The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
Nuclear credibility in theory and in practice
English Summary
The analysis of U.S.-involved nuclear crises finds that nuclear stability is not associated with strategic superiority, but rather with rough parity between nuclear-armed states. Key evidence indicates that crises were significantly less frequent when the United States and its adversary approached mutual capability balance, suggesting that assured second-strike capability is the primary stabilizing factor. Consequently, the report advises that policy efforts should focus on maintaining this balance through negotiated reductions in overall stockpiles, rather than pursuing costly increases in arsenal size or strategic advantage.
中文摘要
對美俄等涉及核危機的分析指出，核穩定性並非與戰略優勢相關，而是與核武國家之間大致的均勢有關。關鍵證據顯示，當美國及其對手接近相互能力平衡時，危機的發生頻率顯著降低，這表明確保的二次報復能力是主要的穩定因素。因此，本報告建議政策努力應著重於透過協商減少總庫存來維持這種平衡，而非追求昂貴的軍備規模擴張或戰略優勢。
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