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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America
+ k3 m; n3 w: _- h5 p RTrump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on 3 w* ]6 `, i' d j
the merits. " `0 x9 p0 D# G5 ?9 H
By David Boies
5 d7 q6 E4 z2 x; ?! oMarch 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET
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% K3 Y( e( k9 s6 cEvery past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that ( E) I2 G ]$ C- S2 L* `
Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
0 f3 {% u, Y n9 Y/ Y' q/ G) }# A& R! ?Every president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
- E7 w/ p( {, C* j' Y3 B s7 h$ {American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president 8 l3 V T9 G* ~8 Z
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to 3 X4 a {9 R: Z/ S m- l) ]
address. & v* f2 z9 E1 K) V; W. k
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Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
: ?8 D; x1 l! Q$ e- J* iIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its
& |. j) h. a! g2 Enuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence ) d9 v4 T) N! V f1 X
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. ( J" j! e) m' x X5 t
Trump began the current military campaign.
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- p4 f( G$ c( ^ _- b+ UIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous : e9 X. F$ h! U5 y" {0 X2 |4 p9 v
choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
5 ]5 Y# [9 U. ~$ F( \5 A& [0 t6 W9 [now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
) t! H7 P& K5 H! M6 B' C4 V9 eor Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. " o* ~ P# w) Q
. y! r G& Z* xNo sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste
; \4 a+ V3 Q2 B" r7 J" s8 t: htreasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action
' y0 W# V+ Y @0 U& sseems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? & @; s4 d8 P( L0 G [
4 B5 b' k: I; Z: J* r3 o3 LObviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear
3 j. `9 N; }" k0 a! N“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons 8 l+ E0 K# n" x, k! X4 N
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how
# @ X- W# R5 h8 @+ N* ^( B2 G2 D, Emuch its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been [( h7 ^! D2 P/ e Q( H, \
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
: E* N& V% ~2 ]tried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic
+ _( x6 {) H" s* }2 b7 ?" K$ Z5 Qsanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders
$ K6 H% c0 Q7 a0 X% ~8 y1 Runderstand. ( \1 R' x6 i% U0 p! X1 A
+ f- x4 _- J6 M% SI understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the / B' c+ c0 L1 M" b8 ~- _
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the
+ n) g: w/ V0 t/ o7 M# lfantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because
+ S( _# V7 d7 e4 G; o1 Tthey are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
) |& P( [" q. i7 d8 K3 Vhundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
- v' m+ k4 J( e. w3 K/ d* J2 Jdirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
# W& J4 F) I9 E- j+ H4 Y& H Kto devastate a city.
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I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel ! I: E: J( l# @0 L
and Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies.
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- C2 v1 q/ e$ [' j/ p4 }) j% \6 WWhat is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition 5 ~+ L1 ]! U s8 Z% `' S
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops * C# L) @ U$ \
at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a : l0 O+ I+ c; A& W
president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice $ I& F" {% G# l2 E" t/ ^5 T: I
President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our - N0 s* |: x. m' b
history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt.
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. u8 }1 C# R3 g3 M, QMore important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the , P6 Z( P& }* r4 M K5 @+ y
military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many ( x2 ^2 b0 d4 s8 h4 B1 V; N' b
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in 0 `2 s) Z- E( V& y1 i9 z* A" D0 R
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
( H% L" A( ?" t4 A# n3 ]Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably
1 a3 A5 P! Z+ Ksupported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam.
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7 O" x- W6 q, R, p9 ^& C+ v" NMore important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we ! @ z1 ~) N. E) _( z
almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the
' u a7 C8 p* ^5 U" r+ rpresident is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—
" w1 E0 H2 l+ f$ R% @$ Meven if it means a loss for America.
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5 l$ t" C. }- `8 a+ U. T1 Q, S! f2 ^( ?When North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It
% J! \: s7 z! {, c- {' Y2 W( _# hwas so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
, j1 J& j! u: R$ f& Q: k% ?1 belected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
. @+ S% {: K3 vwas president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the
. A* N$ s) j1 ^3 _6 B; Ypopular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command.
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Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to 3 ?& r e; d0 p
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the
* w: \& g" c" D* ^3 M+ Y4 tresult would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
/ r0 k$ F9 f4 Q* G9 ^Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and * F7 T1 J; N- E2 \4 _
extreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those
+ h$ J# ?, h' {+ G8 nof us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to 6 Q5 Y+ Q p* q* S- w7 b4 T+ G4 b- m, s
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
: x1 D$ d" b7 Lowe it to ourselves, our country and our children. - n5 |. |' K! Z! E# ]5 i. B/ D
% [( H2 B3 j( \5 r% k8 sIf we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the ! g$ j; Y6 Q0 J2 w) I
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
4 z% P. Y* n( i7 mgenerally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
( u, Q0 l7 o) v: Y" S, v2 ~; Nfor it.
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0 \" j" G6 t0 t/ [, {* A1 A% Q8 r5 T, wAmerica’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We
9 F8 p7 o/ _' EDemocrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action * P T0 ?: c2 X5 b8 @, [# m
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but 5 d3 h& {0 O9 c2 Y& V; q
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will 7 `. K9 U0 C! W! o
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
7 l' Z# G: a0 t% f$ @2 x6 `and not merely obstruct. ! H h/ O7 I: J7 A; R) Y$ V- B6 q! A
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on ' p6 E* L( G! o) e4 h X# {+ ?% x
this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or # N" @8 ]: C( K2 n( @8 e5 \! a
admire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we
- u! g9 q- E1 D2 ewant to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not ' s; A0 B3 p; R. a/ g3 T% S
because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they
3 J( @+ H V, Bwill. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the
2 H( ~' Q9 ]/ U, \Democrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president.
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Mr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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