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 Iran Escalates
English Summary
Iran views the recent conflict not as a negotiating point, but as an existential struggle, leading the regime to adopt a hardened, uncompromising posture. Having survived major US strikes, Tehran's elites have lost all faith in diplomacy and believe the U.S. will never abandon the region. Consequently, Iran is pursuing a strategy of continuous, multi-domain escalation, targeting global energy markets, regional partners, and US military infrastructure to systematically degrade American presence. Policymakers must anticipate that the conflict will persist and escalate, as Iran aims to make the Middle East so costly that the U.S. is forced into a strategic withdrawal.
中文摘要
伊朗將近期衝突視為一場生存鬥爭，而非可協商的議題，這促使該政權採取了強硬且不妥協的立場。在經歷了美國的大規模打擊後，德黑蘭的精英階層已完全喪失對外交的信心，並相信美國絕不會拋棄該地區。因此，伊朗正在推動持續性的、多領域的升級戰略，目標是針對全球能源市場、區域夥伴以及美國軍事基礎設施，以系統性地削弱美國的駐軍存在。政策制定者必須預期衝突將持續升級，因為伊朗的目標是讓中東地區的成本高到足以迫使美國進行戰略性撤退。
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