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
& t8 M! M$ v7 s9 l" i; S% }( NTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on 1 D/ x' j z* g, N" o; y* a; w
the merits. ' _- X8 @6 k2 q$ G+ h
By David Boies
, K2 {0 G8 J$ nMarch 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET , P2 |5 `% B6 ?
- O6 Y" Y5 _: M5 ^* [Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
5 h' u5 P) t1 cIran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
4 X" ]. M, H1 MEvery president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
6 @& ~ ~* u1 w$ xAmerican citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president
\* V# Q; J% m& s7 q7 q3 Kleft his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to 3 H* @8 ?# G7 e
address. / F+ q$ v* ]+ k7 s1 u3 z* ]
& D# \( T! {+ l$ s) K- L6 y
Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
6 R, b- h7 a K! KIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its * f n3 d, G& y+ C; J
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence 9 y/ S$ [0 D6 z1 s8 ]& h1 i
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr.
. g8 t' x4 l1 L. MTrump began the current military campaign. ) U& w* W* Q4 q1 J" c! K2 N; x
: J& b2 ~. ~+ O5 n; x3 l7 ZIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
2 s3 C h$ Y" ~' E" |' w" h& M2 `choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles 5 @/ R i0 j I' D
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York 6 |4 V" s: h7 |% i y8 i* R5 Z! A
or Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb.
9 A: E W/ i/ S' U+ N$ L7 H7 k
2 c! o m" e! W5 _9 \: ONo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste
/ I! q2 B" p3 B% Ctreasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
4 O1 R8 M1 K* A) Z/ ?( F; i6 Iseems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative?
M! k$ ]% z; ]' F4 e3 z4 f% e+ r$ u+ X2 n% D
Obviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear
T+ a6 w8 y- a; e" }“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons
% ?$ @4 @; N: r3 I9 a0 ]6 X Cand the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how 9 B# ^/ J5 Y1 }$ s# E2 J; ~
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been- ]5 Q9 e$ f+ F( Z. o: W
to permit them to increase further. . f' i6 N0 j( s
& Z2 Y* M) Z5 I/ p: `: n
For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
9 w8 m' l4 g9 M4 ktried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic
: k1 y& b$ h/ o$ Z* q* U$ Nsanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders
; Y0 Z. P8 A V3 j8 H# ~, |understand. 9 Y7 F2 G. d: W) D7 t( s
$ A. N/ X8 ?/ ]1 M5 g+ L4 i: l% F& \
I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the
+ E7 E6 ^& o! Q4 u( C+ dRepublican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the
5 C4 Q8 _6 [5 J' l8 H+ ]( L3 Vfantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because
" X3 G: U3 b( c& K" V" t8 {they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
% B1 G0 W$ f/ U, dhundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
2 o+ P$ x- H) D+ h) C, sdirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country, , z- Q: x2 b+ y. a
to devastate a city. ; t1 C8 k* ^. P3 u: {& z& Y
7 r$ o5 a- O; k, Q$ G+ @0 A' Y2 y
I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
' }* n) h. ~/ p d& w, Oand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies.
" U6 h$ n5 Z3 a
6 ^* U6 v. {1 u4 |6 IWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition
) R1 m6 Z. c* g2 M( Nrooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
6 I7 m" ~6 x; r3 j$ Pat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a 6 {1 k5 A! k8 G: [* O5 Z' X( g" I
president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
. b! V2 e) G0 G# A9 ^President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our
% E, @5 E, S1 J V1 @6 Uhistory we have given the president the benefit of the doubt.
% H* @, O5 {) X, r
. R8 j" ^8 K7 i' {9 AMore important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the $ G7 H, T4 v' m2 d. ]8 W
military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many
9 z+ W. s! m6 p0 J* ~& |* e8 c6 CRepublicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in ! R& e9 L% ?/ F$ J
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in . |2 L) ~& v$ _* }) n$ K$ M5 D
Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably
5 Z' B# M/ S0 c5 w% I9 {supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam.
7 F0 ?2 S! Z0 H8 b! Z/ h) H9 k9 Q0 c% U# P2 ?8 ]
More important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we
@6 v; v! h. s P% `* w3 }almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the - t3 z' F7 X1 A2 l( |8 ~6 y
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—
, _, ~# N4 J. `' xeven if it means a loss for America. ! q$ D- J) }: ^4 i* g, \" H
- e% E4 ]& o6 C) a' D; j. i
When North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It ) ^6 Q! {- {; @6 P, S4 q+ [) b
was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
; q: y! `- J* _5 U: yelected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman |4 |' a% D# r! d' h$ H
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the # d! B" V, Q4 b5 E) T
popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. ! F' Y! L+ E9 ^
M9 V5 q, A% G6 D$ X3 mTruman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to
/ V: ~8 {: `3 l- Mcontain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the 8 S: |# l7 u4 [! C, D2 i8 B# K$ A
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. 8 c# O0 F3 |' ?+ h
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
4 K0 _, }3 A+ \. oextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those 1 P/ K9 }% X Y, C* U% C6 v
of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to
a$ i$ ]$ [7 ^ Tsupport the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
" Z7 C' s! Z* bowe it to ourselves, our country and our children.
' d, A5 Q% b$ o" [. k1 f% h% `7 d2 M6 H$ K
If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the
9 q$ X: v* ]3 a$ X5 Cmission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we a# S4 g# _, k2 `: q7 G! Q# M
generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
( H1 ~8 u+ F. |, u1 o+ H4 ?+ gfor it. 7 z) o5 e3 V7 r7 x, z, {6 O
F& s2 H" W4 s0 g D, }America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We & m' U! O3 X7 G1 s7 k( C. S
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action
0 }. L1 d8 w$ s. {5 whad been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but . b6 P# W3 L [7 ?) ?* q
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will
; ~" u: Y& O. d, E' \4 J* X, b9 W9 ureturn the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
1 v8 ?, {5 K2 @9 N/ fand not merely obstruct.
+ R3 m3 g% l# _6 ~9 a) m r4 \2 O/ ?6 \# w- q- J& e" x4 ~4 P
If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on 6 h* X! S; `# X/ }+ n: f
this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
7 Y/ H9 j. L5 q$ l! W8 b! jadmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we
4 J% ?. f2 s: K# O# Nwant to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not 4 h4 p, J* g: n* |& i5 g
because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they & M. X g$ {0 ^# Y! J# v
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the - }; m+ ]* ~( A l. C6 {" F
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. % ^. Z a+ W' L" y
/ N4 m9 c9 q* U. n, q! [% n% p1 B
Mr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
|