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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
. }8 E/ P2 P [* f* d' J4 A' cTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on , y' I2 L8 O+ g' m
the merits.
! e) A# u( `2 l3 e& k8 Z1 xBy David Boies + s4 [" t+ X9 I
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET . m; v$ [" ^3 @) e; H- H$ q" K9 A
, ~) b+ x( i: P7 W& M4 vEvery past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that # R9 E1 J7 d+ E+ H
Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it. 1 Y# c# S# r: X7 L6 A: } r
Every president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
6 z5 u8 x6 x9 b7 E2 Y! I2 F* iAmerican citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president
5 I9 |/ Y( [: d( z" rleft his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to g8 X: U; [4 J! _5 @0 u; l
address. + f( ~+ }" z E& b7 x5 B% c/ ~
2 E9 ^: a( ~2 q: C4 k- DLast June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt ) {6 `* B1 Q; d, g6 U
Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its / y& z; {# }' M! z* t2 \2 i
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence , Q& y& R1 j* ]- C: E1 j: M
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. 9 ^ I* ]0 v4 J5 E, [6 d
Trump began the current military campaign.
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If he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous 9 b s2 G! M0 m% o
choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
0 R1 R6 \# o6 l8 I) G) ]- V/ anow hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York 8 B/ s9 y5 H: I$ t
or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. , W. Z/ c o' u# P+ ?" u; U9 y; o
5 M4 C2 B- M8 H INo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste $ f2 f* l, j) z
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
: e2 N$ |( q- y) Y J9 Iseems 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 9 m$ ?5 C1 `, q% Y' K* v
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons ; {9 i4 g3 X- v! m" B+ I0 S
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how
; u3 i! a3 d, Y5 \/ \8 n( C' f2 g8 Vmuch its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been& U+ }4 h7 H7 |1 s# d
to permit them to increase further. ( m" o* _ k. q# x4 h
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For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve ( |5 ~+ }$ h3 K/ L( Y
tried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic
! R' J. J2 F5 v9 S% }sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders : h6 n/ d* \0 ~; \0 j4 }$ C6 x2 k( V
understand. ; n% m+ _" Z$ Z& s2 b2 A4 w: q/ S
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I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the / C. h7 g( _, B# [
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the 1 g' Z, t( `% J. e. X
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because 4 X% ` b/ @1 H* J# y
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
1 K4 ]- s7 M9 ~' y! ^hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or " Q: }: Z0 Q: |
dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country, 8 A6 U6 v$ c ?1 |
to devastate a city. 5 ]0 I1 R: i: v) I3 Q
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I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel 3 ?- r4 |7 N; a. }2 O
and Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. * u. J( {) W- v' U
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What is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition 6 K1 o( w3 G: j) `( `# C
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops * R6 V2 B5 M& ?; C
at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
2 n! o6 p' J+ q: [7 [/ W+ w) Opresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice 0 t" @7 u+ a: u0 e4 o
President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our 1 ~* O, S3 n1 }+ r0 X" p& b
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. 5 O2 ^4 j2 D8 c* S/ b* A2 H `
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More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the ( p8 I4 T+ o; U/ ]! A* y) d
military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many
' ?# T+ s: F; n4 E) @8 x. d. N1 CRepublicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in 0 q6 s& D5 a8 w6 I: G3 |
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
/ h; i7 ^ x. [+ t# nAfghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably
0 L: R) _& p5 x C! r+ J1 w- I' fsupported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. # Q" [+ D0 p/ S) o8 {3 \4 O
3 J( U' z' l6 XMore important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we
& T# N/ ^; n7 J! l* Ualmost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the , z% ~& e9 H+ w, L2 ?
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—$ ?% r0 C* e$ G4 m3 V
even if it means a loss for America. ( g }5 r0 |6 c; l8 g3 J1 V5 U, O
& F* K+ n& @6 z8 w% C0 @/ V! yWhen North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It 4 W' _+ u8 C% O( N' r) s6 f( F- v
was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was : [" g7 J6 H g' n& N3 t2 E; v
elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman " c g5 G5 w1 @5 m, ?2 _3 Y
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the
# ?# t9 d6 d) G" |popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. * z) `; y! q. f Q' T1 b3 G
! A" y, T, }. d1 f6 k2 MTruman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to
+ `; Z$ `! ~* l' l5 `$ rcontain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the
: l v# D* ^/ Cresult would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. 1 `& Z0 S; e8 k( j7 R% B, f
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
Z, ~& M, H5 f. p1 ?7 {, {extreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those $ J0 f4 Q5 K$ W: v: ]5 J, p. W% v
of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to 8 m0 d2 O- V, E8 G
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we ( o+ ^/ t! w( v! e- j- m5 Y
owe it to ourselves, our country and our children. 7 u+ p1 }5 w& Q; e- J
/ A/ w; U! E3 ~! JIf we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the $ K' Q- `! ~- Y1 e
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we 7 j7 \5 x$ m0 e$ M
generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
4 y* C$ p( M. {2 K- q. ifor it.
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7 O* {% N/ z5 f" l5 H2 IAmerica’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We
6 K3 I8 u. k, q& s4 S* ?Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action
% @7 {4 D# U G8 fhad been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but
# T5 O# ]/ n+ ?) g' D) Wmaybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will
5 O, I; l0 f0 ]" Nreturn the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits 7 b( H5 e: u; o; V- b
and not merely obstruct. % N! Z* V- Z) d4 ?& y
; M$ Z% Y# ] ]0 zIf we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on & [3 m v1 ]# W1 N
this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
- A7 }! t1 e2 g) d* Hadmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we _: G% t1 o$ b- b+ ]
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not " E2 J% R, ]4 j* w
because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they 5 C$ W( b7 z! q: S* P: U7 H9 I" a
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the
3 X. E/ |/ Z5 k1 j. ZDemocrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. # w. p5 T8 E( [4 e/ v% H; r2 j1 Q
+ K2 B& _ M! s4 x# jMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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