RUSSIA AND TURKEY LAUNCH JOINT AIR STRIKES AGAINST THE ISLAMIC STATE: The Islamic State is a common enemy. Erdogan and Putin, however, have different political goals and different allies. Some of their different allies are the other guy’s enemies. So stay tuned.

ARMOR SNOW PLOW: One of the more interesting photos in StrategyPage’s Battle of the Bulge photo series. Members of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (82nd Airborne Division) advance through a forest — riding on and following a Sherman tank.

THE PIRACY THREAT: A world tour.

Sample:

There’s no easy solution to the recurring piracy in the Strait of Malacca. Pirates usually function on the margins of society, trying to get a cut of the good life in situations where there aren’t many options. This is usually in areas where state control is weakest or absent, in failing and “flailed” states. A flailing state is something like Nigeria, Indonesia, or the Philippines, where the government is managing to keep things together but is faced with serious problems with regions that are sometimes out of control.

HAMILTON OR MADISON?: Statisticians helped identify the likely author of 12 disputed Federalist Papers.

GERMAN PANZER GRENADIERS IN THE BULGE: The latest in StrategyPage’s Battle of the Bulge commemorative photo series. This one looks a bit like a propaganda photo, but perhaps not.

I was late in posting yesterday’s photo so I’ll bump it. Combat in the snow. As several commenters noted, it’s a particularly fine example of combat photography. Definitely not a staged photo.

IS THIS WHAT THE DONALD WANTED?: German leaders seek to forge ties with Team Trump. Source is the BBC.

The US president-elect has condemned Angela Merkel’s decision to let in 890,000 migrants as a “catastrophic mistake” and dismissed the European Union as “basically a vehicle for Germany”.

Trump has a knack for creating a favorable negotiating position. He’s demonstrated that in business. The New York Times and its echo chamber etceteras fail to understand this.

TURKISH POLICE ARREST ISTANBUL NIGHTCLUB ATTACKER:

Turkish police have arrested the main suspect in the New Year’s Eve attack on an exclusive nightclub in Istanbul after a huge manhunt.

Abdulkadir Masharipov is believed to have mounted the assault on the Reina club which left 39 people dead.

The Uzbek national is said to have been caught in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district.

Citizens of Israel, France, Tunisia, Lebanon, India, Belgium, Jordan and Saudi Arabia were among the victims, and dozens of people were injured.

The report includes a summary of the terror attack’s details, a sketch of the investigation and personal information about the terrorist.

GUNFIRE IN TEHRAN AS DRONE BUZZES IRAN’S CAPITAL:

Sustained gunfire rang out over central Tehran on Monday afternoon as anti-aircraft guns targeted what officials said was a drone flying over the Iranian capital.

Many residents ran to rooftops and craned their necks to see what was happening. Others sought shelter as bursts of machine gun fire echoed through the streets.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Tehran Governor Isa Farhadi as saying that the gunfire targeted a drone near restricted airspace in the capital.

It still isn’t clear who owned the drone.

The ayatollahs are nervous. They deserve to be.

RELATED: Don’t dismiss a “simultaneous strategic bombing strike” as “shock and awe.” The ayatollahs don’t dismiss it. A “simultaneous strategic bombing strike” is the kind of operation an unnamed nation with strategic bombers and missile systems might conduct with the goal of severely damaging an unnamed rogue nation’s nuclear weapons program.

THE BATTLE OVER OBAMACARE: The Christian Science Monitor says for many folks the problems with ObamaCare are personal, not political. Well, of course. This article attempts to give pro and con positions a fair shake, but dances around the fact the government forced many citizens to buy a product they didn’t want.

SNOW FIGHT: Soldiers from the 75th Infantry Division fighting in new fallen snow. Today’s StrategyPage Battle of the Bulge photo. The photo was probably taken on December 24 or 25, 1944. As the caption says, the 75th Infantry Division’s 290th Infantry Regiment landed in France on December 14. (Yes, this is an excellent photo — grim and gripping.)

GERMANS IN THE ARDENNES: Winter combat in a dense forest. Today’s StrategyPage Battle of the Bulge photo and another one that’s new to me. It’s sourced to a German archive. The caption says the photo was snapped December 22, 1944. The grenadier in the foreground is carrying an assault rifle.

UNKNOWN INDIVIDUALS ATTACK MOSUL HOME OF ISLAMIC STATE SENIOR LEADER: Can’t vouch for the source or its accuracy.

Unidentified individuals attacked the house of an Islamic State’s senior leader, north of the city of Mosul, a local source told Shafaaq News on Sunday.

The source said, “Unidentified individuals attacked the house of Omran Abu Mariam, the Islamic State’s leader in Diwan al-Harb (War Council), in al-Arabi neighborhood, north of Mosul, using hand grenades.”

“No casualties were reported so far, but the terrorist group started to lose its control over many areas in Mosul,” the source added on condition of anonymity.

A militia action? Who knows. The long house-to-house city fight for Mosul continues.

D.B. COOPER HIJACKING UPDATE: The FBI closed the 1971 airplane hijacking and ransom case in July 2016. The hijacker parachuted from the plane, with the cash. However, amateur sleuths have turned up an intriguing lead.

The three amateur scientists have found rare-Earth elements on the JCPenney tie the infamous skyjacker left behind when he jumped out of a commercial airplane on a blistering night in 1971, with $200,000 in unmarked bills, a parachute, and a raincoat. The sleuths say the elements could indicate Cooper was an engineer or manager in the aerospace industry.

This is an informative article with a succinct summary of the crime.

TEN YEARS AGO TODAY ON STRATEGYPAGE: Intelligence: The New Noise from Director of National Intelligence.

I’m posting this oldie without comment and current links — really don’t have time to do what I did yesterday with Strategic Weapons. Scan the decade-old post, consider current U.S. intelligence reports in the media, etc.

Oh yes — here’s one from January 13, 2007 I should have posted but I had no time. Information Warfare: Microsoft, the NSA and China. Scan the old post. Pull your chin. Hacking and digital privacy issues– are they topics with current resonance?

A lot’s changed, a lot hasn’t.

THE END OF RINGLING BROTHERS CIRCUS?: Say it ain’t so. Appears animal rights activists bear part of the blame.

After 146 years, the curtain is coming down on “The Greatest Show on Earth.” The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus told The Associated Press that the show will close forever in May.

The iconic American spectacle was felled by a variety of factors, company executives say. Declining attendance combined with high operating costs, along with changing public tastes and prolonged battles with animal rights groups all contributed to its demise.

The animal rights extremists forced Ringling Brothers to get rid of its elephants.

In May of 2016, after a long and costly legal battle, the company removed the elephants from the shows and sent the animals to live on a conservation farm in Central Florida. The animals had been the symbol of the circus since Barnum brought an Asian elephant named Jumbo to America in 1882. In 2014, Feld Entertainment won $25.2 million in settlements from groups including the Humane Society of the United States, ending a 14-year fight over allegations that circus employees mistreated elephants.

The animal rights bullies helped put some of the more talented people on the planet out of a job — I mean Ringling Brothers clowns and acrobats.

Some 500 people perform and work on both touring shows. A handful will be placed in positions with the company’s other, profitable shows – it owns Monster Jam, Disney on Ice and Marvel Live, among other things – but most will be out of a job. Juliette Feld said the company will help employees with job placement and resumes. In some cases where a circus employee lives on the tour rail car (the circus travels by train), the company will also help with housing relocation.

Too late to push back?

DEEP CONTEXT ON THE NEWS: How new is the news? Often it isn’t so new. For about five years the StrategyPage webmaster and I have been discussing starting a “Ten Years Ago On StrategyPage” feature. Two years ago a reader said we should have a feature that linked posts and analysis in the archive to current news. I told her we’re a garage band. Who has the time?

But we’re going to give it a try. When I became an Instapundit co-blogger Glenn encouraged me to make use of StrategyPage’s archives to provide readers with background on current defense and international topics.

Modernizing the U.S. nuclear arsenal is a current topic.

From January 14, 2007: Strategic Weapons: The Cost of Maintaining Missiles: “January 14, 2007: The U.S. Navy will pay about $400,000 a year for maintenance on each of its Trident II D5 SLBM (sea launched ballistic missiles)…”

The decade-old post is about maintenance. It’s short. But it’s a window into what it takes to maintain complex weapons. As time passes maintenance costs increase. Now it’s time to modernize.

Here’s an analysis of cost and consequences of current nuclear arsenal modernization (from The Hill.) And GEN Mattis’ take on the issue.

This archived post from January 18, 2007 is also related to current strategic weapons issues: THAAD Goes Into Production.
A battery of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missiles is now operational on Guam. Note the system’s name has changed but its acronym hasn’t.

I’m not sure how often I’ll have the time to do this, but I’ll try another one tomorrow. Maybe.

CARTEL DRUG LORD ORDERED TO PAY $1 MILLION INDEMNITY FOR DEA AGENT’S MURDER:

A Mexican federal court made the ruling.

A federal judge has ordered a drug lord convicted in the 1985 killings of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent and a Mexican government pilot to pay relatives of the victims nearly $1 million in compensation, officials said Friday.

The Federal Judicial Council announced the 20.8 million peso penalty in a statement without naming any of the parties involved.

But a judicial official confirmed that the order is directed at Ernesto “Don Neto” Fonseca Carrillo, co-founder of the Guadalajara cartel, for the case of the kidnapping, torture and killing of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.

THE FATHER OF PINYIN WRITING SYSTEM DEAD AT 111: Zhou Youguang’s efforts helped raise literacy rates in China. He became a critic of the dictatorship. He was born in 1906 during the Qing dynasty. Read the whole thing.

RENDEZVOUS NEAR RIVER L’OURT: The latest in StrategyPage’s Battle of the Bulge commemorative photo series. Bed sheets turned used as winter camouflage. The snow is deep.

TAKING A BREATHER FROM THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE: Today’s StrategyPage Battle of the Bulge photo. Three GIs enroute to the front take a break. The photo was snapped December 29, 1944. That’s a lot of gear to lug.

TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION: I spent the Wednesday, Thursday and today at the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s 2017 Texas Legislature policy orientation conference. Today I heard an excellent panel discussion on water resource development. The conference included a panel discussion featuring Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. The conference was held in Austin, TX.

THE MATTIS WAIVER: The full Senate approved, the House Armed Services Committee approved. “Mattis now needs only approval from the full House of Representatives.”

Normally the SecDef must “be at least seven years removed from active military duty.” Mattis retired in 2013.

Congress created the mandate with the National Security Act of 1947 — believing civilian leadership in the Pentagon ensures the fewest question marks for military policy, which has the potential to be unpopular with active duty members of the armed forces.

Only one waiver has ever been granted by Congress, for active U.S. Army Gen. George C. Marshall in 1950.

HOLDING THE JERRIES OFF ALL NIGHT LONG: That is the face of a very weary soldier. Great photo, informative caption. The latest in StrategyPage’s Battle of the Bulge photo series. (Bumped from this morning. Title now corrected!)

THE WORLD’S COLDEST CAPITALS: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia is the world leader in cold capital cities. It’s average annual temperature is -2.4 degrees Celsius. The link goes to that old Cold Warrior, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. RFE/RL credits the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

A-10 WARTHOG UPGRADES FOR COMBAT SEARCH AND RESCUE MISSIONS: A short but informative article.

Of all the fixed-wing aircraft in the US Air Force’s inventory, no plane carries out CSAR missions like the A-10. CSAR missions jump off with little warning and often involve going deep into enemy territory, so becoming certified to perform CSAR missions takes tons of training, which only A-10 pilots undergo. The A-10’s rugged survivability, massive forward firing power, newly acquired communication capabilities, and long loiter times at low altitudes make it ideal for flying low and slow and finding the lost person.

RELATED: From May 2016, when the plot to kill the A-10 was still in full swing. Can popularity save the A-10? Long post by Jim Dunnigan but has the details.