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发表于 2026-3-16 12:04:37
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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America ' h3 L7 |5 `' b( w& C9 v. ?, }
Trump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on
, F+ s' u/ w1 |% i4 kthe merits.
8 K( j7 D- }+ ]9 g; | UBy David Boies . h3 {4 t$ d6 z5 R1 w* ~, ?
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET
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1 T. O# _/ L$ n- |* J8 KEvery past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
6 R$ A* a; ]8 ^Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
0 K3 F! ?2 Q) _; }& P+ `Every president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against ` h |' `% _$ k) h9 D3 s3 ~
American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president : V1 s% x; c9 l5 [9 \
left his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to ! x, j( m1 ]# G! }
address. " [& ?, h. H0 m1 j9 d) m6 u9 F
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Last June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt
* y5 T, V/ i8 O# P" n9 DIran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its ; h2 w8 Q# c1 K- }$ ]* L+ `9 H
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence
5 m* o9 o5 e' J8 ~5 Xthat it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. 4 K+ t# m, C; o* G
Trump began the current military campaign. 6 M2 o: y' N x( u8 R, A
' a2 P6 G+ q4 \4 tIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
4 f9 f% o0 \7 A! m( Uchoice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles
% E0 Q+ q) F* Y$ Q& Z% T) v$ znow hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
1 R& U4 Q6 Q) Z4 k1 Vor Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb. . `0 y! t9 b6 F* z6 u7 Q X( i
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No sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste 3 w. F9 a4 f' H$ m) G1 k2 p T1 ^
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action * r! T4 u3 ]3 ~: f& H- n3 \# q$ K
seems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative?
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" A% u, Z/ ?8 s; n4 mObviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear + |3 [# L/ }. K P0 t% f6 U# ~
“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons 7 v' l: V$ G3 U0 M
and the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how
3 ]$ m7 E$ a$ w/ |7 {much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been# N& {5 Y3 H4 W! T
to permit them to increase further. % o6 W$ |5 w Y( J) t& T1 o# w
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For three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve % q' p# |) k$ Q+ |3 J
tried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic
8 L2 e* s/ O) q: b) p: C5 esanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders # P5 i" E* k4 V: g3 i: G! y! F
understand.
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I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the
4 X4 Q4 b0 g; HRepublican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the ! D* B& V- h* u `8 F6 N, T: v2 [
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because
+ Y7 } p( X% j, u3 Sthey are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One
|6 K, Q( \9 M/ ?1 O" G$ [4 V0 ^hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or 6 v7 O6 u& T4 o3 |2 Q" w @
dirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
" g5 B2 `2 R$ O' b. g5 Sto devastate a city. $ H1 g! ~* c7 ^2 l F# Z; |: j( j
8 [- G) w% V' c4 ^I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
/ u. L" ^# A4 f0 ?# Kand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies.
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What is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition
- u: a( H0 z b# Crooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops % i6 q9 V# c" F4 O
at the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a 5 r% F0 r6 M# W: d" C
president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice 7 q/ T& q; r1 g* X- K
President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our
1 U/ A% ~1 u- d( g$ ]history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt.
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$ w2 j. I% E& @" r1 P6 ~5 NMore important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the * e8 U" E& j* n/ ]2 [+ u
military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many ) v& E0 A" H0 c9 r
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in
$ \) E" S9 q: |. j7 D, {Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in 7 b) L9 O* g/ }% ^
Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably
) l4 v3 X2 u" m- n) q: a$ C) m3 ?supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam. ( N r& B0 h9 m; `2 q
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More important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we 6 {# B x- u" l. V8 y% j5 x
almost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the
& q c. R- h8 x: u/ ], mpresident is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—! H1 q( }# j$ C' G
even if it means a loss for America.
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When North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It
- [- Z7 a* S, d0 Uwas so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was
+ E2 F% Q( J$ j6 z6 s0 I( p; Nelected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman
$ e' m' e5 x$ w( a% j1 g4 Awas president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the
& i6 n8 t3 ?3 l g% @popular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. ' H) k; a) F3 k5 _5 T
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Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to 5 B$ b3 G7 f9 w: N. ^: p# b N
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the $ G, d0 j+ ]2 Z" C7 T
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s. 8 _. z# F& l7 {' g3 o1 }; ^( Q L
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
3 { K$ ?7 ^) E0 R% R! }extreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those * ?7 t- S+ z' ~! i, ^
of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to 3 V1 J+ F. x/ g1 v) Z
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
% X# F; j, M+ r/ r. }1 P1 oowe it to ourselves, our country and our children. ( t( s9 n- E# f& u$ V
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If we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the 1 J# X5 C1 K" g, Z$ r+ G
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we
. N, D" p- G6 U4 w% \& ~# kgenerally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse
9 F% Y _# x( T* s: Nfor it.
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, _; ] K J( VAmerica’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We
- M# l9 x! M7 g: B. k9 X6 q. G5 w$ {# vDemocrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action
" {5 w# Q8 \1 B9 |had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but ; m# @ j' l+ P0 e
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will
! O7 e8 N4 O, x2 N' U; Sreturn the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits 4 Y+ b# P* S4 \6 Y; ]* s
and not merely obstruct.
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If we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
& |9 ^9 D* h# x* U* ?this issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
/ {4 I8 R" k* X8 a5 E* Radmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we ! y" X% k5 _% I- I. {
want to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not / x. c0 ~/ G$ ^' q2 L( z- {5 s
because the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they
4 C, }* u4 v/ w, Q5 ewill. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the
Y; I5 m& ?" H8 q# ?3 Q6 f! PDemocrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. : y6 C- M1 }! g/ T! t
; b5 J( T' G0 Z/ y: C# P: N3 Z# gMr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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