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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 o5 Z% s4 I. E8 m" P' ]9 z/ BTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
3 W- E; j8 B6 n& ^$ _the merits. & }4 T; O0 A7 E6 j1 ]
By David Boies " u: E2 ?* X7 P4 S; ]
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET % _& G5 O5 y# \9 ?- P# I/ p
+ t/ j2 M0 w% r. c9 ^' z# iEvery past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that : j/ m' X1 L2 Z9 p- I
Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
! ~9 }* _9 g' N, _6 N! DEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
' T. _; b. N( B$ h1 t9 {) i/ |American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president ) |0 Z( D1 W$ I
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to " P& N7 S9 `% F8 l% J; C
address.
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Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
2 O9 \' \0 c1 B) `. ~& dIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its
$ @- J* G7 [- P3 Onuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence
+ ?' D8 B( j$ L, Dthat it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. ) {) W+ R- n. L0 p: a
Trump began the current military campaign.
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: N1 e) s E. {1 pIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous 9 {1 A2 C4 v9 Y5 Z
choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
. I a% R+ ?( ^# C3 s8 y5 vnow hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
+ J: @. T! n% j6 U5 Yor Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb.
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" f: ]% a! W. D* L: ONo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste 3 L' Y5 ~4 n* M
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
9 r5 [- N' |; A! M* ^+ V" o) {seems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? " |& l ?4 O# x: M0 t k; j; T
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Obviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear 7 t& ^( W3 f0 @4 D
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons + ^' v3 @1 h( s8 r9 l! A
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how
' A/ v$ V1 \" bmuch its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been
& v: j$ I2 Y) S! R* R. C2 gto permit them to increase further. + Z* }# S8 p" [, U& g! \
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For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
" y* z/ i& s* k3 Z0 X O5 |( Dtried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic ) W) M! S. X+ y1 N. k% I
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders - M/ ?, w) y8 k& V/ a
understand. / g4 L# J7 A$ v! e$ t& ]
7 u* S' i) _9 ^5 R( E! f( y& f' r- zI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the 3 i/ b4 i* z# z w3 V- a5 y
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the ' h \3 f- ^6 U: P( w4 E( j
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because - B' i$ Y" ], H3 n
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
- T) H* U" d* Dhundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or ' }& A" O$ h8 ]0 K6 S7 g7 z
dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country, 3 C* o7 P" ~3 f( D
to devastate a city.
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I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel 4 q) u/ E3 i9 } `
and Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies.
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/ H% Q7 s% b% M, [. _* p- Y! YWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition / f4 Y5 I8 r5 o$ Y- a6 P1 {
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
# N0 G) Y0 Z5 ]) \# Rat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
. f% D1 `& O' U' B) h: Epresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
. M) \' u+ d+ p+ O c* e: s; y( {President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our
- H0 a j. d9 y" M* m, N; q: hhistory we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. 0 w' y8 N' f4 _# E0 N
% z ^7 N6 Y5 ~3 Q: y5 O) GMore important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
: { W# h' R, M& Omilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many
/ O1 g, `: ^" P7 m7 F+ WRepublicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in
: R5 b. U* D$ c5 f" XAfghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
# f$ u1 j( w% U! U8 |$ `Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably . y" Q* G5 {' u- e- m: j
supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. 1 V/ U4 X6 t6 b. B
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More important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we
* [* B% @, p2 O7 z( N. X6 ~almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the
" q% W. x Y. _ u5 Gpresident is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—
: L& f5 q, o4 [/ `& _even 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
- Y8 |, t1 R! E- r6 Iwas so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
; N9 G0 H4 ?' R1 ?9 W6 Aelected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
5 v1 m: h6 u. l) k8 y* `was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the ( B0 b$ [& H9 e" j! X2 C: K4 g
popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command.
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Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to
, u9 Q! _, G4 r/ ~5 `; Dcontain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the * o" D3 T0 S. Z9 C# V* q
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
/ N. c* e- z4 q; nRepublicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
/ M1 q c- x7 o% {extreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
# l( g# @: A( x( o* X. L8 F! sof us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to
$ |& @1 D7 B4 X# asupport the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we ' F& \8 V0 D% V( m- o, q* i
owe it to ourselves, our country and our children.
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6 Y/ s* ^% m1 a d% DIf we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the
6 U7 n& r/ B0 ^' l6 |2 V smission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
% P, _# P; T; ?generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse ; h, Y0 Y7 V$ @3 W2 j8 ~
for it. 7 [* x' Q, o4 v( K2 K
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America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We 2 m+ T( C4 P4 O" z( V
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action 6 G8 O( _/ m+ V s, K0 U3 r' ^
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but 3 p4 F' l6 a* |/ l0 r l- V4 U
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will / x6 X4 k4 o* ^. ]( g' _
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits q0 U5 v! D6 n2 E: t
and not merely obstruct.
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7 Q/ a: @& {2 v' I0 ^$ ~$ S# NIf we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
3 l8 K$ @4 K5 C! U' Cthis issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or 7 z6 U; b# K5 l# ~
admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we ) O9 c5 q: q* E& b( O
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not + p% A2 O _/ b& L: m; d
because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they , ?( H0 m5 Y3 c3 \
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the
& R" Z8 s/ V- K: c+ E1 j) Y" w- \Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. 8 a, L7 v w4 J! x
8 i/ }7 j* {0 B% g h5 q/ pMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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