Defense Is Not Like Other Discretionary Spending.

I Think In The Policies That Have Been Followed Since The President Donald Trump Came Into Office, There Really Hasn't Been Any Slack Cut For The Russians. And I Think One Of The Things That Has Surprised People Has Been That The Relationship Between The United States And Russia Has In Fact Deteriorated Since The Election.

Every Time We Have Come To The End Of A Conflict, Somehow We Have Persuaded Ourselves That The Nature Of Mankind And The Nature Of The World Have Changed On An Enduring Basis And So We Have Dismantle Our Military And Intelligence Capabilities. My Hope Is That As We Wind Down In Iraq And Whatever The Level Of Our Commitment In Afghanistan, That We Not Forget The Basic Nature Of Humankind Has Not Changed.

It's Clear The Relationship Between China And North Korea Has Hardly Ever Been Worse. Kim Jong-un Has Never Been To Beijing In His Leadership. The Chinese Press Are Saying Some Amazingly Negative Things About The North, And About Kim Jong-un. So - So They Are Weighing In, And They Are Bringing Greater Pressure. Whether It Will Be Enough I Think Remains To Be Seen.

What I Know Concerns Me. What I Don't Know Concerns Me Even More. What People Aren't Telling Me Worries Me The Most.

It Has Become Clear That America's Civilian Institutions Of Diplomacy And Development Have Been Chronically Undermanned And Underfunded For Far Too Long - Relative To What We Spend On The Military, And More Important, Relative To The Responsibilities And Challenges Our Nation Has Around The World.