Soldier Waterboards Daughter, 4, Over ABCs

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama is set to prohibit waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques by mandating the CIA follow the US Army Field Manual when questioning suspects, the AP reports. But as the president-elect debates whether to make the changes through legislation or presidential fiat, the incoming administration is also considering a loophole that would allow controversial methods in pressing situations. More»

Pentagon sees a huge spike among service members

(NEWSER) - More and more American soldiers are using synthetic marijuana, specifically an herbal concoction called "Spice" that is both potent and easy to get, reports AP . The Pentagon put into place a rigorous testing program this year that flagged more than 1,000 troops. One stat shows the spike: Two years ago, the Navy investigated 29 Marines for using Spice. This year, it was more than 700. The Air Force, meanwhile, punished 500 members in 2011. More»

David Hickman, 23, was last of some 4,500 to die

(NEWSER) - On Nov. 14, just a month before the final US troops left Iraq, a 23-year-old soldier lost his life to an improvised explosive device. David Emanuel Hickman was the last American to be killed in a war that cost some 4,500 Americans their lives, the AP reports. With the US mission over, his family and friends are remembering him as a jokester with the nickname "Zeus" (because, he playfully said, his physique was so impressive the gods would be envious); as an outside linebacker who was the linchpin of a defense so complicated his high school had to scrap it after he graduated because no other teen could figure it out; as someone with a goal of one day joining the Special Forces, and who, in the words of a friend, "didn’t sign up to get his life on track. He wanted to be a physically and mentally elite soldier." More»

That torture is still being debated is Obama's fault, says Andrew Cohen

(NEWSER) - Just a day after Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann said they supported waterboarding , President Obama re-affirmed that the procedure is torture and "contrary to America's traditions," reports the AP . Obama and his administration have said that waterboarding is torture and illegal since taking office, but after several Republican candidates revived the subject in Saturday night's foreign policy debate, the president re-stated his position in a news conference at Hawaii's APEC meeting. More»

Pfc. Kevin Flippin convicted of assaulting 16-year-old

(NEWSER) - A 21-year-old US soldier stationed in South Korea has been sentenced to 10 years in prison today for raping a 16-year-old girl. Pfc. Kevin Flippin was convicted of breaking into the girl’s boarding room and threatening her with scissors, a knife, and a lighter while committing numerous “sadistic and sexually perverted acts." He also robbed her of about $4.50. More»