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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America - `7 w6 }* j' S2 R
Trump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on 3 Q6 S* `; c$ C+ M$ i
the merits.
, X: q7 N. Y8 R5 eBy David Boies ; y6 i, \2 G3 ^' y& P" h5 `: v
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET E8 `5 L3 C) ^- Y! s% u2 v5 U
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Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that 6 r+ k7 N7 @& V# F
Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
7 W) h: P7 u, d' v3 L$ tEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
7 L* R- `( d! k% w5 vAmerican citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president
5 V" y8 x2 C. t! ~# Ileft his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to ! E2 E: R4 y1 u% \% H( Z
address. ) y; ]) K. `4 X+ c& Q5 J. o
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Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt u; y! A5 u- Q6 V
Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its 0 O4 g3 _% f. X. ?
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence
3 H( b$ Q8 ~7 K' t: x% b6 I# a% Bthat it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. 9 s5 p5 J! ~4 ^) k# h
Trump began the current military campaign. : Y. {3 N- K+ K! I8 {4 ?- q
8 o& C: Q, x9 l# o/ O+ mIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
: w( y4 P6 z: }7 _2 fchoice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles & X. \& d2 g v( i
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York - U, q) s l) ~+ D
or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb.
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No sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste , W6 ]- M- H3 V& Z: C1 |, x
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action 7 \, C" D5 |( p% ]! R/ ?" g
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 ( i2 o L3 i8 q$ o* |
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons 5 S4 L6 a9 t R
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how ' E* Q( _4 h% L( z$ V& h" D
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been. R% Y, z" Z, @% I
to permit them to increase further. . S' _7 L4 c% B
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For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
( y5 C3 p/ }( V( r% Q' gtried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic
9 C# h! p. [" E7 f3 I8 k* ysanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders
1 C/ c( q+ B0 nunderstand.
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I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the
% y, R! {1 _3 H9 KRepublican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the
$ x& p. E6 o' bfantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because
/ }& b+ D* r! T4 h2 bthey are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One ) I) t- k0 N' \7 z" F! C$ V) N+ A
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
$ L/ E/ S: X. M9 s: O. Vdirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
5 j0 D! Y5 d! f3 fto devastate a city. 3 b! i1 Y4 r3 w/ e8 a5 f4 S
+ G, Z3 I$ q" j: d q: M# ZI also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
8 y' a: l# c/ z& i9 S9 b$ Tand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. ) ?2 v7 u+ Z/ \1 A9 W, t* l
: w+ X, Q2 ?' cWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition
7 t3 ~4 A( G, T q% p2 drooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops 1 ?$ x" W2 `0 p* t8 R y! y, H
at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a " l1 J9 b3 \4 m7 j& k, m' r( d
president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice : H$ r* s" k( m h
President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our
! c5 `) _3 w, r) m) S( h! [- Qhistory we have given the president the benefit of the doubt.
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/ g3 w* a _* n8 m7 M7 @More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
, O0 Z A# Q% `6 Xmilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many
) C& |, M$ _3 Q" f. u& XRepublicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in
( a& `" ?$ y! y3 L5 D4 ]Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in 4 @/ G+ z f) B( I8 U$ t, Y7 c) A
Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably - p& i, P# V0 J9 m; z
supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. . }3 k( U8 H) g8 a( z9 I5 [) C" w
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More important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we ; h. t/ v4 U v7 T0 @2 f$ D0 R4 l
almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the " d3 C5 g1 C, d! g; {, C
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—4 e1 }3 y8 f! T0 M/ R. o5 E
even if it means a loss for America. % D/ o0 p1 v( L E. s+ f- w
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When North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It
5 [% R2 Z& [5 Y6 t) `6 cwas so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was ' M8 M" n( \8 A. ]4 E l2 T2 S
elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
4 `, t* U7 t) S4 ]/ e* K/ P5 _$ Lwas president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the 3 b0 ~5 u1 n9 `' F% c+ V
popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command.
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Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to ' J& M( S/ |$ A* T% u8 E9 m
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the - i& O& z; q C* e1 m
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
r. C, g5 c1 ^, i/ O! \% Y0 qRepublicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
3 Z" I5 l6 ]" sextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those ) Y: d/ M7 [% p) |
of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to
7 x* J7 F4 l9 j- S1 z5 Wsupport the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we 9 U b& Z+ Y6 u% p) K& r( k
owe it to ourselves, our country and our children.
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/ k2 ?5 m9 @$ W% M, J, LIf we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the 0 ?2 G9 i: W: o* }3 z
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we 9 B3 I0 x4 ?; A4 l! n4 L
generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse " u9 C% A! G. l* r2 m
for it.
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America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We
* f' y/ \- [% C# R% I. M1 `4 v9 O+ VDemocrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action
0 Q* O0 p# ~4 [8 hhad been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but
' v' z% Q3 ~0 l2 K8 K/ G4 u* z3 B( _maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will 5 f6 W% Z( @: v* t; n
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits 8 x0 p% H; ?* T
and not merely obstruct.
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& K: @) W W% ?7 cIf we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
. F; h2 {+ [$ G) t4 Mthis issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
9 g2 P# D5 Z; w2 ^ @admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we : f3 \3 l( Z1 r) V- s1 w) `6 w+ b
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not - L0 `' C0 h* F; Q1 W* N& l! h/ ^) s' D
because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they ) F0 M5 M/ v% m/ T/ R: Q3 e
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the
5 F) ]- m; C. ~Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president.
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$ S% Y! F( q, L v3 d$ S" `# X9 eMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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