* CIA boss John Brennan defends post-9/11 strategy CIA Director John Brennan has defended the agency's post-9/11 interrogation methods but admitted some techniques were "harsh" and "abhorrent".
* Not Sci-Fi anymore: Navy's 'fully operational' laser gun blows up boats, drones (VIDEO) The US Navy continues to tout its sophisticated warship laser system, saying it has performed above expectations for the last four months of operational testing aboard the USS Ponce during its deployment in the Persian Gulf.
* New rockets, astronauts and missions: ESA looks forward to next 50 years All things considered 2014 was was an extraordinary year for the European Space Agency, most notably with its success in landing a probe on a comet.
* Pentagon Considering Deployment of Nuclear Missiles in Europe The Pentagon is considering the re-deployment of nuclear cruise missiles in Europe in response to a new Russian cruise missile that the United States has charged violates a 1987 nuclear treaty, a senior Pentagon official told Congress on Wednesday.
* Russia Baltic military actions 'unprecedented' - Poland Poland says the level of Russian naval and air force activity in the Baltic Sea region has been "unprecedented" this week.
* Israeli and Palestinian officials issue conflicting accounts of autopsy on PA minister Health Ministry says minister's fragile heart condition caused him to be more sensitive to stress.
* Jihadism: Tracking a month of deadly attacks Jihadist attacks killed more than 5,000 people in just one month, an investigation by the BBC World Service and King's College London has found.
* ISIS releases horrifying sex slave pamphlet, justifies child rape The Islamic State militant group has released a guide to the capture, punishment and rape of female non-believers.
* Intelligence Officials: Enhanced Interrogation Helped Save Lives, Capture Terrorists and Protect America With enhanced interrogation back in the headlines after the release of the Senate Democrats' blistering report on the CIA, it's worth noting many former intelligence officials' comments, both now and in the past, about its benefits in protecting the homeland.
* IDF official: Israel must foster unlikely alliances with regional neighbors to combat ISIS threat The threat of Islamic State has compelled Israel to foster unlikely alliances, or 'frenemies,' IDF Planning Directorate head, Maj.-Gen. Nimrod Shefer tell Post's Diplomatic Conference.