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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
2 H( a) [! Q7 Q+ c7 u4 HTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
& |+ q1 `, S+ Z' Athe merits.
+ x' x# A7 X: q0 f( c2 bBy David Boies
; x( n5 d8 {9 S' o% ~/ ZMarch 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET ) x' ?, Z- s- E7 t3 M! ~
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Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that ) @: s% l# Z. {% M* y/ u K
Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
5 I; J) W1 f, j k& j% oEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against * y( G& Q3 Q' @1 @
American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president & Q% Z9 ~) v+ t3 x1 P
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to 7 Y5 v. L& k9 _ F3 D
address.
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Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
: v5 q: t+ I- ~. O2 ~1 ?Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its # V& D$ V! B1 @. a! d
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence 9 C L) ~: }1 b$ a+ S* j: i
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr.
" M6 _5 r& O) ZTrump began the current military campaign. ( X1 g4 D/ m1 ^* I( V
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If he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
. h; ?3 V, Z$ I: Q& g9 Wchoice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles ! [( M6 X1 y0 N1 w
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
1 e8 F6 C0 Q) f9 n6 e( Kor Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. 6 d4 S% k: N! b/ G4 v
3 G% P* [$ j) `, n5 [7 eNo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste 8 c6 E( a" F/ p; _
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action ( N0 o1 X1 {, I/ ~! }0 m
seems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? 5 w: s' j5 I) ~1 G
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Obviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear , y: e2 p+ j$ U' E* g% s0 T
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons % t- F" |6 L5 t$ I
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how & M! q2 K5 P& M! M: q& P" Q
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been: ]2 o6 |3 O7 I: r: d
to permit them to increase further.
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For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
8 _; R' Y% @9 O, k3 T! htried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic
" \: |7 U+ d- k8 {sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders 3 h& Z4 a8 [7 J# F8 K0 w) P* d
understand.
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k. S$ D3 J* G4 ^8 DI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the A0 Y" t6 _8 v g: D& S
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the ' F u/ M" _& O: j7 r& H2 u' T
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because
/ Q1 p$ P) g. ?5 c7 ~3 P% \9 ithey are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
; l. N/ A* U: J) s1 ?6 k, Dhundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or ( o2 V6 p# q7 |
dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
+ ?' @1 D d* M, ] o, R* Nto devastate a city.
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I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
2 v" B/ X2 @3 v) L# z$ x& Zand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. ) b% n6 X( L3 u: ]* r# I
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What is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition
- r0 [# n- J& i7 Q& Mrooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
0 m* k0 h( b3 uat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
4 `1 V6 O# c! m! I1 ppresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
% l1 s" y9 ^" |$ yPresident Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our - X! I7 {8 a& C( _6 B
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. 9 Q; k* w; k6 m2 Q
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More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
! y A+ x2 {: O0 L" K' @6 cmilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many * x0 F! I' C2 `" P( m; c+ m/ _
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in # m/ o8 H4 e" b
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
+ C, G2 h; e4 q" z. ZAfghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably 4 C( `0 @. `! c
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
( ~3 V% K9 J4 Q, talmost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the ! z* m0 x. X D- M+ ^
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—6 G, [0 N; p3 x" z: o1 z. L
even if it means a loss for America. ( O' d/ T; ?" J
0 j D3 z. N |: UWhen North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It
* s) c; t) u. p9 ]5 D: v) m* }was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
/ k1 R' A; ^% m" k: j% Q6 d" d( nelected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
, R1 @: r$ }: ^2 K3 c/ ` ^was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the / N2 X! o, M1 r0 {% u
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
) m! e* y# C) d( Mcontain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the . h) v5 j$ J$ \% z
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. . S. @% Z5 Y. q# Z. e4 w' J
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
4 Y; b& M* S, O# E) Pextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those ! j' l" Z; X* P. f8 `! r
of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to 6 H, e( ~+ v/ j; V$ M0 H: r
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we # _6 k% z- S5 n
owe 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 ( n, E# \0 j. \3 I; v, V3 E5 ]
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we 9 [6 S L1 G( c$ n
generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
5 |6 f) y4 ?5 P5 Afor it. ; \, n: g( G2 `/ V" B0 k
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America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We 5 }# v; a- i) n
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action 1 w4 r z1 ?7 U w7 w+ c) k& M
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but & h' H9 u# o# ?' \& e! N
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will 6 F0 ~1 w" W! G1 W/ G) P6 X, ~
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
) o8 a2 ~7 M# h* m" Sand not merely obstruct.
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9 \2 @6 `( |6 |5 _If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
& I, C% G: y5 F8 X: Z- H5 d/ dthis issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or y8 v' C, M$ Z6 C$ \
admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we $ m( S: I' f- [* X, V$ b u* \
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
@; B' x" _- t [" W1 ~. kbecause the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they
& u+ O) m7 @% p; m4 Hwill. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the
) ?% K- _8 T/ @! m" a1 x" vDemocrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president.
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4 M% Z( q, o0 M& E# {Mr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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