TA的每日心情 | 擦汗 2026-3-17 22:01 |
|---|
签到天数: 1133 天 [LV.10]大乘
|
沙发

楼主 |
发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
|
只看该作者
Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
6 L& G( l9 ], G; _Trump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
* o" m5 B( D& s$ n$ o) `0 O9 O. Bthe merits. + O# O! ^7 h4 W) H' p
By David Boies 5 c4 ^$ t/ _9 p# S0 p; i+ j
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET
9 y b) C: H4 T% a8 ]7 K/ a
# a- R! ?$ F1 b5 @( q! hEvery past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
& k5 I) `9 F- O! Z8 ]6 ` OIran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
5 x% G5 k9 O+ V5 ^: D) i8 qEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
9 d. \- l# j6 z2 q8 x+ qAmerican citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president 8 r( o* A9 l5 g; t# b& z
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to
, B \, y0 a+ J9 C2 \' W" taddress.
) O9 |8 B7 s" ~) I# a4 J' C; R3 P- `* m5 x5 T, f8 b
Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
% y+ V! |. X3 P, ^Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its
' n. L8 u) t, ~nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence ; q$ ] o' M4 d' j6 q; A
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. : y" v: F2 f3 s: N' y+ l
Trump began the current military campaign. [- W3 D- k5 A, ]7 t M2 t
$ `: L+ h4 O2 B2 z( s' FIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
- V \* p( Y( m% achoice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles 0 Q& j4 K! j) E) C$ J9 j
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
8 B8 J. h, C/ _6 Bor Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb.
( c8 k y2 V+ y1 `0 t" A- ^8 j
; l: Q4 }; x" }8 E; FNo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste
' M: z* _+ C: }3 c4 Qtreasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
2 S) b' P2 {; s1 Oseems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? 3 `# f3 X& |+ [! t8 U' N
( a& G2 ?( a9 D5 h$ u/ mObviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear 3 V: T! G" }! _2 w; k* @! Y2 p
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons
- m ~2 I# x8 k# S5 _. w0 O: kand the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how
1 E1 V* p+ }2 @. Smuch its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been$ q9 z% z+ P4 U; B9 E+ m2 u
to permit them to increase further.
% _& G& G7 C8 g: N6 g$ D
/ y7 k( E6 L. F7 MFor three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
a; p; v5 }6 u5 I# k- Htried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic + ~1 t( M& j! i1 w/ Q/ w7 ]
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders
( j! g3 C4 G6 G8 gunderstand. # X- ^1 `8 H- O9 M) f1 B+ c: }
5 A9 P7 ~/ z C& lI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the / N! a* O, N' B9 ~4 A
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the 0 ^1 X. T& I" P2 V/ W
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because : U; E. O6 H M3 X* ?& \+ k; m
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One + D4 L5 ?6 W0 O9 t7 }
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or ( D, F p3 J2 y4 P/ g
dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country, 8 l" y( f1 h s) D4 T
to devastate a city. " O4 b' z u0 y2 l
, ]$ V5 I1 a/ j- X: m
I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel 0 t1 N+ M! P2 F! D4 y
and Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies.
! j+ I% T3 p9 P( w# X! o1 x1 q5 d7 q$ j$ K$ T$ a( N% \
What is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition * c$ ~' O6 w# `9 R9 T; f
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
f: b0 X& u: iat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a 4 ~& j# d" e6 j( S5 m3 a6 P( c
president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
" g+ C4 C, ~6 }/ P, v2 ?. F" CPresident Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our
+ q8 r: _/ }$ ^; D8 t: ^6 ^) Ehistory we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. 0 b3 g8 y9 w$ b L* y+ u
( n, c" t; r* w+ d* m
More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
@% U& Q X; Z* p2 Tmilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many - c+ h7 s$ _5 B) C( O- m
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in
+ G8 q: y( i. v& P4 x3 N) O: t8 eAfghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in 8 O- W" h- b" S$ M3 h
Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably
4 M1 k' L$ s- M6 q/ b) `supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. . v; [+ H) m6 w7 E" C
( F4 g* ]: H7 N1 C7 E+ E- Z9 V) OMore important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we
- C1 n, G% J, e+ G1 Halmost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the " M I) d! }5 C8 { ]& D
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—
2 q0 L! {, {& g1 k! m: j; Peven if it means a loss for America.
) I8 W2 r5 o0 [" g1 a: ?
, Z. a4 a8 \: o F) K$ ?( C8 WWhen North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It 7 \/ L2 ]7 D! l
was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
" G* c% n! i1 c. P' A& }$ t. velected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
( V, D& x0 M" |/ I( Fwas president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the ( T0 G: X1 w4 N$ W
popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command.
+ C+ x4 r. @$ l3 d. @
- r8 Z8 S1 o9 f3 g' uTruman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to 9 R' G9 ^( ]3 W/ R: y+ z
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the
( i( T/ F% T3 z. X8 u& gresult would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. ' B( l( b: k2 s3 W' B: I; J
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
3 }' W. Z( s# Y* `2 {: h0 O& [( y4 Pextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those " x- B% `, n& {( Z
of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to ( ^% G- P4 ]% n& I9 h8 h1 j% x
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
% _ K% c; G, [9 w* jowe it to ourselves, our country and our children.
8 A$ W3 k/ L* R8 A/ j# P
6 ?7 o, j$ L$ w% P [" |) C5 ?If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the
% ]1 j8 i' F, ~7 o2 V9 D3 `mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we 1 @) O0 M# P% Z% M
generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse - |* }- {& r3 o: ^# I. I4 ?
for it. + L3 B R P1 B2 l/ r* x" A
* ^7 D) }9 H y0 n4 E2 rAmerica’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We
4 T( H0 N9 ]* ~ |: bDemocrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action R& Q, r S) [$ \
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but
) G; F j& @0 d% dmaybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will
. X% f! y% s. f# k$ u; Q- ?return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits 7 V( F! l8 Z9 |: H! E# W$ V
and not merely obstruct.
! z1 H$ {6 j9 Q) Q* M5 }8 @- B5 J$ H3 p6 c: y( r0 b U
If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
+ H# d) C0 j, C" Z/ g9 i# K* D% k/ pthis issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or ) D" V- d9 A9 l. M: b( J
admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we
' K3 g, W9 h3 _7 P' z' A! vwant to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
; c9 h& {5 ~8 m( p+ h. F, Bbecause the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they : b3 n! R; u$ J/ |* F" c6 T; Q8 L
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the
( l9 g+ z# C! I |& X+ QDemocrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. * h3 M' P/ Y/ o/ l
s% y8 D z0 s5 r5 v, kMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
|