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.
Russias UAV Campaign Over Europe
English Summary
The IISS argues that Russia conducted a systematic UAV campaign over Europe to exploit structural weaknesses in allied air defense and political cohesion. This campaign demonstrated that Europe's existing counter-air architecture was designed for conventional threats, not low-cost, deniable incursions aimed at exposing gaps in detection, legal authority, and collective response thresholds. The resulting vulnerability exposed political fractures within NATO and highlighted the limits of European deterrence postures. Policymakers must urgently address fragmented legal frameworks and slow attribution processes to build a comprehensive counter-UAV defense that operates before threats enter national airspace.
中文摘要
國際戰略研究所（IISS）認為，俄羅斯在歐洲進行了系統性的無人機（UAV）行動，旨在利用盟國防空和政治凝聚力方面的結構性弱點。此次行動顯示，歐洲現有的反空架構是為應對傳統威脅而設計的，而非針對低成本、可否認的入侵行為。這些入侵的目標是暴露在偵測、法律權威以及集體反應門檻上的漏洞。由此產生的脆弱性暴露出北約內部存在的政治裂痕，並凸顯了歐洲嚇阻態勢的局限性。政策制定者必須緊急解決碎片化的法律框架和緩慢的歸因流程，從而建立一套全面的反無人機防禦體系，使其能在威脅進入國家空域之前就已運作。
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