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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
5 d, K4 S# w, g# \8 o9 n* VTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on 4 q' L& \& T7 `& J% v
the merits.
) i/ o6 O; K0 l) G( C6 YBy David Boies 8 ~( R+ Z- e8 Z5 {
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET 8 ^8 m1 B1 _# r( l6 \/ K- G) y
- _" U. z0 X6 Z1 N" [Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
. ]) w$ C. y/ x$ XIran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
! [9 }0 G; W, O. kEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
' w/ A1 o; Q- @" K! t$ mAmerican citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president ! q( Q) N( O' _
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to
5 ?9 q$ A' M8 O/ @# Paddress.
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* j3 f# e+ ^% eLast June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
* ?8 g8 p3 s3 p% CIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its 6 `0 ~" r1 {0 J% I' g/ b9 z
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence 6 d. Q7 m8 V$ f1 C- {
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. # O7 {$ m; x6 d& ~% @# v! w
Trump began the current military campaign. - o+ {+ s- v# m: @
B' z1 q$ O0 @, T9 i, Q xIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
7 r5 y7 R. T+ Nchoice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
6 ~+ Y! \+ _3 G8 y9 j: N- N$ jnow hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
7 q3 }5 C& ? sor Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. ) i2 Y/ R8 r. P* q7 _
9 o' ?0 _; ~) Q: ]- xNo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste
5 \7 y$ s) U$ K( |0 g. I$ streasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
. N9 g; b/ d$ pseems 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
+ N' b/ c# r. a% { b“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons 0 Q' k' ~( }4 W6 T9 s# d
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how 3 t% ]# M7 I4 { }" @
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been
( y9 V! ^/ {3 ?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 ) R0 ^- ^: F5 W! u, |9 G
tried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic 2 t" j# }1 n' l2 j) j6 u9 f3 W! R
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders & e& N& B1 q, l
understand.
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8 ]8 T$ T2 \" b3 Z0 k3 [% fI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the
( c$ b; ]5 y8 h# N8 `Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the + S' h3 O' T: \- [1 [7 y5 G0 l
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because
: a, v6 Z( ^4 A: b6 ~$ `% uthey are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
$ y8 u7 `( ?3 \1 a- q2 e3 Y' whundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
# Y) B- e( \' c2 sdirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
: ]1 t+ Z( Q/ a" Z! h$ g {to devastate a city. 7 ?) a9 b4 |9 U& Q; |6 @
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I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel 2 }% M; g* Z% y
and Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies.
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7 j9 i& c% [8 G$ z, MWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition
5 T* z: _: ?& f1 Krooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
9 S4 Z0 f p& jat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
V4 k8 K5 ]" _. i+ B# o* bpresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
/ o4 j% k, t3 EPresident Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our " ?- R: C) L7 Z, ]7 d% B
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. 6 P' ]7 _) O3 D1 m w* `, i
2 v9 M" l- v+ C; B* WMore important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
$ j& p5 f7 R9 Vmilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many
8 C" p2 {# A9 M7 g" d, V' qRepublicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in
8 Y* Q6 f# g, p7 m, xAfghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in ; d7 t5 V; `$ S* U4 r$ x
Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably
- h; g, ^) I% v- r- l# a, |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
3 m2 O# D* K. _almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the
7 [2 g$ y; w$ C, s4 l/ vpresident is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—% [( i3 d. g' K' `" `
even if it means a loss for America.
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When North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It
' X% V. ], V0 C( ~& Twas so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was $ v, E& ^- q! N8 _; S3 n: K
elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman + h4 G! d$ ?- x, G- W, R7 w
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the 4 G4 V7 G# |/ h- a7 y& A$ c
popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. 3 {$ O" k7 {. S! Y
; H9 f1 g8 Y, T9 cTruman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to . S, A1 `5 Q" }, A$ g- e
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the
/ {% ?/ Q8 U" l& e2 Q+ gresult would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. P' g. X& }$ Y- W) n. _ ^0 M- P
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
' e+ M. x$ @5 s8 g8 jextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
1 H: Y6 W* n7 Bof us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to & S8 E! L5 C% @" S# Z# r( E
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we % ^; ^, g6 D. _2 F: Q1 K7 v
owe it to ourselves, our country and our children. & t/ ~$ Y7 q3 N8 L
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If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the
7 J0 ]7 j; r f( Qmission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
" p: G/ i+ X* e, Q% ^8 w, i7 j$ _generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse $ n F4 d8 @$ R o4 X% D6 p8 b. l
for it. ) M$ a7 B8 k. x; u: v# @
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America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We 1 I& I1 |$ J3 |) H. A
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action & Z- \8 X+ s2 ?; @! h5 {& P
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but - i _. n/ G9 p3 l' e" P; c. {! g
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will
- Z$ [+ l# x0 v$ J+ \return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits ! ~/ h, p8 H% G+ z
and not merely obstruct. + T/ J0 L, W+ o) U+ X# f5 E- a- e
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on 3 T5 W; S$ _- _* I: c4 H1 r
this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or ' c" `9 b! a& \3 C0 b, g: ^
admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we % y! e4 Y+ [9 T4 w0 A( R( W
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not : X1 B# p& Y) L4 {7 E( E7 O
because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they
* _, p2 b& b; @) Q& `will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the
' u" w$ B* n5 fDemocrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. 4 t4 e7 W8 M" Z, p* I* N, M) g
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Mr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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