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.
Why Putin is again rattling the nuclear saber
English Summary
The Brookings analysis argues that Putin's repeated nuclear saber-rattling is a calculated tool of coercion, designed to intimidate the West rather than signaling a genuine intent for nuclear war. This is evidenced by a clear historical pattern: previous threats, including those related to Kaliningrad, have been raised but ultimately abandoned. Consequently, the report advises that Western powers should not be intimidated by the nuclear threat, but instead focus their strategic efforts on countering Russia's more predictable and manageable hybrid warfare attacks, such as cyberattacks and sabotage.
中文摘要
布魯金斯智庫的分析指出，普丁重複的核武恫嚇是一種經過計算的脅迫工具，其目的在於恐嚇西方，而非傳達實質發動核戰的意圖。歷史模式提供了證據：過去的威脅，包括與加里寧格勒相關的威脅，都曾被提出但最終被放棄。因此，該報告建議西方國家不應被核威脅所嚇倒，而應將戰略精力集中於應對俄羅斯更具可預測性和可控性的混合戰攻擊，例如網路攻擊和破壞行為。
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