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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
; m& B8 @3 ~# R) |) w0 \Trump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on ' K# B; Y% Z- k) E
the merits. 1 K, s7 K/ _$ m5 d5 A
By David Boies
4 Z2 a4 [# e7 ]. y0 TMarch 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET
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, m5 d& T' g9 EEvery past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
/ { {3 f9 H" RIran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it. 1 @( Q5 L& s4 s9 f8 n( T9 _
Every president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
) ? n F7 c ~+ z v5 _American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president
8 L3 S$ _2 M- @% n* n Jleft his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to
- v5 W M) {, L8 G/ Z1 saddress.
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/ H( U7 z' n. D6 ?- r% jLast June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt $ f4 ~, V6 J0 } `9 C
Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its 1 C6 `( Z3 B& a6 w5 q
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence ' T1 Y9 x1 y# j* V4 _% f- T- U8 Z
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr.
`6 u: p+ t- t0 Q4 w+ [Trump began the current military campaign. 7 [% e3 x( T; `; r# d/ U' ?
, L8 w( L! O! {+ x( {If he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous $ y$ [0 g! T- l% q0 |
choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles 6 V5 `2 m% q7 x; ~5 t/ @
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
1 U/ i8 D1 X! U! ?+ {or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb.
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) F* `. O$ y' V& S0 n; N, L* FNo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste : _% ?: ?' y; q0 {8 @
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action 3 h7 p ^* _8 w$ o5 g0 Q: r
seems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative?
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Obviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear 4 Y. e0 E) \: s2 q1 D
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons 0 ^+ n/ @: ^9 S7 o
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how : f3 a3 \- w$ P9 \$ N# w. r
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been2 t0 I& ^; C/ F9 x- s; v
to permit them to increase further. 2 g6 i" \2 A2 h$ a2 f" h0 q: o
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For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
5 n6 E+ Q9 o5 u; Q- {tried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic n, }/ {' \. d$ \3 I/ I
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders " W; t2 v7 R8 e
understand.
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4 n) Z% k& J. U: M( [) f, m% EI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the " ^2 `( {* t* a6 O) `% p
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the % w; }( K- [5 K; r5 U
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because
$ H: p9 }# T7 hthey are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
' C% k" e7 k. l0 L- khundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or 9 b% x% K! U& }; w& x
dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
, R; y, F S' m' B9 b; }- e, kto devastate a city.
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; Q3 @: M$ M( ?I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
2 L; \1 y! Z8 n0 ~- n$ L0 q% Wand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. , L! [3 f1 {& W4 Y% e+ j
/ p0 z+ t( S8 i1 ]$ l! d5 `- GWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition 9 f: I7 N! v7 ?! B. t" G- I
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops 1 o* T- L9 F" Z. j# _4 ^8 X& ?) P) J
at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
- y( K& ^, p* V* V) `" U; \president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
% b, ?$ d" a5 ^; [, B- @* S: gPresident Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our
/ \% v/ Y# z+ E8 o# _- ~) n# @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
: _* R R3 Z" Q7 x; Imilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many 5 }/ U6 X3 z+ W1 y$ g
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in
& P2 ~& j1 A2 c5 eAfghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in p9 B% n3 H5 e# l0 m) J; i6 g0 Z7 t
Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably 4 `; D& w' z5 Y, _
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
$ P m# T8 p0 N. k% dalmost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the , J% i7 o( ]* Y' u
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—' j- C# \! s7 K" s
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 # p& C* H# P' o! ]- f5 Y; f
was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
* L1 r% n( v7 _$ r9 J: i. Nelected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman 6 a" D3 q1 \: o- t; \9 C% l
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the
, }( z: c# ], L* Ppopular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. 3 b' E0 B# k5 c; I3 l. I' h( z
7 {* S& ~$ b" XTruman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to 6 t4 R! Z3 w' r7 P2 x% n1 r
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the
m1 L8 [$ P# v6 Z$ n6 |result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. 5 p9 |" Q! ~+ ]3 i' V
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and ' u" c- j+ F! u9 ?1 }/ ~1 R
extreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
- _" D& t) r8 R$ ~8 o( x gof us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to % R G* T0 ^% C# p+ i. U2 |# [
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we : d {! _6 |4 \% F O* z- l; x5 r' J5 i
owe it to ourselves, our country and our children.
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: a8 M8 Y% f: g, X: e; s! [; `If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the - g% P& \6 k" |* }/ M
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we : ^8 V, P2 k. [+ d
generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse . I4 k3 P% Z5 _# B. B- v; ~; ] g
for it. . i. n9 _- U. h: k: F
* Z$ I3 }! }# E4 ]America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We 5 e, C3 d; m- D; O% b! k" Y
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action ) u |: s! \. m( g/ ]9 w) O
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but
# y' ~# i/ V% J v0 Kmaybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will ) |8 M: \ H! G7 D# H' }
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
3 W2 N! o! i7 ~* O, y+ p" }and not merely obstruct. . X3 a# m( y6 K; j' ~1 x
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
4 f, c4 Z0 S; P Y) U- _- g6 c8 g' b2 ^this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or . H* S3 Z% [8 f: M8 i! s) M
admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we
( M' q& z- Z# p" n; zwant to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
9 ?( O2 o3 X) m& U% y! |because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they
7 L- ? H' X' u/ L T" y( Z8 Jwill. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the
9 |' u" s& M8 f: h% r. pDemocrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president.
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; S2 W5 E4 h* A. F$ l; IMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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