He noted that a special operations force fought their way in to extract the downed WSO in the early hours of Sunday, pressing on into daylight. “We will always bring overwhelming skill and firepower,” the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs added.
When Trump was asked how many servicemembers were involved in the mission, Caine interjected, “I’d love to keep that a secret.” Trump responded, “OK, well … but I will tell you the number. I’ll keep it a secret. But it was hundreds and hundreds of these people.”
