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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
) u! J4 H" |7 X8 R% l. X5 W( K$ ]* X+ dTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
9 L0 T7 a2 [1 i7 f sthe merits. 4 F: t! q" P3 R3 L& a$ ^
By David Boies * y: J3 c5 {. l1 ~6 I
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET
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Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that ! K2 m r, R8 k* p% U
Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
7 `6 k) B3 |! T# J D8 sEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
- ]0 J/ G- K! s9 L9 i% ?American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president + K- @. a9 S) }4 J$ O
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to ! k1 G& q8 E, {4 j6 P
address.
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. s; X. u5 Y$ U, f3 k0 F/ e, K5 xLast June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
' L \- Y4 \! y0 x8 t% z2 E, s) M. jIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its 0 |. O$ ^ R! b* ?. [
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence ; Z& H% @8 m% j4 E4 ]( ~
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. - z9 X" X0 P6 m8 f5 V( u8 }8 n* C
Trump began the current military campaign.
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' o3 r4 k! v+ r5 YIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous 9 v. D6 \* g9 h1 X7 q+ d8 M
choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
, V9 j I1 g0 v0 Gnow hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York ; \. f5 j0 R- ^8 D7 [1 b4 G
or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. 5 }" E _/ |; M# S, R
! ^$ X2 w: ?% `2 E% E5 X GNo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste ]' M: d/ i3 E& U
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
5 r8 A% H6 ?1 s7 x$ C8 fseems 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 & [$ F7 z; @9 Z" C
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons
/ W0 V2 d4 t% pand the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how
2 n: c. [/ J8 {! Mmuch its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been9 m! ~ D( N1 i
to permit them to increase further.
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/ H3 N0 J5 Q% a, ]& o1 aFor three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
; t( @* @# a2 c: U$ Z) W/ {' Dtried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic - `+ M6 j1 O- |3 ]
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders
7 h4 J0 d- a' R/ _understand. 4 ^. `* }' e# ?# e! ?! i* {3 l: n
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I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the
9 l& ^ M( [6 I9 [0 @Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the
) L" E+ Y3 k2 K! E: R- m- ]1 Gfantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because 6 W( s3 O! N, {8 y* d: Y0 g$ H. Q" l
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
# w P* W3 Q8 C \& U( w% W3 T2 whundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
. F- o) `* S7 |/ e* ^% @dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
/ }6 s/ l! Z9 s6 q! n2 `- fto devastate a city.
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5 M; l+ G2 B8 C I5 h; PI also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
7 W+ g. P3 [$ B3 {, d7 Iand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. 7 u) W6 ` s8 }" A
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What is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition
. c- [* k x! s3 F4 y7 Drooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
4 `4 } U- K O h* B }5 v7 sat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
/ V7 I$ g( F3 T0 _" w( l" dpresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
! }" H' `' e( ~$ L9 k" F6 ^- R1 dPresident Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our + c9 ]4 ~4 h4 a& }# s; H
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. ! J. ~+ P5 r$ ]' M9 B; S, d
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More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
D: W0 @6 m& umilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many 2 C% X+ H6 |- p* W% g
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in 8 k; |8 V! o! N: h/ @
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
$ u: |. D& j9 T! K3 XAfghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably
1 O! t4 n. [& a. g: }- ?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 , T6 }* T; M$ Q3 ^+ y; L, T
almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the
8 E5 p/ [' ^: m- H+ rpresident is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—; z0 K. \/ o/ x) q" C/ q4 Z4 z
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 6 j, @( O; q% s3 L
was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was ) C" S$ B W1 a. y* l; l g
elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman ; z, `8 \! D, A* [( S) l
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the $ u _/ A* H# Z, b, W! I8 i' S
popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. 6 A9 e3 b3 x t3 M# E. k
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Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to
9 s) g5 x/ \0 G' scontain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the 2 H9 H* D# C2 M+ t" B6 P9 a
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
/ h: z/ u* [4 v2 X- [3 \& y# f xRepublicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
9 G! c3 l- ~% ] O, E: J, N, g4 lextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
& s/ \# q9 ~% ^3 rof us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to
$ x9 N4 g0 x/ |, ~# gsupport the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
9 B# \% a& {7 f* Zowe it to ourselves, our country and our children.
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If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the ) C. l$ b0 _! m1 b+ y, r
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
2 Q/ ^* K$ d' l) Y* y* U( ]generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
4 Q I5 A" [# M, X1 f0 O) n* V6 [# hfor it. ) M# r9 ~1 @1 E
, m" t, q G1 j' DAmerica’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We 1 f) V1 M" l& Y# Q* @- N
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action
6 _- w/ x2 C { q9 O; L, Chad been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but ; N) I3 N' |! x$ k3 n4 A0 @) { I
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will 6 h& Q0 d# {( y1 I s4 q
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
! F" E M/ H0 d1 q" ?5 Uand not merely obstruct. " x: z; z9 y a% q: K# I: g
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
, X% u- e3 S3 [4 W. t- Cthis issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
1 |( u% I5 q# K' P) j, j+ Qadmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we 6 p, D1 ?1 z: y* i
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
$ u0 b. ^5 ]4 i" [because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they
4 x; N Z% W2 L& p6 M( I$ P# lwill. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the . e1 t8 V" G: ]
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president.
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" |0 o0 _* y9 u0 P! LMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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