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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
% c! k% v# w; C- t; K( [2 d" XTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
" J6 @. l7 l( A* L3 S5 _the merits.
/ }% f* Y; A( @' b+ }; XBy David Boies
8 `8 A8 W9 _6 uMarch 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET
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& Q& o2 U# \/ N. i# f8 j4 ^Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
1 e$ l+ e# `9 z( G& l2 z" A: HIran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
* y. q& \0 V- I+ B5 _+ q. j R3 Z: WEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against 0 a; x& k5 j8 l5 [" M
American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president - i$ W% j- u/ C; j' P* E' r* l
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to
# X$ P7 o" O8 {' w8 z- R Laddress. 8 Y, M4 {5 M/ z: S6 `- l) [
: w4 P5 [ F2 R4 r! m. T/ ]Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt : \4 |3 ]$ d; R1 a* Y8 _6 O
Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its
6 j. K# W9 a, R: ?3 o% e2 qnuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence
1 [3 f2 O2 J+ Y* C% i3 E3 ithat it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. ( t3 R; w4 t) o3 z8 A
Trump 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 3 {0 i: b8 M% R
choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
7 G( ^/ X! {2 }5 d$ onow hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
L7 `. t% _, P9 T- @& ror Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. ( M- E% K$ \. ?& ]) d A. U
& ?' I4 s& B) Z! i' oNo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste ; H/ |4 g! b- L! c5 @/ e
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action $ h# Z5 t V7 ]; ?- T3 a7 ~0 w
seems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative?
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* U* t$ { ~5 j' b: A6 z- IObviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear
+ u8 v+ |2 R3 r/ v“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons 0 `# K8 X2 h# b% n( C5 a# r
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how $ K8 b/ k- G: N
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been
1 R' y B3 f/ R* W/ rto permit them to increase further.
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For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
9 N7 i7 v6 ]: i/ v2 ?tried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic i5 E k( M$ F2 Y1 w
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders $ T6 u2 |2 X$ W# ~0 o! J+ ?
understand.
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I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the
* r" E" | w2 J6 l7 D4 U6 @, eRepublican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the ( { ~# {0 s! ?
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because 4 }$ ?/ A: b! \! l2 H0 ^
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One ; K# S& r8 A2 ?5 W9 O% y
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or ( H& \4 H s/ t0 ~5 X! U( B8 A
dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
4 |; N! A. w* u7 @2 Rto devastate a city.
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" i& ]/ a* o5 i/ ~I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
8 A6 y, W; d3 xand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. 3 |! U2 k% Z; K6 I+ a
. q, g# q; O! S3 K z# WWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition 3 X) @" X" W0 w3 A/ C
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
2 o1 Q- ~2 i# sat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
" D4 k3 v, f7 v: i% x. Lpresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
+ K" Q2 h$ N. ~2 K+ t7 dPresident Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our # {" I; _+ B1 i' z R
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt.
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: d/ e% u% ]2 k! w0 b7 QMore important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the 1 f2 c' L- O5 Q3 {2 Z6 G& I/ c
military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many 8 m( x9 ]9 F, m
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in / ]% U9 r0 C8 g9 S5 g
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
6 U* d: p7 }* L0 a0 ^Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably $ W. `# M. L; g# b2 s8 _
supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam.
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+ D: S* i& N) s0 a0 rMore important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we 1 I6 w" l8 w. a/ W) q
almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the % T1 b9 t/ b/ L8 ?. ]8 O
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—
3 h5 y8 ^/ e4 w; geven 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 B9 l' J, F* rwas so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
! I/ H. t, c" b" G& g( m3 Nelected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
1 N9 B# D; W+ o' w9 c$ twas president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the 5 o% x+ m% j9 t' `2 f" Q1 O
popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. % F- H, w' v* c" f; M* L
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Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to " u4 w L: L5 O
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the 2 }0 \" y) x3 h; L' S
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
0 m# v$ \$ n- fRepublicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
" S7 [4 g3 i/ y% L$ d* Rextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those + X8 U1 q$ \2 a, P' i; {# F i' I
of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to 6 M e4 A' q2 \3 ?9 {2 i. \/ L" O
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
. Z' [; r& o: {0 fowe it to ourselves, our country and our children. , O2 i0 {6 n, } D; Y% E
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If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the : |0 i7 v6 ^1 O) U0 u+ n; [
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we + e1 J( y, \ N5 e) `' V6 M
generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
& \3 X' f5 b: Dfor it.
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9 d3 B% Z4 a3 c3 m( B7 Q$ z5 I+ x5 d# yAmerica’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We & G2 e' I" j% |
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action
7 K! Z! B+ z$ T7 shad been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but i5 D4 A4 L1 [8 {) V
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will ' L5 H& e: y: s v, Z
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
6 @% A9 Y) f! G; a# ]0 {& ?and not merely obstruct.
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* U3 u4 [# N; s8 d4 ~* I3 S4 BIf we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
+ L9 M8 M' l) @+ R1 R' `4 C4 vthis issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
4 z" r5 G- R1 I3 F8 \; radmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we 5 a0 V" Y8 o" L, _7 z3 E7 l0 r! m
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
" S7 d7 _# a" K; _( a8 abecause the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they 7 X. r3 G- E: O0 G7 H$ f
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the & Z: H ^0 _ R m' F' H
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. + L* z% o8 w: @" X/ h
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Mr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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