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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America 7 |6 g8 B3 I+ L" w9 x) n
Trump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
# m/ {* n: j% {/ x) r0 Q9 Bthe merits.
. ^ g# _& A6 s5 R; W$ |! ~By David Boies " r# v2 y9 ~1 T) m z9 T+ b N
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET * `) F3 O% u, x% G( [
! `" P1 j( b kEvery past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that 0 l1 Z0 S# ^! d8 V+ o+ a( }
Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
8 t1 T3 ]: q. `% c4 VEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
) e5 i2 [% A; |) H( R; d, KAmerican citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president
0 z" I* S, M, y- d- V0 w+ Nleft his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to ) f) K" V( \8 ?, \/ z# G& w9 N
address. ) ~' M) s; T/ y8 K8 K
% D0 K5 R( G( b( n5 p- A: XLast June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt % T( U/ t0 a6 {) k2 v
Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its 9 t: ^) y4 ]0 U: p9 @- s9 u
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence / W0 A( | b* S8 W; U- t
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. " {6 C5 e2 j- R8 B, [; n' |
Trump began the current military campaign.
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1 z1 c3 w1 G. r& [/ a- @; x5 r o# tIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
& d" z9 H% h& ~/ xchoice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
8 w2 o( K* e( q& c0 g! ~& fnow hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
: a" M) J+ } v' f! i! d: L1 [0 tor Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. / A; L' u& o; S4 p G2 ]5 r/ Q
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No sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste 4 ~4 L# |$ _, e& Q( R
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
1 B, ~, c: U( s7 G; l+ rseems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? * ^% Z$ J- p* y
/ g% c$ M7 Q4 h9 ]Obviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear
$ H" |2 d" @9 T; j3 {8 w“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons
( \3 U$ h% R5 Y" e& M7 [: Oand the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how
3 x9 E! U% C3 p/ rmuch its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been- B! N. @* {7 J9 ]0 E
to permit them to increase further. . Z) H: Y( A" q* P; x
# J$ r' F& H Q8 J6 v& B+ H3 AFor three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
8 |- {4 r9 K. @; |8 x8 Ptried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic 8 z) x( A7 [9 }
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders
; X/ m1 ?* L- i& j) O5 W/ `understand. 7 S; M1 k4 D! C; |! A
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I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the 0 G- F% P- p9 u, p- h0 D* u
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the
1 J, j5 L5 {: h6 s! A2 m* U/ |: V( Wfantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because / H$ J5 q6 ]) T2 U# F8 y6 V! t
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
5 Q, [6 V' O4 p8 Lhundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or 3 B; Y3 M6 y, d) I0 |4 F# y
dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
9 p# p O* j9 }1 k2 N% y! lto devastate a city.
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I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel / W! ^$ o! \' e ]3 Y1 e
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 ; [; E# `, Z2 b' C4 _
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
, U4 H5 R9 h E; }' ]# ~, O8 }at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a & ~% q# P2 _, i% |6 j
president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
% r4 F+ k5 Z- _President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our
: c/ c$ ~8 ~% B1 fhistory 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 2 U( c: [5 T. o2 q! A
military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many / t( d+ }! @- }' A d+ k
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in : Z7 j, i) I) A5 J
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
0 I0 W7 M/ Q* d! |6 b% |Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably
% {" x3 W" |5 o0 b+ `( F+ Usupported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. , S1 w. t& y* A7 r: [
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More important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we : g; m0 f2 q# s0 s
almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the
3 x! `% \. f6 Z- L4 ^$ ypresident is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—* c6 H3 U& {; d! M! b
even if it means a loss for America. 9 }. K3 p2 h% r' E% }# [# ^
# Q4 M5 P, Q- e: y& b; ]When North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It
' B! j) S9 [) h" rwas so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
9 o& K) v6 V: w- G7 {6 Yelected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
, M. E2 b3 Y1 _% e/ ?/ J# [2 cwas president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the + {2 o0 ~5 |: Z
popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command.
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Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to
% L) F0 Z1 E' {8 R. jcontain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the
5 [" o" ^+ E" y; w. S7 D2 tresult would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. w1 v' }/ Q- u8 E& q1 N' `& x
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
! J4 n. ]; y) n% V7 ]. textreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
4 ~! E, C+ S6 E& C4 B! Eof us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to + w/ G. t1 h* g5 ]
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
( v- t7 f% n: a; Fowe 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 2 n* V1 j2 B, Z' F" L
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we ; g7 ]! ~9 A2 z& Y5 s
generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
8 P! F, u1 z. N/ A, xfor it. / Y) t/ m* g9 \7 T6 [* v/ D
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America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We
8 f# T2 z) s/ M" [Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action / l8 t& I& x) J2 S j6 I; B
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but
4 }0 m7 j( f1 `8 w c# t* jmaybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will
' s) {0 a8 e* }" j: T' a2 }) C. `return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits , R4 b3 }' s2 y: p' A" r; q& l- k
and not merely obstruct. ! R, X% A& ^4 {1 n) A% v
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
6 s% H0 E7 G+ G# i. b* fthis issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or 1 K0 v, L/ ]0 Z% k
admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we & T0 _/ Z- w, `* U- b. |3 p. D
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not # O2 C- k$ d# N6 f r" l6 ~' @
because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they 3 F( }0 }! a3 ^/ Y
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the ' ^2 d- e5 N, Q' o0 H! H2 Q
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president.
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, c% a5 t& y# |& X8 x0 ^2 m7 | f+ [Mr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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