Dear Mr. President:
亲爱的总统先生:
I have been privileged to serve as our country’s 26th Secretary of Defense which has allowed me to serve alongside ourmen and women of the Department in defense of our citizens and our ideals.
我有幸担任我国第26任国防部长，这使我能够与我国国防部的所有工作人员一道为我国公民和我们的理想服务。
I am proud of the progress that has been made over the past two years on some of the key goals articulated in ourNational Defense Strategy: putting the Department on a more sound budgetaryfooting, improving readiness and lethality in our forces, and reforming theDepartment’s business practices for greater performance. Our troops continue to provide the capabilities needed to prevail in conflict and sustain strong U.S.global influence.
我为过去两年来在我们的国防战略中阐明的一些关键目标上取得的进展感到自豪：把国防部建立在一个更稳健的预算基础之上；提高我们部队的战备状况和打击能力；改革部门的业务实践以提高工作表现。我们的军队继续提供在冲突中取胜和维持强大美国全球影响力所需的能力。
One core belief I have always held is that our strength as a nation is inextricably linked to the strength of our uniqueand comprehensive system of alliances and partnerships. While the US remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interests orserve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies. Like you, I have said from the beginning that the armed forces of the United Statesshould not be the policeman of the world. Instead, we must use all tools ofAmerican power to provide for the common defense, including providing effective leadership to our alliances. NATO’s 29 democracies demonstrated that strengthin their commitment to fighting alongside us following the 9-11 attack onAmerica. The Defeat-ISIS coalition of 74 nations is further proof.
我一直坚信的一个核心信念是，我们国家的力量与我们独一无二和全面的联盟和伙伴关系的力量是密不可分的。尽管美国仍是自由世界不可或缺的国家，但如果不维持强大的联盟并尊重这些盟友，我们就无法保护我们的利益或有效地发挥这一作用。和你们一样，我从一开始就说过，美国的武装部队不应该成为世界的警察。相反，我们必须利用美国力量的所有工具来提供共同防御，包括为我们的联盟提供有效的领导。9-11袭击之后，北约的29个民主国家展现了与我们并肩作战的决心，由74个国家组成的击败ISIS的联盟进一步证明了这一点。
Similarly, I believe we must be resolute and unambiguous in our approach to those countries whose strategic interestsare increasingly in tension with ours. It is clear that China and Russia, for example, want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian model — gaining veto authority over other nations’economic, diplomatic, and security decisions — to promote their own interestsat the expense of their neighbors, America and our allies. That is why we mustuse all the tools of American power to provide for the common defense.
同样，我认为，我们必须坚决和毫不含糊地以我们自己的方式处理那些其战略利益与我们日益紧张的国家的关系。例如，中国和俄罗斯显然希望塑造一个符合其威权模式的世界——在其他国家的经济、外交和安全决策上获得否决权——以牺牲邻国、美国和我们的盟友的利益为代价促进自身利益。这就是为什么我们必须使用美国力量的所有工具来提供共同防御。
My views on treating allies with respectand also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitorsare strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues. We must do everything possible to advance an international order thatis most conducive to our security, prosperity and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances.
我对尊重盟国以及对恶意行为者和战略竞争对手保持清醒认识的看法，在过去40多年来我对这些问题的思考中得到了强烈的支持。我们必须尽一切可能促进最有利于我们的安全、繁荣和价值观念的国际秩序的形成，在这一努力中，我们联盟的团结使我们得到加强。
Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position. Theend date for my tenure is February 28, 2019, a date that should allowsufficient time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed as well as to make sure the Department’s interests are properly articulated and protected atupcoming events to include Congressional posture hearings and the NATO Defense Ministerial meeting in February. Further, that a full transition to a newSecretary of Defense occurs well in advance of the transition of Chairman of theJoint Chiefs of Staff in September in order to ensure stability within the Department.
因为你们有权选择一位在这些问题和其他问题上与你们观点更一致的国防部长，我相信我辞去我的职务是正确的选择。我的任期结束日期是2019年2月28日，这个日期应该为提名和确认继任者留出足够的时间，还可以确保国防部的利益在即将举行的活动中得到恰当的表达和维护，包括国会听证会和2月份的北约国防部长会议。此外，为了确保国防部内部的稳定，在9月参谋长联席会议主席交接之前，就会与新的国防部长做好全面交接。
I pledge my full effort to a smooth transition that ensures the needs and interests of the 2.15 million ServiceMembers and 732,079 DoD civilians receive undistracted attention of theDepartment at all times so that they can fulfill their critical,round-the-clock mission to protect the American people. I very much appreciate this opportunity to serve the nation and our men and women in uniform.
我保证，我将全力实现平稳过渡，确保215万名军人和732079名国防部文职人员的需求和利益在任何时候都不会受到干扰，以便他们能够完成关键的、24小时的任务，以保护美国人民。我非常感谢有这个机会为国家和我们所有的军人服务。
Jim N. Mattis
吉姆·马蒂斯