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 , c7 I4 ^/ s) {1 e
Trump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on ) ]( C1 D. r2 X/ P+ }. \
the merits.
# @5 a+ ]# D, ~2 N4 O$ C+ P" zBy David Boies
8 z: [; S$ R/ I% NMarch 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET ) ]6 I+ x; y, [/ K( O
" {# {- v7 n g3 C; i! T7 t
Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
) |) L# C7 G) k4 U7 P ?Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
4 _$ X2 H8 t+ X& hEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
0 ]$ v4 W9 g# t8 k, h$ @- L( eAmerican citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president
1 u3 h5 p! |+ l3 V- zleft his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to 8 S" O6 A2 Y* M* \
address. . ], W1 x, h: Y5 d7 P' r
1 Y6 e: ]' d) ~- R& }$ J9 MLast June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt ! x: F5 ]3 i3 F
Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its + j1 i6 K- F8 U5 P; e, a
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence 2 B# C4 Q- T- ?
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. . J' i5 N6 g8 @4 V
Trump began the current military campaign. 7 ^/ d) Z n6 j
' [+ e- P6 C' v# e/ _3 K$ eIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
. P% k! i1 C# S8 H# _3 {$ K* Mchoice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles & }3 t1 n0 { n4 z5 n9 v
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
# }' e# t8 _" X& M4 Uor Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb.
4 O A5 c9 v& v7 _6 z8 h# b# @; ?" a, s+ @" x" }( a: D8 E2 J9 F
No sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste : _8 c+ G8 j4 h# s, u8 Q9 W
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
$ A9 d& P5 G7 _% B: M( }seems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? D9 c2 y4 ^" M6 r: t5 ^" Q1 d
% c; m- c: f3 b! i% s+ T: E( T0 ^Obviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear ( W. e- y& I' x4 R
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons
* v) \( a4 `' g1 R, i+ s1 R1 X# J6 qand the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how
3 Z- @8 J' I, q! {2 Amuch its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been
: y( m8 a) L& q9 q3 e0 mto permit them to increase further.
" q A: B* b: ^' W6 v, Z7 [) I" d8 C$ `# h) }. B
For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
: m- g& P5 C# p6 V8 vtried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic
! Z& C0 {2 {! E" n) j ^* P( Q1 Gsanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders 7 K4 c4 g! W) ~. u& T( k
understand.
' g" [" E( p( x
; ?. b/ k' I' z; f; F6 HI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the
7 E- h [, F( ~& ~0 {5 Z! ZRepublican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the & d' R# K# z& ~9 U
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because " p. Y* W7 W* j; @' M2 w
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One 8 ?- ` K3 A: t
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
* g1 H! D7 {. P1 hdirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
; }3 q& @0 H6 jto devastate a city. 3 D) [4 \; Q% t; W2 M! y
% M# {, `, x! r; ?; `" B
I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
# P9 E7 y1 O$ M' I; W1 S1 Land Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. ; h! Y8 k5 T* _8 X
* ?# R# d" e5 T8 v& i' UWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition
3 z: M; @/ @# Z1 E/ A4 nrooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops 3 s) O+ d# y7 z4 Z% G: e* j% p
at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a # O! O' X: k5 h& [( p* x
president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
" |8 H, T8 I, A& HPresident Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our
) i0 n0 v* F0 ^; Qhistory we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. " C+ b) q, i" q3 n9 J
/ g5 H0 Q5 T2 D$ y6 T
More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
0 e2 P% m) \6 Q3 q* Dmilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many
7 w4 E& _1 O$ RRepublicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in $ I' P; Y6 K; `7 f4 I
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in & g0 r4 t3 u( z8 N: R1 J0 f
Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably - [% \# i2 n5 B T1 }2 h$ G3 M2 Q
supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. 1 K+ P! F& S- ~
7 |# n. `" x, v3 q, r' o$ z1 d) z5 ?0 V
More important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we 7 m) m3 |( `* G" u
almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the , n8 w ?. ?3 E* @( W
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—
8 U- x4 C4 b3 \6 H7 Veven if it means a loss for America.
# R9 L' C# l0 E, m2 w7 U: }, Y% x& B+ E: L! @0 L
When North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It
0 w' S. L, O- ~% T, R: ^was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
9 z. e+ a8 T+ ]7 [* Helected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
: J7 a; Y Z! a' \! Mwas president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the
& C# x1 E1 d" `/ rpopular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command.
8 ]0 k& \( w* p$ j W/ {. M6 K. ~8 E6 H8 A3 }8 D
Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to 7 L) a" R# H1 L
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the ; h+ M, E. D6 S) B# q, a9 x# S
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
5 w# O: ?% `& z+ eRepublicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
& T% L: z& I7 c! @! k3 |! Q: wextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those : C* z g% z: j8 l( A0 x; w& J# l
of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to 5 W ~. z1 U0 } p! ~" X+ D
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
- X- t$ @' q) B, T% Wowe it to ourselves, our country and our children. & J8 f, R+ s a4 b
) H! d' }8 z3 l8 G: V: Z+ L
If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the : |, c6 ^4 v9 G; M7 i S8 w
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
$ _$ ^& z, G( g- G( Y& |" a3 ngenerally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse + m x' Q: h4 Y) T
for it.
" K5 N" ?" V( f* ~2 o: ~, [! k- ^+ `# I; w$ [
America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We
; r& Q$ G# n' ~, v* z$ TDemocrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action
, C6 r3 {2 k9 [/ d- T& F* }# mhad been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but - \5 W/ B& O4 \0 _# J, v$ t
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will
# Z; q5 x5 t/ ?' p$ p& m4 l* Y# ?return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits & O' N u$ z- e& K# G
and not merely obstruct. 3 V9 `! n9 P2 b% H1 T/ q3 l
; g$ o2 v* ~, l% Z. P; D
If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
4 l- S5 M9 j* D5 P: `" I, I" {this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or & S5 g8 t9 b8 L* T; F
admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we 1 z4 S% }) s' A% ~7 U" R3 U
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
& T9 c ~- R. w0 k4 obecause the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they 5 m9 @% O( e5 f& G5 x
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the 4 _& w6 p3 r2 v
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president.
( v' w. s; u3 u1 X I$ a( e$ i& m' k2 J! T' x
Mr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
|