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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
9 I: Z3 U* ~: \+ S4 HTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
" N2 c T# X& l$ y, Q8 dthe merits. " G; k2 H% _" i
By David Boies ' q8 r: o1 a5 S. h$ k0 t
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET
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% C4 U) d& m0 V LEvery past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
' r6 K( g: s; h2 O9 sIran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
, Z7 T2 `$ h4 Z+ Q8 E% Z+ MEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against j6 `% Y2 L& \9 _+ v* ~+ T' V
American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president 8 c) m; w6 }& |5 d5 E
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to , |7 A$ i- U4 o$ L0 W; [% P4 A
address. 8 x; e( H" t6 P) a* `$ k
+ `1 {: w* ^3 w! }Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt 5 G4 ~8 H" p0 i& B
Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its ! C7 t. _# V/ A4 Y
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence
1 o5 J: V- Z6 l! ~% X- V" T2 tthat it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr.
+ L9 p0 u+ g& P z1 STrump began the current military campaign. ) x% i! P2 c; W5 U* E- ?/ q
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If he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous : g3 [0 I, m8 q6 [
choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles $ [4 ^! [# r, ?7 P. H& L0 ^7 E0 l2 e8 t
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
6 a* _# L! I& T8 }* Y3 dor Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. 8 f# R+ _7 T6 A( R
9 k t3 I5 s- c- s& m4 N' S
No sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste
, {5 ^8 J+ Z& g( k, f, a6 xtreasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
4 E7 R, \9 J. K) _% N4 `seems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? 9 h# [6 b `" Q' d
6 c; P# b9 K+ l2 o' R4 E" JObviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear
- s; J/ m. A" P+ I“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons
# L% m* n5 Z) ?. B ~' Wand the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how # x2 E- f- K& C. {$ [* a
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been
& J9 x! b" l% f! i8 _# a7 E1 lto permit them to increase further. ' F5 K* E2 G* L" n/ W% W; n
4 A* ? d" H2 c+ U
For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve 5 O8 N* `4 j, b3 w
tried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic
7 A. f7 B% d c2 g- n/ j4 ^3 T, jsanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders
) a8 P1 U" T% F9 [4 R1 O! Bunderstand.
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I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the
9 L$ i) c* m, Z# g' hRepublican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the " k+ h L0 ^6 |5 V5 V$ R
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because
* {; c B, ? d9 r' N: B1 bthey are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One ) m. E$ A% I9 j0 \6 s
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
; B/ W1 u: f% e% }! C1 H2 b" o/ y$ pdirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
; I4 A4 p6 V% k3 A9 x% `' Pto devastate a city.
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I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel 6 b* c, g; s3 i* I( C8 g
and Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. 3 ^( D9 S- x! i$ K4 a6 \0 {9 u
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What is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition 8 t, L+ D' i2 d; ~ W1 M
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops ) p' d1 I' u2 l6 {
at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
, `5 G$ @. A0 T. q# l Upresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice * i" a* M& B, v7 i2 L W$ C
President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our a1 k; T9 @. D3 n" U L7 q1 M
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. * E& f* G, L% U7 m5 V: I
% ?* D. U8 p* a1 H9 r4 tMore important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the 4 p9 S# C: d( N5 j6 _
military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many
1 o# n& D' V1 I" j! { K# F/ sRepublicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in
" D6 | Q2 I$ w% c: aAfghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
$ |3 ` ~2 p% _Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably 7 k* ]9 k$ L. }' \
supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. # [* ~! H+ u, r7 _. Y
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More important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we 2 Q: k: q/ `" `* n" R! a
almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the
5 G/ y. A! L* N5 @: a* ^4 ~president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—
' x$ M3 R+ q) B( ^2 }6 D% B- T$ Weven if it means a loss for America.
/ ^* D3 P! \- p9 z+ K! g! U7 h. e5 A& Z
When North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It
% M" Y% C2 C% C0 l/ bwas so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was 7 | i$ q! a1 e4 c+ Z( _
elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman 3 U! y' u/ h2 m* Q, `9 i
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the L) I3 t- Q6 L
popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command.
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" C$ l. w& U6 E! I, JTruman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to
/ n% d9 e) j2 f4 O$ Rcontain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the " ~" |5 E6 ?! g' K7 t
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
+ F' I0 W) X& DRepublicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
: ^: |3 h! R" zextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
& }" S! C, ~" t0 I! Y& d0 vof us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to
. s2 l" r% Q* dsupport the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we & I" `+ P. }2 I9 ]2 R# i
owe it to ourselves, our country and our children.
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& E l8 d2 U; p7 }If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the & |" M) }' c* C( P1 O U$ P
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
* D$ W! V+ G8 M$ z; o' Dgenerally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
& Z/ q* O; ?6 v: j! u/ Q7 x5 ufor it. 3 N" _2 @) { c
: b& ~, X! i* C7 sAmerica’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We & ^7 a8 x, o: t( k+ ?9 N" k
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action & H8 S. H8 J) K, N+ ]% |5 F2 S
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but
! x0 k- L4 w# w8 e0 l- \: m {maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will
% \+ I& K6 N/ \/ _3 J. o ^4 ereturn the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
& D3 d4 N- Q5 Dand not merely obstruct.
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on / r- f1 v. E& Y+ g u |1 q# U
this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
. n" j6 `) U5 L: @; Eadmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we " l( f5 W' c# o8 ]- k& s
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
7 c d: e+ ?9 ?9 |% {( Ibecause the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they
8 W8 B* v8 e. q. u! I: ?' j: Uwill. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the
; n: h- O: y: R3 ]/ uDemocrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president.
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Mr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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