The country’s new defense strategy envisioned a dramatic shakeup(重大改组). It prioritized the homeland and repositioned forces that had patrolled distant frontiers for nearly a century. It handed the task of securing farther-flung(更遥远的) defensive perimeters to allies, many of which appeared unprepared to take on the burden. Establishment experts were appalled. Hawks warned that the new strategy would embolden adversaries and advocated for the old approach of being strong everywhere at once.(鹰派警告说，新战略会助长对手的胆量，并主张采用旧有的、同时在所有地方都保持强大的方法。)
该国的新国防战略设想了一次重大改组。它优先考虑本土，并重新部署了已巡逻遥远边界近一个世纪的部队。它将对更偏远防御外围的保卫任务交给盟友，而其中许多盟友似乎尚未准备好承担这一负担。建制派专家感到震惊。鹰派警告说，新战略会助长对手的胆量，并主张采用旧有的、同时在所有地方都保持强大的方法。
The year was 1904, and the country was the United Kingdom. It faced a dilemma(困境) broadly similar to the one the United States now confronts. Its empire was the world’s strongest power. Its navy had more warships than the next two largest navies combined. But its strategic situation was deteriorating. Britain’s economic primacy was beginning to slip as rising powers surpassed it in industrial production. Imperial Germany was building a blue-water fleet(蓝水海军). France and Russia were mounting fresh challenges to British power in Africa and Asia. The United States and Japan, new rivals, were pursuing dominance over their regions. British leaders had a choice: they could keep trying to outgun all these competitors or try something new.
这一年是1904年，该国是英国。它面临的困境与美国现在面临的困境大致相似。其帝国是世界上实力最强的强国。其海军拥有的军舰比排名第二和第三的海军总和还多。但战略形势正在恶化。英国的经济主导地位开始下滑，因为新兴大国在工业生产上超越了它。德意志帝国正在建设一支蓝水海军。法国和俄罗斯在非洲和亚洲对英国的权力发起新的挑战。美国和日本作为新对手，正寻求在其所在地区的主导地位。英国的领导人面临选择：他们可以继续试图在所有竞争对手面前保持武力优势，或者尝试一些新的做法。
The country’s top admiral, John “Jacky” Fisher, opted for the latter course. He outlined a strategy to shore up(支撑) the British position that could be characterized as consolidation. Consolidation is when a state focuses on its foremost interests while ramping up(增加；提升) national resources to increase the power at its disposal over time. This was not retrenchment or acquiescence to national decline. Fisher decided that instead of trying to maintain all of the British Empire’s far-flung naval stations, he would prioritize the waters adjacent to the British Isles to deter Germany, the United Kingdom’s top threat. To cover the gaps this created elsewhere, he aimed to rely on regional allies, such as Japan and France, that British diplomats were courting. By doing so, he hoped to buy time(争取时间) for the United Kingdom to mobilize its powerful industries and stay ahead of its rivals in leading technologies.
该国最高海军将领约翰·“杰基”·费舍尔选择了后一条道路。他概述了一项旨在支撑英国地位的战略，可以称之为巩固。巩固是指一个国家专注于其最核心的利益，同时逐步增加国家资源以增强其可支配的实力。这不是收缩或对国家衰落的默认。费舍尔决定，他不再试图维持大英帝国所有分散的海军基地，而是优先考虑不列颠群岛邻近水域，以威慑英国最大的威胁——德国。为了弥补这在其他地方造成的缺口，他计划依靠英国外交官正在争取的区域盟友，如日本和法国。通过这样做，他希望为英国争取时间，动员其强大的工业，并在领先技术上保持对竞争对手的优势。
SPREAD TOO THIN
过度分散
RECHARGING THE BATTERIES
重新充电
A FRESH START
新的开始
NO PAIN, NO GAIN
没有付出就没有收获
BACK ON SOLID GROUND
回到坚实的基础上