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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
2 D+ [$ l- _2 i* B* }6 pTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
$ ]2 `" h3 V9 E. O8 T6 {' D1 S% Nthe merits. 5 x* `. F" f9 g" S. `
By David Boies y6 V* H5 u/ g4 c' g% a
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET 3 a7 q ~6 V1 A( U+ K. r5 A) Z
3 c9 b9 A, }8 v3 F0 `Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
9 B D$ ]& M7 b1 H9 |& RIran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
; _' l% A, c, O8 G6 P* OEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against 2 e% A2 N A; V
American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president : z3 P' h, i. K4 s' _$ [, g
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to
) Z% t: }$ U; `+ b$ T- `address. 1 J( r4 H9 t9 L
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Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
5 K3 P8 k' a; m: h* |+ d# bIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its + ?* P/ V9 L. P, a+ \. |% s% o
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence 6 F$ F, r# Q( Y* d& R' u) Q n
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. ! c- o0 ]( U5 ]( a( `7 F$ M* f! \ d
Trump began the current military campaign.
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6 M& Y7 N m; |( I2 t# }If he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
# X0 U5 N( T! dchoice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles ' L# j: Q5 c/ h! @7 o
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York ! |; ?5 Z$ {: H8 ?+ y/ E
or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb.
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: k+ S2 {! A, j7 h: vNo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste
3 H1 o* M& V* o: xtreasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
' _( W8 x: B q: ^7 Fseems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? * C! l9 K! L. V c3 g/ X
+ G8 g8 K" p( z( ?$ PObviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear
7 t0 r9 T w# M* |6 h“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons + u$ e& F1 N) ]
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how # o3 i( c& o) y- |6 F* J2 Z8 k" f
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been& ?" R! u- z8 A* w% r1 d- v5 U
to permit them to increase further.
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# p, {4 L# j9 Q: a) x, @3 MFor three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
, ?) L+ a; H7 G, ltried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic
" |# k( R, s; X2 k" L" Hsanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders
- R; N, F: B' D1 Z* d% R1 ounderstand.
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' J3 Z2 k" H4 P: e" M1 Y/ L$ ZI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the `% ?5 o$ u3 Q" ?$ D
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the
7 E: A8 \1 `/ W8 e" jfantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because : {/ D2 i! j# X8 w: `0 T6 n
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One 6 T4 C! U; ~) k2 r4 \1 X; @0 M6 R
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
& C: ~! |! P5 \+ A9 Gdirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
y" ? |5 D) X5 r: M1 X0 E: t- X( g, vto devastate a city. X3 L. S( d, G- ]& Q
- M! `! _* b! K% Y sI also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel $ ~- ?$ ~3 g- T, u
and Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. " h/ A1 g {/ _( D! W9 ^ E
" B# S: m% [+ M* ~4 bWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition
1 a+ \+ H7 J) {; y, Urooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops 6 T1 Z, p0 o8 p U! P
at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a 6 M' a2 I) j6 P: k
president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice 8 x0 r9 m x/ Y0 V
President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our
X% `0 |% S% J$ ~" F: p- bhistory we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. J6 ~& Q! W5 |- t# J% O) J
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More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
% L+ m+ o) f7 R5 r2 q9 smilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many ! r; z* s5 R/ {( ?; c9 D- d# R2 u
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in 3 U4 O# s$ [' b# R$ f
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
6 _) f: P2 d+ M7 [! a! ZAfghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably
4 N3 ~3 A% z! }% Ssupported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. - W' G& K% ^: k" `8 i. z. H
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More important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we
2 a! f/ z2 E( T* Zalmost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the " K5 X$ W% b7 K" E' J; P2 ^
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win— @, }* M2 J2 y8 r3 ]1 c) P
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 # s; L- U0 h; R0 e
was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was * V- |2 S) j3 c& h
elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman 8 ~; _9 Z9 n) L0 k0 V: A0 s2 ]
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the
p) \, \+ W, C' Xpopular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. ! c: Y8 y# `% e# W1 y
8 {8 C, b- r+ C2 Z" QTruman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to
, w: m0 Y$ X' Y% I( M1 `contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the
# {6 E. P0 M- Y" q. ]result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
i8 ~& R2 t5 W! gRepublicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and $ ~/ {6 r7 C0 C( A/ B# m
extreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those 2 ~$ ` R- P% I+ ^$ I
of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to
. E/ w" Z. V) G8 F. ]) F5 F4 T# osupport the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
+ e# h& c5 @# Lowe it to ourselves, our country and our children. : a1 N+ `% O: |; R
- B& m8 |) G" C( H* VIf we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the
/ h) z' {" r9 v' h6 J9 gmission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
( v) z' l4 m& V; T" b. V) Ogenerally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
1 {# L; q Q6 H( R# }1 Z7 A% Kfor it.
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America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We
+ b' E3 w4 P% z' d b1 S0 @Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action 1 T! C& N5 Y' q, d! P
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but }) _- u `1 m0 ]5 v) O' A
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will * n7 J+ [ Z, g* O" N' K$ E& v
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits 6 R5 ~1 y" y8 f6 b' Y
and not merely obstruct. / y% f& q: u0 Z- S: M2 ?! K/ s5 t# a
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on 3 i$ S* [4 _; v; P2 [& R
this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
9 u; X- f, b, P! Q% B3 T( A# Aadmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we - x; Q9 I8 Q% |. J' K
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not / b: I& T4 k) y$ O) h
because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they
; f/ |2 A6 s. E# |! Awill. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the + ~7 N7 N o. m& _
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. & n8 k8 E; _% A
. O `8 G) W: P4 D( i6 X5 e* pMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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