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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America " o9 a( y- v3 ^$ S. S: J4 l
Trump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on ) V% M3 H; T- A% s# @
the merits.
3 k, c, ~2 {! f2 ]1 Q/ T6 gBy David Boies ! U; G3 e9 {" N4 C0 M3 I
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET # M- n: H, v3 @1 v0 ?
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Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
. w% |7 q; B) A! TIran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it. ( O# V& e% J2 }5 q: `
Every president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
$ N+ H7 G4 J2 J6 \8 ~- C+ kAmerican citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president
6 Y5 b T" Z6 mleft his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to + y; Y; F4 `1 H- J) }6 ^7 ?
address. 9 f) w8 Y/ H$ w1 {
! u# I& T8 J4 h8 @& Q9 LLast June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt $ a) d' b `% s& ]7 ~ v6 ?
Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its
9 b' H7 z5 H! v) n3 nnuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence
6 E2 ~2 K5 y) U) w' c2 bthat it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. ; A9 E [" A# W- y5 K6 ?/ t
Trump began the current military campaign. - N. P# ~# r* o& g! _% {- `7 t
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If he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
, T9 J6 f) n; S/ |$ Achoice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles " D) p- n* g0 [# {; ?- _
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
; V0 u7 ~: X& n& @& y9 por Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. + H2 n7 K: k8 M k; I
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No sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste
6 N7 H# Q$ [% H+ q; P" _treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
7 q) ]( ~# N" E! Useems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? 3 y- ^% G- w( K4 g
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Obviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear
2 Y/ {5 d, Y. R* u“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons
3 }2 N5 N; o$ d8 m; _and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how
! ~6 d# T& c* lmuch its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been
% H8 H5 ?- F3 v% o' ^$ b/ yto permit them to increase further. 6 i/ I) c; b' a
8 F" n1 W0 ]& T: hFor three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve
' `$ s- y1 k" O7 |$ r; _% _$ Gtried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic
1 ?9 i& |- o" ^2 B: ~0 R' }sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders ' X- h* Q* I2 \+ L2 N8 c. d
understand. 3 o4 _) ?1 v) O" X! J
6 d- z, f6 s+ x a1 I* ]% W" XI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the & J# G9 Q A U, m
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the 5 o. b8 ]# u2 ]: s. _) ?- y- X
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because & ~9 ]: Y+ ] D2 m. u
they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One / _; q+ s9 C+ t% m4 v
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
4 P, S# ?7 F7 \# x% `dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
4 h/ o8 L6 g. Z9 j3 O6 @# J: f, `0 I( yto devastate a city. 7 ]- s% o+ @% U9 x: c. p% `
, g. a: o: U6 }0 p8 vI also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel 0 F) [% z6 _( E" O: W
and Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies.
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& [: I$ L: l5 B1 W' \) mWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition * j% {- q& a& `! u, X5 n4 [
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops a2 U* ~5 r3 [
at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a
, B( }1 n) m$ ypresident over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice
' r/ ?* S: h2 h; W# D5 JPresident Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our
: B) `& \2 ^8 H4 A9 e9 dhistory we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. 7 } F! ~8 F8 h1 J5 Q
3 R4 x% n* \) m" C; _- aMore important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the
4 |- B/ `: u3 U; Zmilitary action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many
! Z' \5 Q; Y2 J1 r+ C) dRepublicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in
! l/ R* j2 C* {/ @Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
! [' q* D; D/ o- PAfghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably ) e6 O$ M, E% t- o7 o: i
supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. . d3 T3 A& ^7 D4 B; t" {
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More important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we
+ ]! ]4 z% D( }almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the 2 F7 p- R! j. J- o" ?8 ^; @
president is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—
5 H3 N9 w4 |. Leven if it means a loss for America. 2 w! D) R% v! G/ p; Y- l5 I
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When North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It ) a: P" H8 w% h# Q B/ G
was so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was / X2 N% `' Y2 W( i p
elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
2 L9 |( g/ T, ^5 N: m! N# `# y6 M4 G: Cwas president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the 8 `! C0 F( p2 i! n# q( z
popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. ' v8 {$ A; p* c
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Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to
* A4 L: O- O, |( h' x* I2 ]contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the ! i C2 X; |6 Y
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. * z: s q& @* Q' m) o
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
* y2 e8 ^$ q7 y8 q$ Fextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those 6 u8 I; Z& W' B9 \2 ^& u
of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to + o. x4 Y# c9 J$ T
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we ; R$ n" @! r a- a! D/ N6 N
owe it to ourselves, our country and our children. 3 U& n9 J& [# }) v9 _$ y- ?
1 H ?* U+ x1 AIf we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the 4 ~! N H! T4 E3 s& J* _6 B7 o
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
# s ]! [& ?4 W0 U+ ~# j" }8 wgenerally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
( s/ Q/ T8 p1 |% F) xfor it.
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America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We
1 [6 Y9 X" f' M: R; T4 c2 WDemocrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action
6 `8 p* B) L* }% I. }had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but 1 @) ~' ]3 g+ h( t0 g
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will
" C1 k* _1 d+ X: @return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
& B" \8 J; \/ z9 C+ t5 aand not merely obstruct. 6 `9 l0 D: G5 |; U1 ~, d: j
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on , {3 D: m: E; V5 H" T, E' `
this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or # Z0 c8 r/ O# V6 l
admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we
; s3 s5 F; a4 N# v3 Owant to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not s. z/ j& x, Q
because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they 9 [1 N% i. r+ d7 I3 Z
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the , I4 ]9 h% G& A7 A4 Y# u. X- B1 w
Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president.
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% F9 l* A9 d9 j4 ~/ F" Q! X/ yMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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