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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
' c2 x9 w5 p. [) pTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on # Y- z/ i0 j/ V9 q+ |" L: q+ B) a9 D
the merits.
$ C: v1 g, |% cBy David Boies 7 R4 n8 f( D1 S/ ]3 Y( s' l
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET
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Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
: m9 G/ P3 C5 eIran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it. ! Q( o2 W0 q! }
Every president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
1 H0 ?# e& n" ^& qAmerican citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president # y+ g+ R$ _- u0 {9 X
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to
1 Y( C2 R5 M8 w% {- u& kaddress.
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/ t- T4 x# x2 bLast June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
9 C e0 r; ^/ oIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its 4 }# \* r' G; s* W
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence ( U9 E/ ]3 Y+ W) _) V+ M' {
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. x4 m' \2 h3 J& \4 ]
Trump began the current military campaign. , f4 r9 a7 M# }
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If he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous , ^( H$ E/ D0 v& {$ d9 q
choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
d( {: ]$ c. R& R' Znow hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York 3 X' s1 S, v2 Z" t& J; f6 H
or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb.
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; P! B# m1 O2 a9 ]7 O* b3 BNo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste
4 {- W; t- N/ K5 m9 P8 ytreasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
; M) K- z' Q, |# g4 Vseems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? / N& d) ?- [0 [. L
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Obviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear 3 \& p( @; h$ H3 m% {
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons / q! C6 a; Z; A Y3 P
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how 5 r! h% I7 Y& q5 A: ]
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been0 v6 L' g t4 u# N
to permit them to increase further. 4 T- f7 z- f9 N! U3 L1 y
9 B/ `: `1 U3 R6 l# d, t9 _For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve ; M& F d! A1 A5 s
tried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic 5 I3 E8 @- l& @: J5 x
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders
# \# X# P- a9 Z) H% O3 Nunderstand.
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I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the ; V8 o Q4 R3 y
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the
! b$ v9 \2 D( ^fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because
; h% u( l' C) G5 Gthey are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One 8 m+ g& n; B: g/ F: H
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or 2 @1 r$ j) C# Y5 |# K% Q+ r5 I3 [
dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country, : z/ K4 z9 K& l( i W
to devastate a city. 7 [7 H- W# L7 B5 Y2 v" l
( p1 T4 |9 U2 m! Z" b1 [! [I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
! `$ r! B% w1 J8 }+ _6 R' t" oand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. D. z; f# C q# c
5 f: w9 R L; `# l' V2 X) `2 Q: nWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition
7 b: y8 K/ T+ q+ a, _5 X* d# z- qrooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
+ I( j# l% v2 i u. W7 K& U4 Nat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
) v+ x7 j e Z$ f/ Q4 K+ E7 N# apresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
) O% l# m @# `; n1 uPresident Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our 6 _' I' o/ Y" O. N( y/ N
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. 2 E ]) }- i8 G2 O) {' e
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More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
6 P. T3 x( J3 F6 {military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many 6 z, r* M8 ~7 |4 K; J
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in
. Y$ |# C6 E" p/ h* qAfghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
: i& h" j; S! e4 H+ w0 Q2 d( i$ JAfghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably , `& p2 p( G: \, E6 ]8 T
supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. $ e5 g6 a9 H P/ Q9 z0 K* A
: Q2 o- U4 h p: ?0 S# AMore important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we ( P% d$ Q4 l2 i
almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the 9 f" x; P) R0 r* n" y! i, n
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—4 t9 A" ?0 E" P/ i
even if it means a loss for America. , o9 B- Z! `" R9 U
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When North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It
4 Q6 u5 N& h0 [was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
) |7 S! x+ d" O3 N! b% yelected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman ) L% j r4 S, E
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the
0 |. ?5 L1 C) s1 N' i9 O/ _" ~. wpopular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command.
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& M3 H- E3 Z/ \8 fTruman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to 3 h$ P2 Q ?5 h9 a
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the
1 Q! P8 j1 m# u- l9 Nresult would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
2 S' z9 S4 \! s% n9 eRepublicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
( P+ {$ w: f$ W. Bextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those # E0 z% {6 O0 u2 ~2 W3 I
of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to
: Z" C1 B) {! F8 B+ u, h% F6 f- Zsupport the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we 2 S7 `; S7 f3 I5 v, @
owe it to ourselves, our country and our children. " z: u: i# |1 ?
: y/ ?* i' F8 B( I0 ~" B& ^" ^If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the 8 R* S) x: o0 q/ J
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
1 J$ B4 e# s+ {generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse 0 m) X* _% D s g( ^3 x8 C. ^
for it.
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America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We
" \& b) Y/ p5 y7 r$ f5 D$ B8 O% MDemocrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action 2 e0 r6 V! V9 K
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but
" Y7 ?/ y$ q( v& Qmaybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will % C% l; ^/ }9 O6 B$ j
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
2 R- X. Z: l: m2 land not merely obstruct. 2 E1 g$ R" S( t f( ]
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on , [- g: V+ V6 M2 ^
this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
1 \; F$ z8 P! g8 [9 o% H0 I! T! Kadmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we
; y/ F2 Q7 J8 _2 \6 p5 F3 {9 Mwant to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
3 I! e8 `; f: n3 u; wbecause the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they
& \$ ^. N( m3 j! Y# Y# B% Kwill. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the . Z: ~1 F9 V: m U3 r
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president.
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* \# R+ B) ^; g, S, UMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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