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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
, O$ @4 z( }4 \' Z- q' y4 BTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on 4 _9 C$ y5 R- N$ D
the merits.
3 W, I/ D+ W& _; l, u( V4 YBy David Boies Z4 g. J" {& l% q- H) |
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET / J5 k1 w* P, M6 z( n( ~5 V7 N
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Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that : @; \' t- h6 P8 R& a3 a& `" |
Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
6 V+ m. ^; a1 q1 H; X( s* j& hEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against , c- y) P3 j! o% q, C' k8 q
American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president 2 s. q" Z6 s$ t* {4 o! a, n
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to
; X( C0 Z' b& Y+ Zaddress. ; {& o7 J8 K5 [. g9 a6 O- N' G& Z c
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Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
: J2 e J+ r4 m/ c9 kIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its
8 ]% H& T$ J& G7 c2 jnuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence 6 h, `( _/ `& [8 I0 X- h1 w: @
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr.
# J2 F, D7 Y% ?& U4 z# ]: NTrump began the current military campaign. 2 o' L8 G B: D* n, x, B
2 t" z) Y4 B0 p) A* {2 D5 w+ E: l$ `3 _If he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous - t2 J0 }: {' ]8 v
choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
3 _& X0 w9 u) p, Anow hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York : V7 J4 ?9 }6 }9 y
or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb.
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3 c5 K; l, l; y+ j, j( qNo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste 7 P: V$ ? E1 ~( P0 k
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
' W( h! Q% A1 lseems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? 1 c$ r8 X. o# V4 |( m) h
* |( _4 k* A# |* d& b; L! QObviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear 5 j9 u6 H! {9 S& k) A- g
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons
# S. V' V2 k3 @6 H+ oand the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how 1 c n$ \1 a: ?. y. a N
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been, ~1 t4 g" U4 J8 N d* P
to permit them to increase further. c: C/ t+ y) ~! {% l/ F" \
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For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve 0 W) K0 m2 c+ `6 \( G8 P
tried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic : H& t( ^! U6 B+ _
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders
, h) r) ^: D& a6 ?% f. h8 D& Lunderstand.
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6 l$ a1 y! t2 h uI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the T* r U1 A$ {! R9 i. @( N
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the . s/ N: u$ k4 F7 c
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because ' ?; c8 ^6 M3 H
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One 5 A/ n+ }1 J9 \( G% Q
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
8 J$ r5 Q0 v k6 j* G# O/ N) Q* adirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country, ( w, M$ u0 V5 a c* A, e
to devastate a city.
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9 h; T, V/ h& kI also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
/ Z. l( X r% \# t, O, K! Wand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. 1 T3 @# _! J7 c3 j$ G
" n5 C2 i1 D/ W8 U- J% pWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition
* _4 C7 X5 A8 O# H$ l; irooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
% n- p- r0 F* m. b3 O' a8 R) Sat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a % x+ V9 x) c0 P
president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
% r" j) G( _# ^: O& x" X; V' ?President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our , L1 m' o4 n' Q* a7 f7 ^
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt.
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! @' ]( b5 q9 UMore important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
2 g3 E% ^6 R6 [6 tmilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many
8 [2 l+ Y. O( P c2 E! uRepublicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in " X% F. f4 L# q" I
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in ( C( P; e; z1 [( S! u
Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably 4 m/ C9 z/ O. T) Z( l" c# Y
supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. 0 q1 J7 F$ n o$ \* p0 q% O2 e
a: y$ J( v/ z0 N; ^; oMore important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we
1 j" A+ f& k* \5 {) S: calmost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the 4 c; W5 @/ t! U0 |
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—
$ g0 g& @! ]+ z3 D6 Qeven if it means a loss for America.
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/ }; _9 N/ E4 ?% A: `- q8 Q, wWhen North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It . ?7 i: }# W$ @; t+ Z
was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was $ a0 m6 B+ a T& X; Y
elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
+ L* A% N6 u. }) `, e" Vwas president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the
4 f# Q5 g3 N3 d5 m G0 ~popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command.
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% e( s# Z3 d) w# U& HTruman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to
' V& z$ h5 ]1 P, u9 [contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the " J( _ P% P; ]8 r7 n0 m5 O
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
6 R9 }( L! @' T3 u& |; S. HRepublicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and . I# `7 F) h: i5 W) |. P8 E8 s* L
extreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
$ I0 E8 V: u1 uof us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to 6 T( F4 T) ~ |4 [2 I7 o6 u- ]
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
% z: y# m( V/ m) X2 howe it to ourselves, our country and our children.
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1 m7 g, i; y7 p4 a& Q1 IIf we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the
6 a- |9 e' H8 b1 x7 _2 [7 S/ omission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
% Y, a6 n4 o2 i% O0 {* {3 Z$ Tgenerally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
1 M) j$ X I/ W/ Tfor it. & u) n0 I' @) X3 H2 R4 o1 ~0 d
. K. D( c2 g' a/ t. u# YAmerica’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We 1 e7 b5 O, H) P5 O; u* k
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action
* S0 \5 u/ v/ Z' M" D0 X. a, b( R+ t0 _had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but & F% \& r3 D C1 @8 c" I# O
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will " V9 t0 M8 H" N8 p
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits 3 I. v! Y$ H7 A- d: }
and not merely obstruct.
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" [3 `( e+ S8 P% f+ O& p/ Y: dIf we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
" q: ?* q; L: Y7 wthis issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or : M) r4 R6 y( I8 ^+ T' X
admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we
6 s& x, L v8 i1 m7 T7 v" B& ^want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
: x9 a" q: v2 g% F$ x1 b5 G fbecause the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they 5 S; e" S1 e7 Q+ \( L! Z& v6 p
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the
" Z6 ~3 g; S3 [: c2 v& PDemocrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. $ q; n7 b* T; E% V5 S
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Mr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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