Politics

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Explosion and smoke rise following an Israeli strike in Gaza, seen from the Israel Gaza Border, southern Israel, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. Israel bombarded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip with more than 180 airstrikes early Saturday, the military said, widening a blistering assault on militant operations to include the prime minister's headquarters, a police compound and a vast network of smuggling tunnels. The new attacks followed an unprecedented rocket strike aimed at the contested holy city of Jerusalem that raised the stakes in Israel's violent confrontation with Palestinian militants. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

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**FILE** Rep. Allen West, Florida Republican, is seen here during an Oct. 4, 2011, news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Associated Press)

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The Iron Dome defense system fires to interecpt incoming missiles from Gaza in the port town of Ashdod, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that the army is prepared for a “significant widening” of its operation in the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo /Tsafrir Abayov)

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Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, following a closed-door hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee where former CIA Director David Petraeus testified on the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Libya. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

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House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, following the House Intelligence Committee hearing on the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Libya and testimony by former CIA Director David Petraeus . (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., right, accompanied by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, gestures as he speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington, Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, following their meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss the economy and the deficit. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, center, followed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., left, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., approaches the microphones outside the White House in Washington on Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, to speaks to reporters following their meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss the economy and the deficit. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., second from left, accompanied by, from left, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington, Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, following their meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss the economy and the deficit. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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Members of the media try to get a peek inside the hallway down to the room where Gen. David Petraeus testifies about the Benghazi attack behind closed doors at the U.S. Capitol on Friday, Nov. 16, 2012. The general was expected to say that he knew the attack was terror-based from the beginning. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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A member of the media photographs the car which it is believed to hold former CIA Director David Petraeus as he is driven away from the Capitol Building after meeting with lawmakers behind closed doors inside the Capitol Visitors Center, Washington, D.C., Friday, November 16, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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The motorcade with Gen. David Petraeus leaves the U.S. Capitol on Friday, Nov. 16, 2012 following the general's closed-door testimony about the Benghazi attacks. The general was expected to say that he knew the attack was terror-based from the beginning. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)