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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
) L, i/ S7 V8 W- f, A, [) ATrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
?& T2 a2 k* a* xthe merits.
2 k8 A2 }, A" X1 KBy David Boies
8 H3 m# i3 X. Q i7 E5 FMarch 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET ! l* I0 i$ s( n' [ o/ Q
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Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
% c7 U3 ^* [, ], H/ z- ^- E EIran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
2 \9 j% `- v/ ]4 m" M" e2 g* Y- J9 iEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against 6 y4 s) E$ j* u' y' B0 C/ u
American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president 8 a7 A' o* ~: }0 V3 W( v
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to 7 J+ O# \/ _0 x, a8 n$ c
address.
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' V" I! N/ v. B6 Z7 X l+ Y1 H& aLast June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
+ F/ V, L0 n u; f# G1 TIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its 0 r* W3 |/ s7 a8 [" R/ {
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence
& O% b' `8 ]2 Z1 S. R( q9 X& D( ~that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr.
0 i2 Z* E. K+ |7 f s- [' m x1 qTrump began the current military campaign. & }! E. S( S. m$ _1 D: f9 ]/ B
/ M( E8 @8 b0 T/ Z4 Q) b3 {2 r( }7 uIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous 8 R3 v' m& k3 i& f& E, v
choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
- J4 ]. Q, l& ?4 `! E7 b# ynow hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York / |, K5 o: b# }
or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. 5 [9 R/ ]7 J! H4 o, H
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No sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste
; K3 | g" P: u( u; O5 K, Ttreasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
+ D1 a. O, J. zseems 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
. t" l/ ^9 R6 h3 a |1 o$ j7 ~% b# D“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons , m) {; @1 w4 Z/ ~+ l
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how
1 t5 C% i) s7 S6 Amuch its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been
, g6 z1 A* i1 Y& k a% Ito permit them to increase further.
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& Z$ g& y- e. W% Y, N4 D1 u# @For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
& z/ X. S4 m6 H$ Ptried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic 6 ]* [8 s1 u4 N; Q& W: ` x) f+ U
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders
+ n; q5 ]. X7 {5 bunderstand. : @& q: O6 Z0 s0 ~# o$ m
( g! }( g" A, f. R4 |I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the
- v+ S9 [6 V3 K1 {5 N* FRepublican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the / V2 Q' m) q7 Q
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because 4 t/ C1 p8 p. v/ l! m L$ |& m$ _
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
; J3 [0 X! O9 h# U7 Xhundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
; S/ O1 v5 {4 F9 A+ Gdirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
3 [* n, B! j6 `7 z4 N$ M$ ~- uto devastate a city.
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& M: M# n) {% H2 s$ k; EI also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
/ |) u6 {! z" O; \, v% A& Rand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies.
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. M; i; r D7 K( Q$ N; \7 ]2 hWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition $ ^" i' ?% p9 f6 A" K
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
, D* W8 |- G9 f( k* {. N9 nat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a ' d) @+ m/ m5 `" [
president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice 1 V9 h, Y$ [& `4 c! U- G
President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our + [+ t5 G) r x9 w0 D" E' x I
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt.
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More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
5 \4 w4 @- g" c0 x6 V9 X7 M, xmilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many Y A- c: X5 e# s/ X& h3 Y
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in
4 t/ t3 B6 Z+ d W% P4 F! B8 MAfghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in ' x: {4 e7 E/ M: P1 M4 l
Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably 6 E! r) Z& G7 F) X- k/ ~0 {
supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. l& {; M1 q4 n
* Q8 ~, q. y* a( t3 Q0 d, F# HMore important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we 1 G& o( W2 w6 }% Y
almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the ( A) }* R- N9 L) }5 V( q
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—4 q6 t i' H: _2 F) |. d
even if it means a loss for America.
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3 g9 Y: f9 x, f \" kWhen North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It
5 p5 m& d9 E+ J' Q, e. wwas so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
7 }) g! @( h+ D4 d( d3 v9 Aelected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
% V! G, `5 J; x1 ?6 P i0 @9 pwas president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the
0 a8 T2 E" Y% e+ fpopular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. . V3 c4 |' k; J- r# h
' q. K) r9 U5 L. G- q9 I) `Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to
( w* T2 g+ p( c& r5 {contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the
) b X9 x$ Y P0 H+ u# ?$ v* X; mresult would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. ' C: A5 z4 W' h3 q3 y6 L
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
+ Y+ K% }, h9 l$ n Fextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
& _+ C' r! f9 M% d3 {1 M* @of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to , C, G2 l" J6 Z
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
/ N4 d& |+ n9 R; `7 kowe it to ourselves, our country and our children. $ B. e9 |; } N" D7 M
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If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the $ g8 R6 i/ P) T/ A; F* Y0 o
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we , S9 F8 h) h& f! c$ x4 D
generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
" ^/ O8 U0 G- z) k' Z+ L3 Xfor it. & F! c7 F1 h0 y2 R9 U+ D
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America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We k }: q9 F) @5 ]: n
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action ) B" g# Q( ~3 U3 v! N
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but 4 G$ F" \2 d. a G2 I, \" j
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will
0 k- R0 {& M [' K+ freturn the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
" _3 V# v& s9 t2 f' B8 G2 Gand not merely obstruct.
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i/ X% @! ~/ t9 d2 A3 C9 DIf we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
* k M# V3 I* Uthis issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
: [7 b" P# E4 R) y) P, {admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we
% ^5 g+ B9 a$ E) G' C2 I3 Cwant to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
* g& ?6 y4 k9 R! B& D4 N! Sbecause the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they 8 U: W/ V8 B3 L9 V" @) i
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the
1 n5 C8 T2 D8 V* b( gDemocrat 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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