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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America ( w9 c4 O# n; C5 a& e
Trump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
, o+ e; O# H! Pthe merits. 7 w+ V$ q( \# N1 R
By David Boies ! g' U. p6 p7 T, z1 x
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET
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8 a9 \1 Y# m" m$ q0 q. @Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that D% ^7 D4 ^1 t: `0 ^" i+ w
Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it. $ i8 \- X3 n" {. s
Every president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against , E- o) Z V$ D( y/ T
American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president
3 @. B% c0 z" s2 k( kleft his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to " Y P3 p7 u! q& O
address.
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; b1 e" K {0 L' g% @) f* H S3 s; kLast June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
* _" s3 A- f9 D6 Q1 h; eIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its & E0 _8 ^& n0 `0 ]: k
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence 8 `( f7 p t3 P( |0 P
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. ) C3 ~ k i2 [3 `6 \' J: R; Z
Trump began the current military campaign. : z$ ~( n$ f- s* n' J& i! s( s
/ m7 d& A5 }: V2 t+ _If he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous , _' D2 P: _% |( {; F
choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles 3 A: i5 }' ?7 B' t+ j
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
P0 R* w( s" l6 }+ {0 v! mor Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb.
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2 y$ y! @ s4 r9 M) N/ s/ H4 {No sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste 5 [9 S; U6 @% l/ I- \
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action ( M A6 U* z9 P+ d. Q% R# I: y( L
seems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? ! |) m3 r& \( H- `
+ `9 |% A7 a: v! J' tObviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear
~8 E; y8 X7 \$ j4 G“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons + [5 e( S# H& p0 C a: ?0 G
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how
) K: E/ y9 i% O r/ U$ mmuch its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been
6 }- T! c- y0 i' F: L; q1 vto permit them to increase further.
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For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
7 u+ S$ w) F6 e; Ztried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic
* Z* W2 v% ~' t2 g3 S5 m7 C1 Osanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders
; s: ?/ _" V, N' W8 h- Sunderstand.
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0 r/ ?) S1 F7 @% T w+ vI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the
. u" j0 r% T7 C9 u8 i: |Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the # Y6 b6 d+ ?- k4 W! F% M
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because 9 d# g( s: ^, X2 z
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
$ H8 f& K( E5 q; H1 \0 {hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
/ D* {+ c5 @( O$ fdirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country, + V F2 e; k) F& o$ B g
to devastate a city.
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I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel ) o5 C% e) }3 b9 A' H1 p
and Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies.
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1 a! B- l K: s) w* cWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition
. @3 u" Y: C5 m ?; Arooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops 8 c: c3 P0 `+ P/ E+ P% \+ p
at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a 5 @( E0 r3 a: o5 ]% n& I, j# H; R
president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice 4 P% {" X6 u% U6 s( ^
President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our
% |$ {4 X' {; ~& n" Ihistory we have given the president the benefit of the doubt.
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1 _; `2 i" G+ jMore important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
! {& a, `& V0 S( q: dmilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many
3 }& b8 t4 j2 {! c& g( F' B6 j* B( _Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in % B1 G0 `" ~& C) q# ?/ E
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
2 p7 D5 f! z2 B. g1 T* e3 t$ IAfghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably # I3 ~( U4 B: S/ X
supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam.
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! c/ g$ g2 M& }& F4 KMore important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we
! d" p+ v k' b% v* R! Ralmost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the
5 W8 R; c& o' M4 [7 y0 upresident is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—9 H& z( g+ k2 Y0 p+ @! B# G
even if it means a loss for America. 5 U% `2 `0 D% k9 x
0 U1 I& p8 \/ Q: a' `When North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It , r7 I" o. c/ t- N
was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was - s2 K+ J6 D# @) I5 z
elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman . `3 y" w+ ^! t( U% A
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the
9 {0 k$ H. ?% u( spopular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. - `, r5 F B. \/ r% K* N
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Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to
! m. [6 M8 o$ l6 ?' S# w+ E' Pcontain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the 9 q: L* f- k' v
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. " o$ P$ N9 {5 U8 ]; _
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
$ r- O) J5 T% J; y" }2 J k+ dextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
4 X! d. X: I/ _1 [of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to $ @& T* K$ Z+ D e
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we ) r4 ]6 p6 M! n( ]+ n* S
owe it to ourselves, our country and our children. 2 B% a3 }9 W7 P* j( V
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If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the 8 i3 b. Q7 }1 K! h/ g4 o+ |
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
% D0 H) t. n3 Bgenerally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse . {% \& g% A: X4 S8 |% w
for it. ' R6 Z8 t' h' f$ @8 O7 X2 V) |
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America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We
8 ^7 ]9 |: S' M7 T4 K2 cDemocrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action 8 s. G- m) M) E1 {8 i
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but / U6 T1 F) B, d+ w2 c2 i
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will
9 z; b* v8 V' N: Nreturn the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits 1 @! r* Y; }2 `9 }3 |0 K, |5 m
and not merely obstruct.
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
$ r1 s- f8 \. r4 p( W2 N( Ythis issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
4 x% k* r/ s" s# [% ~+ Uadmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we
* h/ \4 o. x9 {want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
: X, _! @; `/ w$ Q7 @because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they
3 j6 ~+ p9 O: }; Bwill. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the 9 M/ J+ p, o1 Z, w- U) e
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president.
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e; v1 k$ @5 `7 ], {4 T! f/ DMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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