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.
The Archipelago and the Umbrella: Harmonizing French and NATO Nuclear Deterrence
English Summary
The article argues that France's new forward deterrence concept, while preserving national independence, is fundamentally compatible with NATO's collective defense architecture if implemented through careful coordination. Convergence is possible by focusing on enhancing conventional capabilities and utilizing a dispersed 'archipelago' model for signaling, which aligns with broader European burden-sharing goals. However, the primary risk lies in uncoordinated nuclear signaling, which could undermine credibility or fragment allied cohesion during a crisis. For policy success, allies must build integrated defense industrial capacity and ensure that joint exercises demonstrate collective mission readiness rather than merely political support.
中文摘要
本文論述法國的新前沿嚇阻概念，雖然維護了國家獨立性，但若透過周詳的協調機制實施，其本質上與北約的集體防禦架構是相容的。透過著重提升傳統戰力並運用分散式的「群島」模式進行信號傳遞，可以實現趨同，這也符合歐洲更廣泛的負擔分攤目標。然而，主要的風險在於缺乏協調的核武信號發出，這可能會削弱威懾的可信度，或在危機期間導致盟國凝聚力瓦解。為達成政策成功，盟國必須建立整合性的國防工業能力，並確保聯合演習展現的是集體任務戰備狀態，而非僅是政治上的支持。
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