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.
Why the Cease-Fire With Iran Will Hold
English Summary
The article argues that the recent cease-fire between the United States and Iran is structurally likely to hold, despite both sides claiming victory. This stability is attributed to the inherent constraints of the conflict itself, which forced both parties into a de facto draw. Using the analogy of a complex game, the analysis suggests that the structure of the geopolitical 'game' constrained the decision-making of all involved players. For policy, this implies that the conflict is entering a predictable endgame phase, suggesting a period of managed de-escalation rather than immediate, volatile escalation.
中文摘要
本文提出，儘管美伊雙方均宣稱取得勝利，但近期停火協議在結構上具有持續的可能性。這種穩定性歸因於衝突本身固有的限制，迫使雙方處於一種事實上的平局（de facto draw）。分析援引複雜博弈的類比，指出地緣政治「遊戲」的結構限制了所有參與方的決策過程。對於政策制定而言，這意味著衝突正進入一個可預測的終局階段，預示著一段受控的降級（managed de-escalation）期，而非即時的、劇烈的升級。
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