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
: V4 h1 x! M# u& `, V% ~Trump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on , R% W3 @% r3 ?5 m l
the merits. * u* @. n' {) ~3 e% d7 `- J
By David Boies 1 S& {, \7 I5 s; `& F
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET " a, k& Z- s9 B1 V' s7 ~
5 d1 r4 y0 u% R- f& H, ]6 |! UEvery past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that ! y/ Q% A. m- F
Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
% @5 T( ~2 D0 e) [8 K4 e! nEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
; `" e2 ? u o ^, H( x9 f# I3 ~American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president
) k8 \: J) Q' v" a! q: k2 [left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to 1 c- m/ F. n+ o8 J
address.
% P, v+ Y& g# r- B5 p. R/ n
+ \' A* J1 P7 q0 qLast June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt ) X2 a) L% w# ^5 m. ~( R7 A# O
Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its . g* }7 j& z2 }/ I, I$ a6 P
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence
- U$ ?/ q* r) k2 u/ z0 N; G. V( ?that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr.
: P7 R2 P. c# Q2 f5 ^/ gTrump began the current military campaign.
" o* S& S, g. E0 @# E J: Z) u% @$ ], @: w5 J: g; |
If he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
& L7 }4 e1 o& [) H' x; y2 r. q8 K0 bchoice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
% T. \, e6 y" o+ X8 k3 w( \now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
, H8 Z: ]0 O# |! dor Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. 5 S- Y0 d6 X5 C" m' k7 m3 x
* T4 c* o/ F( W; p" C( q& ^2 L& i
No sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste
* J- B* F' W4 S' z; i' G7 Mtreasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
& ~( F7 F9 H, S, Kseems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative?
. S1 L/ F) S7 b2 v0 F- b
' n5 _, k1 C6 a* g6 ^" r+ Z/ RObviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear c/ ?* D# n: R; s
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons
) j c1 Z# C. l: {' {$ Xand the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how ; r$ h% i6 V) h \6 Z
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been
4 ]4 h' H) z% P' Qto permit them to increase further.
. y# B) ~6 ~6 y8 l& \, ` J! C6 i2 g$ Z* _+ i2 {% D3 x( Z* O
For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
& a/ c/ g; [9 @- @! Y4 I8 ~tried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic h$ e' \9 P$ F# S6 w
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders 6 u+ h( x9 p1 F U c8 h z
understand.
4 R/ |0 d' R8 z' V
/ f5 }0 Q3 o2 E. f( jI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the
: e* n' E- m! \! S. d4 wRepublican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the 0 N/ {0 U! z: G. b9 H" ^$ s( N1 B
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because " _2 \/ B* t4 K7 B- t
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One % _+ C$ H4 V, w1 l& E
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or 6 _8 Q( V* E' f
dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
- ~/ J& h) V! ~5 k; b6 o4 x4 r0 S2 Gto devastate a city.
T" t* B2 V9 T- H( L
a! ^* U4 E( p+ j3 II also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel r3 N4 ^% V/ u' d4 I* h
and Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. % q5 {8 L& J: A6 Z0 d
& S" q; _- I2 B& Q. Q* W
What is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition
4 N$ @5 q, I; p- R- \/ qrooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops " t# Z$ {8 M) H
at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
- L/ E- e: I3 Y/ apresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
; r9 y- X- y& U$ x( i1 kPresident Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our 0 s" A) e" e* x$ P; H
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt.
; @$ n& A$ u' K7 h* `
c. M) `1 m: y9 f( l! ~More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the 9 N& c0 ^/ R7 s' a
military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many - r/ H( q/ E) X% A2 t
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in
$ \8 p, \, E9 I7 g2 k' ?0 J: IAfghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
^6 {# Y$ {6 T8 D5 i: z3 i dAfghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably # ]4 n6 |7 N" P: [5 g
supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. + a7 L8 ?& u. z4 U
; l# b; m+ P' E! d
More important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we
, g. F" z+ Y7 @" u% i. ` ]almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the 6 e. w, N# a- [4 x, J6 \& i
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—/ i( S% k( D8 @4 A! C8 S
even if it means a loss for America. % o* D, X3 K& Q+ ` ~6 ]) c
/ I. C: A+ t) m( |9 G5 l; _, SWhen North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It 1 |6 l$ J$ t8 X4 V9 l8 o/ J
was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was 6 A0 H- Q) [- L" h. b S
elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman / ^* @- H; ]0 B
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the 6 m7 g6 S2 W" ]& \
popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. & {# S0 O5 m' N6 U2 ^4 n
* N, a* b/ q' F+ H6 \% p2 M
Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to
- u1 T) {8 r9 M0 P: {, s9 Gcontain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the " U! ^$ L9 l. @8 O
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
5 i- O _$ Z/ MRepublicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and ) b# N& n& v Q( |
extreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
! A8 d9 C. M4 B* i/ b7 Vof us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to 1 G5 _8 |# I; ~) @8 T5 U, G$ J
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we ; U+ x" w& `! ?3 k# D- O
owe it to ourselves, our country and our children. 4 w1 h0 i& j" [7 W. K
]' N4 a" w) T3 t3 ^If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the
0 X* Q }' n0 i2 k5 i4 A7 Fmission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
' @1 e; M# g" t" Jgenerally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse 8 g9 I8 v3 `2 U6 H" k
for it. ' z) P- k4 \% i+ c
6 D5 D% m" ~& XAmerica’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We 3 _6 w" ^3 B0 ~& M- L
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action
5 k7 k7 u# H+ B% D. Uhad been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but
, ~. D% {+ R, Qmaybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will 9 {) x' V( q8 p3 C! D
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
& y$ B# o/ K V8 }2 C3 y5 ~2 x% _and not merely obstruct. 1 x0 c" K) H5 c: j9 g( X4 L
7 L @' X. k. d. }: |* V* R6 d
If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
; f3 R9 T9 {' `: C2 s+ ~this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or 3 Y- ~ L I% {) E
admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we
: X- Y2 a% Q% I0 b9 Twant to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
- e) p+ N: _ r9 D, W& m$ dbecause the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they 0 c. M, U1 ]3 d- J0 C
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the 4 r6 H0 d) j& P c9 P
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president.
% E* h" G/ S! j. D5 c2 b* m6 W' N7 Y% f/ x# _
Mr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
|