I hope cold links are good as the temperature up in Ottawa is now just at 0F (known as the temperature where dogs whine and snot freezes in one’s nose).

Anyhow, here are my last links of 2013:

Lots of stuff out there on the Chinese Air Defense ID Zone, so here is one that clarifies what it is and what people are getting wrong.

The Aussies are out of their Afghanistan combat mission this week.  Here is a document that captures the details of the effort.  I found the Aussie case in my new book with David Auerswald to be the most fascinating because it was the most deceptive case.  The interesting thing about this doc is that it has links to the major statements by the Australian leadership, which indicate that unlike some other countries (Canada), Australia’s leadership did not hide from the war.

Tis exam time again and here are six types of profs/exams from College Humor.  Figure out if you fit any of these categories.

Nora Bensahel has been writing smart stuff about NATO and alliances for quite some time.  Here she and Jacob Stokes present a short summary of their take on the future of NATO.   Hopefully, my APSA proposal will be accepted so that I can explain why this approach, which relies on Smart Defense, is problematic and unlikely to ever be implemented.

Dan Drezner is moving from blogger to columnist at Foreignpolicy.com.  I guess once you win one Duckie, there is not that much left to achieve.  His morning snark will be missed, even as we will still get a weekly dose of Drezner.  I would not be blogging here at the Duck if it had not been for Dan’s influence on me.  So, thanks, Dan.

Finally, people often ask around this time of year about what books one has read that stand out.  For me, my favorite book of 2013 was Smuggler Nation by Peter Andreas.  I spewed here why this was my book of 2013.

Have yourselves a very wonderful break, where the elves (Santa’s or House elves or even … Tolkien’s) do all of your recommendation writing, article/manuscript/tenure reviewing and asundry service so that you can focus on your family, and, more importantly, some of the best TV we have ever seen (Breaking Bad, new O-black TV shows, etc).