Washington should heed Joe Kent’s warnings about Iran War | Opinion

National Counterterrorism Center director resigns over the Iran War

NCTC Director Joe Kent stated in his resignation letter that he could not support the attack on Iran because it posed no “imminent threat” to the U.S.

While taking questions in the Oval Office on March 17, President Trump was asked by White House correspondent Reagan Reese why Joe Kent could not support his administration’s decision to begin the ongoing conflict. Trump’s response was that “Iran was a threat, every country realized what a threat Iran was.” However, according to international law, if an attack is not based on an imminent threat, it is a war crime.

Kent never denied that Iran was a threat, but that Iran posed no “imminent” threat.

The Trump administration has yet to clarify how Iran posed an imminent threat to the U.S. If it cannot be justified as an imminent threat, he is a war criminal.

Kent also claimed that the administration’s America First platform has been diminished by a “misinformation campaign” by Israeli officials, its powerful American lobby, and influential media members, and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw our country into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women.

Bill Petrie, Richland

Voter registration concerns are real

I couldn’t help but laugh; the problem is the issues are real. I was reading “WA doesn’t need feds to ‘fix’ our successful election system,” and remembering 1) the DOG that was registered to vote in 2007 and 2) the admission in August 2025 by the WA Secretary of State in response to Glenn Morgan that there are only 13,000 problem voter registrations in the state. Yes, the state that needed five recounts in 2024 with a margin of 129 votes.

An internal email by Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State spokesperson Stewart Holmes downplayed Morgan’s estimate of 25,000 voters without any form of identification (no SSN, no driver’s license) and claimed the number was closer to 13,000.

And yet we bury our head in the sand rather than clean up our voter roles. Hence the support for the requests for the state’s voter rolls by the federal government and the need for the SAVE Act.

Robert Birney, Richland

America doesn’t need more arguments this Easter. It needs love

Growing up in the Tri-Cities, I watched my father, Dr. Dale Caleb White, pastor the Cathedral of Joy (now Hillspring Church in Richland) with a simple but powerful belief: people should be welcomed, respected and treated with dignity — no matter their background.

On Easter mornings, at Sanders Jacobs Baseball Field — churches gathered before sunrise, standing together in the dark, waiting for the light. That image has stayed with me.

Today, we are often told we must choose sides — win or give in, conquer or concede. But the message of Easter offers something different. It calls us to something harder: to love people we did not choose, to respect those we do not fully understand, and to believe that forgiveness is not weakness but strength.

The cross reminds us that forgiveness works. The resurrection reminds us that God’s love is stronger than death or even our deepest losses.

If there is hope for our communities, it will not come through louder arguments, but through quieter acts of grace — one relationship at a time.

Timothy Dale White, Marysville

A note of thanks

Washington State law RCW-46-61-100 requires drivers on multi-lane roadways to use only the right-hand lane unless passing or turning left.

Mimicking drivers in large cities, a vast majority of those in the Tri-Cities hog the left lane. They drive in single file at the speed in which the lead car in line is slowing traffic. They leave the right lane occupied by very few vehicles. Only during rush hour is the right lane well-used.

I have found that I can drive George Washington Way from Bradley Boulevard to its north end almost entirely at the speed limit. I pass very few cars in the right lane to maintain a constant 35 mph.

This phenomenon exists because inconsiderate drivers don’t care if they slow up traffic and most others are in that lane because they simply ignore the law.

I thank all of you law violators for providing me with my own lane. And I thank the Richland Police Department for allowing this phenomenon to exist; it does not exist on state highways because the Washington State Patrol tickets violators.

Jim Tow, Richland

An electric car is right thing to own

As communities across the country grapple with rising fuel costs, air pollution, and the growing impacts of Global Warming, one solution is becoming increasingly clear: the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

Electric cars offer a cleaner, more sustainable alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles.

By producing zero tailpipe emissions, they reduce air pollution and improve public health, especially in urban areas where smog and poor air quality disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.

When you factor in that EVs cost roughly 40% less to fuel, and with fewer moving parts, require about half the maintenance of internal combustion engines, eliminating oil changes and frequent brake replacements entirely, the total cost of ownership is now a clear win for the consumer.

Advances in battery technology have extended driving ranges, while the expansion of charging infrastructure is making electric vehicles more convenient than ever.

Owning an electric car is not just a personal choice. It is a meaningful step toward a more sustainable future. By embracing this technology, we can reduce our dependence on carbon dioxide polluting fossil fuels, lower greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a healthier planet for future generations.

Ron Sadler, Kennewick

Why not to vote for Pasco levy

Don’t vote for the Pasco school levy because of what our parents did for us. Or what their grandparents did for them. Or the countless generations before have ALL done: educate their children to the best of their abilities. You owe them nothing.

Don’t vote for the levy, because all education should be paid for by the state, not the local communities.

Don’t vote for the levy; local property owners would have to share dollars acquired through increased property values. Property owners need every nickel. Don’t vote for the levy, your single vote won’t make a difference. There is nothing that we, as individuals, can do to make our community better.

Don’t vote for the levy, because the money is just wasted with school sports, and other unnecessary out of classroom activities. Who cares how our teams represent us?

Don’t vote for the levy out of misguided morals; that we should try to help others and make the world better at every opportunity. Me first.

Forget about the better education of our children, you won’t be around to see the consequence.

Michael J. Harrington, Pasco

Trump’s war in Iran

Those who don’t learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat the mistakes. Trump has neither the understanding, depth of knowledge, nor the temperament to be commander-in-chief, let alone start a war without any oversight from Congress.

The war in Iran is an epic blunder. The Middle East is a tinderbox, and Iran’s leadership, no matter how many Trump ordered killed, was never going to kowtow to his bullying and threats. Trump thought it would be easier to bomb Iranian leadership into submission rather than wait for a meaningful diplomatic solution. But this time, he picked on a country that was willing and able to fight back along with their proxy groups.

Tragically, American service men and women are being injured, and some are losing their lives. Iranian civilians and neighboring countries are collateral damage. The disruption of world oil supply and the financial fallout is being felt by many countries, including here at home.

It is time for many more prominent individuals to denounce Trump’s attempts at dismantling our democracy, his cruel and disastrous policies at home, and threatening sovereign nations abroad.

Amy Small, Richland