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.
Golden Dome: From Bad to Worse
English Summary
The article argues that the proposed 'Golden Dome' homeland missile defense project is fiscally unsound and strategically infeasible, citing a projected cost of $1.2 trillion that consumes a massive portion of the defense budget for limited defensive capability. It contends that such systems are unlikely to protect against advanced threats and could dangerously increase the risk of preemptive conflict. Instead of funding this costly infrastructure, policymakers should focus on pragmatic, proven methods to de-escalate tensions and deter the use of nuclear weapons, rather than attempting to 'win' a nuclear war.
中文摘要
本文論證，提議的「金穹」本土導彈防禦計畫在財政上不穩健，且戰略上不可行。文章指出，該計畫預計成本高達一.二兆美元，將消耗防禦預算的大部分，卻只能提供有限的防禦能力。其主張，此類系統難以抵禦先進威脅，反而可能危險地增加發生先發制人衝突的風險。政策制定者不應將資金投入此類成本高昂的基礎設施，而應將重點放在實用且經證實的方法上，以降低緊張局勢和威懾核武使用，而非試圖「贏得」一場核戰。
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