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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
/ B5 Y5 a% }0 VTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on + c( ~) {2 ^$ G% O; e
the merits.
4 n. O: F5 ~( dBy David Boies
* ]; e4 u9 W9 \March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET ) W( B+ F" W, b* z2 v" t) Q
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Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
& Q1 R. P' I$ G# g$ |# eIran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
8 u+ W- _! W( @4 X4 k9 x! n7 R- AEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
/ J3 w% V2 G' G/ f: IAmerican citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president 7 z5 a2 r% c: [2 U9 I- E
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to
1 l- ^0 P* h) Z% J. |address.
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Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
' D4 t0 q, ], H/ [+ u7 d* S, zIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its
* \ g) E" E4 Rnuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence
( T2 Z; N4 J* N. f, A" y* e7 gthat it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr.
- ~9 D: {( i1 L7 w5 D* ZTrump began the current military campaign. " P0 L* d ?" U* N: ^* M/ E
9 J( @# b! e4 B) v% BIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
: o5 W& R8 J# f8 O; r) h; r9 z! _choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles / C* Y* v; x. f6 ^
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York 6 Z4 `4 ]3 {4 r7 Q( c7 J
or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. , J1 K0 A, @% s" A: d; N! r4 M" x
* o1 [" @, w m# }6 _No sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste Z8 P4 B- g5 i. [; P
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action 1 M- m5 ?: W: P3 ?# U6 G
seems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? . c% H3 J3 W- E% N" `
3 v( O6 }& w6 x) F7 y% JObviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear
1 [' b3 [4 k' R, {“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons
& V. C& G, U: Q8 b- N, w" Q, Z$ X5 ^and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how
; K+ I& ?4 v8 P& H0 R5 s4 M; Wmuch its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been _( O# [ F: L9 B
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
5 D& ?% ~4 y6 a) q' s6 o6 v d1 Jtried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic 7 T& s2 ~6 x$ Z1 {% v C
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders
; G: X+ J$ b; h M4 _# gunderstand.
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7 ]4 U, \8 y6 wI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the , E {2 I% F) x0 b
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the ; N1 w. v) f9 |6 j M4 _/ Z5 P
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because
, b% q4 x% Z! K- ^3 A3 wthey are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
2 @3 Z, S: o0 ?. s x4 Qhundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or : I8 t4 @0 w( w& H& N+ K
dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
$ K3 U9 q5 H0 x* {: H, w! U" Tto devastate a city. 7 d" Q! ] S1 [# ?' l
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I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
3 n A% f6 S' w7 t) eand 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 6 R: J4 V7 `" e. `
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops 2 `4 a" n4 B7 F( X# I
at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
( |- F) Q! j" Tpresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
8 a; @, B( ^8 Q0 e0 h% P" sPresident Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our % a B v% |$ K0 I7 z* G9 K0 z& I
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt.
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% t8 Z* u1 | [1 |2 XMore important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
9 E. }9 L5 ]$ i( w7 amilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many 9 y' f6 P& i0 ]1 ]9 R% k
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in
% H {0 _( T: iAfghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in 0 @" q4 e7 e% P% G( S0 `9 Y
Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably `% K$ d& l3 M2 [0 b
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 ( v: v7 U0 P2 t7 z, ~
almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the , m/ q) {- ~/ M) M$ C
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—
9 o8 X( j% |7 c; p1 a# a6 ceven 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 9 v, B: F+ r1 [# _. |4 ^3 ]4 m, f) X
was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
_# r% Y a; _3 m. ^( {4 `elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman * e6 A4 \2 S/ v0 e9 n+ w0 O
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the * r3 V# ] r% c. T0 e$ ~/ F
popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command.
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2 o# W' X) ?/ O* D# @) b1 UTruman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to
5 y U# {; [0 y. }" ]5 L" J8 `contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the + H3 `- q+ d! L" g
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. % T' _) u+ W# ?% ?3 T
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
7 f }; H8 z$ t8 d' I+ f+ Qextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
( x( j% U# Y) h9 |) l" S7 n$ J! ]of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to
5 K: i6 v- ^; X) N. u- g+ X, Y/ |support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we % @, @, F. F+ p8 t8 z; Z" {% ~
owe it to ourselves, our country and our children. & a$ _; i3 j1 ?0 l7 G
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If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the
: B9 g* [: q. e" p5 omission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
& M- f: B ?) s0 m* Y4 sgenerally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse 3 a- |; n/ i2 C/ Y
for it. 0 s f( r7 H# t
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America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We
2 B& n8 R3 N+ Y: w# iDemocrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action a! K1 _4 f0 L5 |& d) w/ z9 P
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but ' l) w5 \* E8 F8 P# Q6 W- C
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will 1 d5 b% D9 J! S( ^& H+ @
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits ! z% g* c2 l" [
and not merely obstruct.
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
+ n, {% j% ?; {. @& G+ Xthis issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
- W0 b, A( U, Q$ Padmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we $ f7 [8 G% R+ U3 i& z2 w! M
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not 8 ~" W! x" T# f- |& N# d; n/ S; Q/ N
because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they 8 a& {! N& C, V" y( @% p
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the 7 N' M4 {. o6 ?4 {$ q s' D
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. 9 R1 v4 w% @' y; O" G
. i8 R& `- Z a4 o' x* _2 WMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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