China has no cultural or political space between peace and war; they are a historic nation based on two points of polarity.  They see peace and war as coexisting with each other.
China accepts and believes opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another.  Flowing between these polar states is a natural dynamic to be used -with serious contemplation- in advancing objectives as needed.
Peace or war. Yin and Yang. Panda or Dragon. Culturally there is no middle position in dealings with communist China; they are not capable of understanding or valuing the western philosophy of mutual benefit where concession of terms gains a larger outcome.  If it does not benefit China, it is not done. The outlook is simply, a polarity of peace or war.  In politics or economics the same perspective is true.  It is a zero-sum outlook.
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford confirm to the Senate Armed Services Committee that Google’s work in China is directly benefiting the government and Chinese military.

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National Security Adviser John Bolton appears with Maria Bartiromo to discuss recent reports that Kim Jong-un is moving toward more nuclear testing.
Obviously that discussion moves quickly into the influence of China and Chairman Xi Jinping.
The frustrating question no-one ever seems to ask is not “if” China controls the DPRK government, but rather “to what extent”?
It has become more obvious in the past few years that North Korea’s Chairman Kim Jong-un has much less control over officials and military leadership within his own government than previously thought.
Does Chairman Xi and Beijing structurally control everything around Kim? Is Kim a hostage; forced to ride a dragon he doesn’t control?  I think the answer is yes.

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Once people start to realize that China controls North Korea as a proxy province, then the discussion can evolve toward the true nature of the challenge, and the way President Trump is precariously negotiating a hostage release while refusing to pay the ransom.
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Earlier today President Trump signed an Executive Order: “President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide”—the PREVENTS Initiative.
The President delivered remarks during the signing ceremony for the initiative:

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[White House] The Executive Order establishes a task force that includes the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security. The task force will develop a comprehensive public health roadmap for helping veterans pursue an improved quality of life and ending the national tragedy of veteran suicide.
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En route to the White House from Hanoi, Vietnam, Air-Force One stopped in Alaska for refueling.  During the stopover President Trump delivered remarks to U.S. troops stationed at Elmendorf AFB.
President Trump was greeted by Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy who accompanied the president to a base hangar where U.S. troops were gathered.

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One of President Trump’s more strategic messages within the State of the Union speech last night surrounds his statement toward China, Chairman Xi, and the proxy province of North Korea, Chairman Kim.  Emphasis mine:

[…]  “As part of a bold new diplomacy, we continue our historic push for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Our hostages have come home, nuclear testing has stopped, and there has not been a missile launch in 15 months.”
“If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea. Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one. And Chairman Kim and I will meet again on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam.”

Beyond announcing the dates and location for the next summit between President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un; many domestic political opponents, and even some allies, might criticize the highlighted part of the statement from the position of self importance.
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Senator Rand Paul delivers a righteous speech supporting President Trump’s decision to begin removing the US military from the Middle East, and calling out Mitch McConnell and the UniParty for undermining the president.   Rand is fired up. MUST WATCH:

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The Pentagon has announced today they are sending an additional 3,750 military troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to bolster the efforts of DHS and Border Patrol.

WASHINGTON – The Defense Department will deploy about 3,750 additional U.S. forces to the southwest border with Mexico, raising the number of active-duty troops at the border to about 4,350, the Pentagon said on Sunday.
The troops will provide support to U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations, including a mobile surveillance capability through the end of September, and they will lay about 150 miles (241 km) of concertina wire between ports of entry, the Defense Department said in a statement.

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Earlier today President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Dover Air Force Base to participate in a solemn tribute to fallen Americans.  President Trump saluted the casket carrying civilian contractor Scott A. Wirtz of St. Louis, Missouri, as his body was carried from a C-17 military aircraft into a waiting van.

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Scott Wirtz and three other Americans were killed in a suicide bombing Wednesday in the northern Syrian town of Manbij.  He was assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency as an operations support specialist.
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Earlier today President Donald Trump left the White House for an unannounced trip to Dover Air Force Base where he met with the families of four Americans killed in a suicide bombing in Syria last week.

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President Trump described this trip to the Delaware base as the most difficult task of a commander in chief. “When I’m going to meet relatives of some of our great great heroes that have fallen, I think it might be the toughest thing I have to do as president,” he said. “We’ve been hitting ISIS very hard over the last three weeks, in particular over the last three weeks, and it’s moving along very well. But when I took over it was a total mess,” President Trump added. “You do have to ask yourself — we’re killing ISIS for Russia, for Iran, for Syria, for Iraq, for a lot of other places. At some point, we want to bring our people back home.”
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Earlier today President Trump, Vice-President Pence and Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan delivered remarks to a pentagon audience surrounding the current missile defense review.

[Transcript] The Pentagon – Arlington, Virginia – 11:25 A.M. EST
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Acting Secretary Shanahan, Secretary Mark Esper, Secretary Wilson, distinguished members of Congress, members of the Joint Chiefs, the leadership of the Armed Forces of the United States, and to all of you who wear the uniform of the United States of America. It is my honor to be with you here today at the Pentagon as our President unveils his vision for our renewed commitment to American missile defense.
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