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The Fixers: Dan Turrentine

 Earlier today, a former Democratic adviser named Dan Turrentine posted something unusually brave.

In response to President Trump's successful strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, a high-stakes, high-risk, maneuver that reportedly crippled Iran's nuclear infrastructure without U.S. casualties, Turrentine didn't condemn it. He didn't launch into caveats or partisan disclaimers. He simply said:

Why can't our Party just say it's great we achieved the objective and destroyed Iran's nuclear sites, God bless the soldiers who carried this out and made it home safely..."

It's a sentence that shouldn't be remarkable. But in today's climate, it's almost revolutionary.


Somewhere along the line, we became allergic to saying something worked if it came from the other side. We've trained ourselves to be so reactive, so ideologically conditioned, that even moments of clear national interest are filtered through tribal instinct.

But foreign policy–especially acts of war or national defense–is not supposed to be partisan theater. It is deadly serious. It affects real people in real time. When a strike succeeds in eliminating a hostile nuclear threat without escalating into open war, that is an objective good, no matter whose name was on the order.

You don't have to like the man.

You don't have to approve of the style.

You can–and should–ask hard questions about precedent, process, and aftermath.

But when an operation achieves a national security goal that has alluded us for 40 years–without civilian casualties, without entrenchment, without retaliation–then that's a moment for realism, not reflex.


Dan Turrentine didn't issue a press release. He made a human, reasonable observation. And yet it stood out like a flare in a storm–because it showed character over partisanship.

He reminded us that patriotism means celebrating the success of America, not just your party. That we can say "good job" to someone we oppose–not to endorse them, but to endorse truth, and seriousness, and shared interest.

This isn't about Trump. It's about whether we are still capable of intellectual honesty when the facts demand it.

You don't need to reinvent your worldview to acknowledge that sometimes the most effective solutions are the ones that cross ideological expectations:

  • Obama's drone program, while controversial, eliminated several top-level threats with fewer boots on the ground.
  • Bush's PEPFAR program saved over 25 million lives in Africa by fighting AIDS-a humanitarian legacy praised even by progressive health advocates.
  • Trump's strike on Qassem Soleimani, though criticized by some, removed a key architect of Iranian militancy and, arguably, reshaped Iran's tactical caution.
Now, Trump's dismantling of Iran's nuclear development–in defiance of years of diplomatic stalling–has succeeded. That deserves scrutiny. But it also deserves recognition.

What We Lose When We Can't Say "That Worked"

When we reduce foreign policy to campaign strategy, we lose sight of what matters most:

  • Credibility with our allies
  • Deterrence with our enemies
  • Unity in our own house
There are times when leadership isn't about who gets credit. It's about whether American interests are protected, and whether American lives are preserved.

If we can't acknowledge that because it messes with a narrative, then we're not doing politics anymore–we're doing theater.

Final Thought

Dan Turrentine said something simple, and true: "Just say it worked. Say thank you to the people who made it happen."

That's not weakness. That's maturity.

We will keep looking for an honoring that kind of thinking at this publication. Because the path forward isn't paved with loyalty tests and outrage. It's made by those willing to follow truth where it leads.

Even if it means saying, "That worked."

 

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