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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
- P: j Z, S2 x) w! c* DTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
3 h3 Y" O& @% I) H7 b# O+ T" t/ qthe merits. 0 v2 u* w" z2 K% p, I, L
By David Boies
0 v$ O$ Z2 r! l& QMarch 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET 9 n" _; v% N: Z! X) n& q
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Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
A% `! B1 g2 EIran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it. m' l& U" g+ Y# f K* g
Every president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against ; d3 X2 u& q5 B8 A% n3 d9 G
American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president $ O4 H: \2 `$ \3 Z. y
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to 3 ^" J K8 Q' F
address.
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: R. v! I! u+ V2 f$ U2 P) lLast June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
( h. R4 m/ K$ r0 W" XIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its
8 x1 {$ R; J2 {- E& {nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence 6 j5 [ g& c% q3 }- {+ ~
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. * ?. g. H8 c: Q% F( |
Trump began the current military campaign. $ a7 r) t, M( m% w( @
; E6 u0 b; Y+ ]If he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous " C/ ^7 ?" @- E. `& [2 r- ^, e
choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles " r6 q" p h" ?+ w
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York & H# {% G+ w1 p; O. @
or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb.
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No sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste " @7 s$ e/ C- e& t* t
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
( F. h2 z: N5 `3 V6 oseems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? 8 M1 S4 Z, Y/ D+ w9 }( [7 [! d- `
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Obviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear ( _: Q$ w( y6 t$ D
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons
* S7 i. L* C. I6 C7 a" D4 R/ q( Rand the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how * W: |9 c2 W- c5 k
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been* g" ]5 Y- B+ `1 d Y% a/ V
to permit them to increase further. * D0 G; E1 K* G6 R. w6 f
; V: _' n1 S8 E* lFor three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
; w$ }: [; e2 v9 W, y5 Itried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic : Z0 r$ u% N5 q6 i' u
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders 6 x3 e+ [( J; C
understand.
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+ K/ J- z% _' ^ }3 \: U# Z6 `I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the
/ V5 Y2 F0 x* b1 F( J- ^Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the 7 T5 p1 o5 K4 h {2 H
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because $ t- k, _5 L* T7 ~6 W3 [
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
" q1 E' s- k# x6 `" uhundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or ! d: ^7 r9 ^) @8 @
dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country, # r: K) D. A( ^% S5 P; B: u# S# Q8 h
to devastate a city. - T- K1 q3 A" r! w
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I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
0 E& K4 X4 I$ N f' V% n, {and Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies.
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What is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition & F( I' H7 c1 o1 {! `4 c; V. l) y
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
: d; J7 h: L8 a5 uat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
7 o( \% k. F, a! H( U9 r; F& apresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
. q- E6 k5 W/ ^* L: `6 rPresident Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our
' ?2 U1 v$ l# R) o7 i1 Dhistory we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. : O' Y Y/ W" z
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More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the + H' v5 r p0 @7 X7 R
military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many
5 E P/ F! X0 j2 q, l4 IRepublicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in & u/ z0 P! x9 l. P/ `# b; ~
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in " R W5 u$ l3 g9 V
Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably , _- t! m( k5 B, O+ K% N" ^
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 3 L3 U- {2 G" D
almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the 3 G% {* k8 e$ [7 m% F. D
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—( e% X3 X- D0 e1 |( 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 9 ~' f* K2 T4 Y
was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
j$ n! Q0 @1 b0 r9 y* `elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman " }0 V; X- A7 Z5 S& v
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the 3 M# m( h- f( y- Y9 D4 z
popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command.
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. w/ e) s1 E, UTruman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to 6 j0 }* d$ H. z8 K' T
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the # N0 K1 N3 x! n
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
& i8 j9 X* b: V! S) CRepublicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and 8 Z7 M) x) e0 S5 y$ \; @/ {
extreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those $ S& O, a) y% K2 g6 `
of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to
5 ?" w* U, _8 `$ W# w- d0 f4 Tsupport the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
, p' N7 f3 W6 i( s$ qowe it to ourselves, our country and our children.
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' f0 C+ F6 k% zIf we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the
X$ ]. p# d' I1 h7 D" J& Lmission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we # s0 q& G& s! M" `5 X+ C0 J
generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
2 b8 b7 s! v1 A" Q4 v. {! _; lfor it. 3 j R) ?3 o( i+ T
* o Z0 Y8 Z& c. V; t# HAmerica’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We ' S. F2 o6 ]/ Y- T; x' D" Q( z
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action + a3 e# z+ [0 X# F# u, p. J/ u6 y
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but * k7 q8 R' g, ~5 d0 S
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will * @# o: C) O9 C' W: Z7 _" R
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
8 g6 }" V0 l' ^and not merely obstruct. 3 V! G# H; D- E
4 s1 f h( V4 `" VIf we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on 4 y2 p+ \& a- c. u2 G3 L! r7 W
this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
5 _: \6 `' {( q* W( r cadmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we ( F1 K9 d; A; I) u& y+ l8 W* D Z
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
B$ m4 Z) E, M, |) \' ?9 Lbecause the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they ' g' R5 y5 v Z3 S. |0 o6 q
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the & ^/ o# L% ?; c
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. ( n* s" P* j, b$ D
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Mr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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