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.
A better way to spend $350 billion at the Pentagon
English Summary
The Brookings article argues that while a large defense budget, including the proposed $350 billion mandatory funding pot, is necessary given geopolitical challenges posed by rivals like China and Russia, the current proposal lacks democratic accountability. The author stresses that the specific spending categories are largely reasonable—particularly investments in the industrial base and next-generation technology—but must be implemented with proper oversight. Crucially, the funds should not be delivered as a single, unconstrained pot of money. Instead, Congress must mandate that this funding be spread out over the decade through bipartisan debate and rigorous annual reevaluation to maintain checks and balances.
中文摘要
布魯金斯智庫的文章指出，鑑於來自中國和俄羅斯等競爭對手的地緣政治挑戰，維持龐大的國防預算（包括提議的3500億美元強制性資金池）是必要的。然而，作者強調目前的提案缺乏民主問責機制。文章肯定了特定支出類別的大部分合理性——特別是在工業基礎和下一代技術方面的投資——但要求這些支出必須透過適當的監督來實施。至關重要的是，這筆資金不應作為單一、不受約束的資金池撥付。相反地，國會必須立法規定，將此資金分散在整個十年期間，並透過兩黨辯論和嚴格的年度重新評估機制進行管理，以維持制衡（checks and balances）。
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