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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America 5 y- _) q0 [. Z3 r7 N5 o6 a7 ?' ~
Trump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
7 s C+ ]" S, zthe merits.
$ y( c$ z8 |& w. O0 vBy David Boies ( k1 Y+ B" f2 E: P
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET & ^7 }9 @4 c. X3 O
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Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that / e) F- u0 i- _ j
Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
8 d0 H4 x! N$ C2 j' E) p% ~$ b8 ^Every president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
/ a$ p+ I+ C, R9 SAmerican citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president ) u$ z/ s% L- I4 L" `2 l
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to
' V9 o9 }) C7 J: x0 N. eaddress.
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! R& a* M0 W- A0 z6 c6 ^Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt / b# I+ w, e" I8 ~; a
Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its
% S0 Y4 n( Z6 d. |# xnuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence 6 W) g- A9 b0 l2 }
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr.
0 p7 a, O1 c1 K6 t1 WTrump began the current military campaign.
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" |" R/ ]$ ~# yIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous ' @7 H. D5 M' N# }. F1 N
choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
9 U: b& D. Q# r* c5 Bnow hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York 1 L0 N! e% J* ?7 u1 |
or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. " V6 o! {7 u' G, t0 L: w3 M# d% [
% t, I( I# A3 v: |' ~# f& O! sNo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste + E$ S; q) h$ d8 }: i H) v
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
1 w' a+ }3 @/ Dseems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative?
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. z/ }* ^3 X4 _' h, L# vObviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear ' s" k! Y; `, h# {
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons ! v: C0 O# s/ M. g
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how 1 j) I. y, G. s. q. L B6 J
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been2 ]& c* B& K- r4 \; S$ j: N! F6 e
to permit them to increase further. ' P, {& K, g4 Q6 q0 V
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For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
* y" q% c. `+ O/ y3 Ltried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic & u& E" ?1 H9 E
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders 3 Y+ Z% @# y: u- M
understand. ( S0 I* Y1 p+ ^$ r' K7 [
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I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the 7 n7 X3 _8 u: c( t. _' G2 d
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the
6 Z* u& v0 |* x$ _+ o" Afantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because
" I% ]7 D2 K+ ?3 V H1 vthey are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One ; ^4 J( m9 e7 L# O. R# x
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
' {) P! M0 r2 V3 J% B$ ~dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country, U! U4 B6 K) |: Z* r
to devastate a city. A" E+ D! {) J$ u$ M7 k* W
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I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
. H3 `2 e1 F8 j/ Dand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. & ?# P8 Z) h% j* A5 n% ]& J
* ?, h$ U1 K/ g$ E; R: d. jWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition " F4 ~2 ?2 V* [/ }
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
% @, f7 I6 t2 Oat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
' z5 f9 \% b5 xpresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice ) R( S8 r+ Y/ l# Y" }/ |
President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our 3 g% t. Y% h& @$ B7 y
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. , C( @ T/ B" W. B5 ]
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More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the s7 {9 ^+ {' p
military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many 7 g+ y* {6 x& K; q5 T- W
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in * |, d. J/ X4 I3 c0 W2 X
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
% x) P4 ?3 d8 b8 ?" H+ S2 p! lAfghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably 5 I' u! L* t1 h& Q, I' S' ~; {
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
; C" U1 }6 i, x+ U( ialmost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the 4 o$ [9 t- k( B! x& p* n
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—8 X9 s, U8 |8 S- m: L# L& W
even if it means a loss for America.
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4 Z3 r. W C& K9 g; K8 d fWhen North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It
5 X0 d6 F7 c. q$ \7 r& C0 Y9 zwas so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
; d, }6 |7 o! |3 gelected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
% `8 `, g2 J( o& i) kwas president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the ! \" B' v! B1 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 + g' ~: J0 p3 f( ^0 X* K- Y
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the
+ x8 a! O8 Q$ S% [: x+ K4 oresult would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. 8 O9 M# N) m3 |; r1 f0 `) j# Y
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
5 Q1 f# T( x% [3 A5 pextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
2 z7 @+ S- F& R& A2 v; |0 r5 D+ D5 Lof us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to - b j# T Y$ }4 L- z
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
2 W K3 _ z: M# J9 Z1 V8 p( S* O3 aowe it to ourselves, our country and our children. ) [1 `! \1 ~ G3 \
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If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the
0 H: P9 N( B) }mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
; {. j$ k4 g8 ]# J G: D* a& Zgenerally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse x6 ?, \! W$ u8 m
for it.
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' b/ S: p o" x2 |America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We ( I6 {8 @6 i; d1 m% @8 T
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action
) V" o5 a9 e |1 N2 ihad been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but * d- \/ T O0 y3 [+ } w
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will
3 ^+ d4 r0 E' t5 U' t+ Nreturn the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits " Q" t# ~& A. {5 U/ t
and not merely obstruct.
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on * s/ A$ r; C5 n0 m n) L
this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
; n% }( b1 p' I9 O, F0 \6 ladmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we
* s1 P" C% b9 ?want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not & H: T8 Y0 b" {2 s+ s
because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they 9 o" I! ?6 u0 U! z; u9 ]( _
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the & P) h/ U% b. }: c/ l5 o+ `
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president.
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" n# n' n& s. f2 f b, fMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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