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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America {7 G4 F, t$ e5 K
Trump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
- r( {- ?$ P; T+ L; S* s6 Ithe merits. 9 G4 k1 a% Z) O- M8 o9 r
By David Boies ! N1 o7 I) X% m1 }
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET 8 [9 G% q; {9 B1 Z3 g7 `9 {2 J3 }& B
) A4 G4 ~5 |5 n+ W7 q: aEvery past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
) s/ u( G; `( p0 T8 k9 |* aIran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
/ w# D2 M4 M) pEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
" p d$ h t' u& v0 g5 hAmerican citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president ( J. @& x, G- B I0 ?
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to / {3 W! l# l( e: \4 B9 j$ D( X
address.
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/ |* B" z$ J P5 ]Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt ) ?2 A: q$ R" e+ e, D1 ~# H
Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its
- }! C& @- i) G( i5 ]nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence
: t; s( y3 S3 L" K: D) l/ dthat it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. 2 J! K6 i5 Z+ ~
Trump began the current military campaign.
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If he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
' f! T+ P8 y& X1 @choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
" o! F5 X- X6 h; R: a5 T5 T) q: Z: nnow hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York $ Q; G% n, J# y
or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. ; E. T$ k, ]/ g+ y
$ b) U& e& t7 K: R0 h U: [ CNo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste 0 h( I- y1 }, y* }/ F4 r k. I
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action . N8 S {+ i4 j$ a
seems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative?
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Obviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear
( I# j/ @3 H7 m. ^: s$ ^7 B“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons
" _$ Y9 Y3 u4 l5 oand the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how 4 O( l, z. Y2 e/ J9 S2 ^! `( _
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been9 I. F: k: D( {7 v/ ?
to permit them to increase further.
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For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve ! H! e' Z4 l0 u u$ B& o
tried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic
: y; }& _5 Y1 V. e) esanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders 8 T1 D) J+ [, H! E
understand. 5 }& | J6 y: N1 o# G) _
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I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the
4 |4 ]& S2 A* L& IRepublican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the
8 D/ d7 K: ]. X& Efantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because ) B7 D4 ?( z u4 L2 {
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One ; q+ v! i1 [$ F' p- A
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
2 l. H1 `) [% b; |, o, ]4 G1 odirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
8 V( F0 ~' x3 x; _to devastate a city.
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4 `# K4 _0 \ R lI also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
7 D8 e! a& K& K: sand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies.
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What is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition * ]7 o8 h4 L& u# m' I* y- j6 {
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
0 }/ C2 Z+ r/ i1 Kat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a 1 p; x$ p: a" m& J- ?8 P* j
president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice 5 \3 p, W. W6 B3 \* V
President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our " X" S% f7 U' Q6 i. ^, h0 ?
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. ; D8 _8 C7 V" J3 e; T1 L
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More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the & x" l1 |: R. Q: m/ Z) {
military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many + m. [: f. G! z
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in : R/ s# c% p5 T. d+ e* \4 N; N
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
$ J( z Z( ] ?5 P( e' z8 \Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably g4 }5 Q" W3 y" a ~0 X9 u! k
supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam.
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More important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we
6 a1 X8 f. }3 ?* v: Z7 R) q( ?- Malmost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the , U5 X7 o8 U x7 R2 L: T! ^3 m
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—
* S6 t8 {' b% ieven if it means a loss for America. & k% C0 r d. ?2 _1 A# A3 W$ \
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When North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It ( X) c1 R) |! A6 ^
was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was 2 s5 {: E q# _, {) W
elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
# B" A* |: J2 q& h& j2 P jwas president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the
! j, `7 B! G5 R/ g# r0 L5 J- G8 Q4 spopular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command.
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Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to 9 l3 r+ q: n6 e1 Y7 _0 I, D. }: [: _
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the 7 k6 L( q/ Z/ t* n) E' Y
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. ) G: e+ n* O8 F" f% q: n1 V1 w
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and $ S% H. X) ?% [& ]3 Z; B5 h0 Y
extreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
- G/ ?" M* J) qof us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to
2 T& E* K- [3 k& E; W f( y% E8 a0 gsupport the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we 2 b( l1 V6 w- I4 f
owe it to ourselves, our country and our children. 1 } e) |; E9 f7 Q
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If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the
1 p2 y- F. E9 Omission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we 0 e, g# U5 D$ [. q# r2 v. X: e
generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse 4 S2 i3 k/ ?. ^$ j/ H( y
for it.
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America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We ( e$ _' P1 W% U# s b6 f: _4 ?
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action
$ N9 r( w1 ]4 V( U+ Q8 S6 Dhad been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but : \7 K: U" W9 ~) W- G4 E4 {
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will ' L; o3 u# k' h5 i1 S3 f
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
5 h8 m7 H E! B9 J" \and not merely obstruct. 0 D% x% h, ^& N# ~
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
* N( F: m& d6 u5 k; Rthis issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or , b( v, t) w+ R$ \; m1 U
admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we " E) v/ n# L# z
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not 8 p, R4 G' x3 A& C( N+ `
because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they
2 B! A$ c; k& e; A; b0 f$ h1 _' Lwill. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the ( j. f- M3 }3 G0 [
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. # T6 n: e6 Z# M; w$ h& D' s2 p
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Mr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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