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.
What Was the War on Terror?
English Summary
The article argues that the U.S.'s 'War on Terror' was a massive strategic overreach, transforming necessary counterterrorism efforts into an expansive global military commitment. This expansion—exemplified by costly interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan across multiple administrations—resulted in catastrophic financial costs and severe damage to American credibility due to misjudgments and human rights violations. The core failure was the belief that military force could fundamentally transform entire regions, rather than simply eliminating specific threats. Policy implications suggest a necessary pivot away from 'forever global burdens' toward highly limited, targeted interventions focused strictly on immediate national security needs.
中文摘要
本文論述美國的「反恐戰爭」是一場巨大的戰略性過度擴張，將本應必要的反恐努力轉變為一項龐大的全球軍事承諾。這種擴張——以跨越多個政府時期在伊拉克和阿富汗進行的昂貴干預行動為例——導致了災難性的財政成本，並因誤判及侵犯人權等行為嚴重損害了美國的信譽。其核心失敗點在於人們相信軍事武力能夠從根本上改變整個地區，而非僅僅消除特定的威脅。政策啟示指出，必須將重心從「永久性的全球負擔」轉移開來，朝向高度有限、目標明確的干預行動，且這些行動必須嚴格聚焦於眼前的國家安全需求。
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