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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America ) \/ s: F" d' G9 T+ ]
Trump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on . u% d. w% m1 N2 i T5 {* U$ n
the merits. 7 c3 ~1 ~1 f- B8 j8 P( q& O
By David Boies
0 E8 `9 g0 X; oMarch 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET ! {$ U; b6 o* l/ t( C0 \
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Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that 6 r: f6 l) C2 T4 R( x0 J; g3 G0 S6 S
Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it. , O( W z( {( y2 H3 z, u/ h, e V
Every president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
]! P" W1 _- z( S$ ~% j- kAmerican citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president
/ }0 S' F7 T8 g( e, l* L2 U" s4 c- pleft his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to / k. o2 \% Y! p" `, \% M, l# X
address. ' g$ V, Z" J1 R6 J6 \
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Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
' w2 \- h4 A6 D H( w- oIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its ) @- F) H; t0 w
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence 7 E0 x1 F6 W% Q. Z4 e- |6 H
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr.
& {# H, L8 e! |* J' W2 tTrump 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
" V, ?; T* Q# E& _- bchoice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles 1 g' B+ \) T7 F4 n+ o* [% V
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York 0 k6 q7 T2 m$ `" V
or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. % j2 A4 k& d/ D5 s0 T
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No sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste , C4 d9 o2 O7 l* _/ Y3 o ~
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action 0 H4 L& n2 e3 _% Y2 M% T% O. a
seems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? 8 c( R4 @6 ]" B4 G/ y0 {6 e
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Obviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear 7 T( t% y* P/ [; I: W
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons 8 x. b% R! l( f5 A. E3 q) x
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how 0 c7 G) T/ C1 F4 `
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been4 o- Q# p- o ^
to permit them to increase further. 0 X# \( j+ A7 h% h
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For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
1 F7 A e4 o8 _5 R7 Ktried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic 2 t6 `: q6 N( `( O/ _
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders ' x% m6 A) X: E# @4 k0 V' U" y
understand. ; I7 E+ z( s9 S% L0 y0 g1 h v7 |7 j
! k) F O5 f( P# ]( x8 _% TI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the ( R1 i" L+ O; T& n5 J* M1 B/ K5 }
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the
3 N1 r A# Q# o% H3 `5 o5 }2 Qfantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because
$ a' } Z2 ~+ a( ?2 c4 C4 {2 fthey are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One 5 f! R, K+ H: }1 t5 ]
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
& t$ Q! y' d% ~+ Y+ Hdirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country, : O( H3 y6 D% Y9 ~
to devastate a city. + M9 T4 r7 ?' w. W0 @% I% f: U6 t
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I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
4 p( [1 T) J7 _$ J2 Yand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. * U% z; _# D/ R
0 O) F6 X% d; a* p% y& V8 cWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition 4 x! d8 A: M# E6 L" y% _. ^
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops 9 k+ U) ?+ H0 u; z
at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
: X1 B& I! v2 V; {: v$ k) Epresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
( R1 w# _8 F3 r7 zPresident Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our 8 R h6 Q5 C! P! v" K. m
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 h) z4 ^6 p1 R& W' S, w
military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many $ R* n( _" v7 T8 `% n# r7 |
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in ) F' \% h8 B0 Q4 [
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
$ s' H" n( |/ a7 ]9 vAfghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably # F' G& W; I! X
supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam.
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More important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we $ h( z# }. Y0 Z2 A/ f! a
almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the
, ]8 R, g0 q9 n* T# w# kpresident is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—. C2 r/ M% ?5 u1 y
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
7 p+ f2 [" f0 T3 ?) b# T: ~was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was 5 I# g8 B, P- a/ c
elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman - |3 o/ M% [ Y- L4 v& N
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the
# b* a3 b/ F" r$ h# ~7 z5 Rpopular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. 1 w. V2 C0 d3 A
@1 e6 m/ [2 ^1 p2 \; sTruman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to 8 g' z' C( D9 W' |9 _ ?
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the
/ \- r2 Q" S X( \result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
- w! I' q& B1 d" W8 F }Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and . e% F/ u4 I' e
extreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
( r! o: N" N ^2 }; Cof us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to ! Y! K0 Q. R+ W7 z
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we , J! v0 N# O; W. Q$ \' t/ ~1 g
owe it to ourselves, our country and our children.
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If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the 5 W8 x' p% n5 ~( v
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we 8 P. E* p) H; G; t/ j* }
generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse + E8 y0 j5 X6 `; @1 s9 r: A
for it.
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1 S( [1 Z. f1 D; X5 b; d1 n) g6 XAmerica’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We ! ?* e% m# h# E- w. Y! C
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action , M# n' w- G F3 Z. r5 X
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but
7 s8 I: L2 Z- L g$ d& Qmaybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will $ w. Y2 S) E% F
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
* ^0 w. l9 ~; Kand not merely obstruct.
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
$ V" L5 |$ z8 {9 O9 z3 F8 \this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
1 T3 q' \; I) [3 iadmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we
. X- J2 |4 E8 \9 T8 A2 ^0 Swant to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
" H! x; D# _! O4 \# l6 l1 C/ f5 Kbecause the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they
$ E; ~7 e3 K3 }* g* S, rwill. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the 9 R( {$ d' I6 O) Z
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. 3 f0 m8 d. D' ?& N) X& W! w9 x; D9 W4 y
* C' H6 }. }) _4 @ S3 U) dMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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