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 Rise and Fall of Global Jihadism
English Summary
The article argues that global jihadism has fundamentally lost its ideological salience and transnational capability, despite the initial shock of 9/11. Key evidence suggests that major regional conflicts, such as those in the Middle East, have failed to trigger the expected jihadi surge, largely due to the loss of safe havens and sophisticated organizational infrastructure. Consequently, the policy implication is a strategic pivot away from massive, ground-based counter-insurgency wars toward intelligence-led, targeted operations, utilizing special forces and allied cooperation to disrupt decentralized networks.
中文摘要
本文論述，儘管經歷了「九一一」事件的初始衝擊，全球聖戰主義（jihadism）的意識形態顯著性與跨國能力已已根本性地衰退。關鍵證據顯示，包括中東在內的各大區域衝突，未能引發預期的聖戰激增，這主要歸因於安全庇護所和複雜組織基礎設施的喪失。因此，政策上的啟示是，戰略重心應從大規模、地面化的反叛亂作戰，轉向依賴情報、精準的行動模式，利用特種部隊和盟國合作來瓦解去中心化的網絡。
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