Politics

REED_0211

Members of the Army Color Guard wait to bring in the flag while a large U.S. flag hangs from firetrucks behind them at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, July 27, 2011. The medical center held a ceremony Wednesday to officially "case the colors" as a transition to medical services at Bethesda Naval Medical Center and Ft. Belvoir. The flags of the various Walter Reed medical units were retired by rolling them up and covering them. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

REED_0210

The shadow of SPC Brenton Wallace, U.S. Army, is seen as he salutes a higher ranking officer outside of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, July 27, 2011. Hundreds of visitors came to Walter Reed Wednesday for a ceremony to officially "case the colors" as a transition to medical services at Bethesda Naval Medical Center and Ft. Belvoir. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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SPC E4 Lazaro Mtunguja, left, and Sgt. Betsy Rodriguez, both U.S. Army, adjust some of the 50 state flags outside of Walter Reed Army Medical Center Wednesday, July 27, 2011 before a ceremony to officially "case the colors" as a transition to medical services at Bethesda Naval Medical Center and Ft. Belvoir. Casing the colors involves retiring the flags that have served as symbols of the various medical units. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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SPC E4 Erika Draht, U.S. Army, adjusts one of the 50 state flags outside of Walter Reed Army Medical Center before a ceremony to officially "case the colors" as a transition to medical services at Bethesda Naval Medical Center and Ft. Belvoir. Casing the colors involves retiring the flags that have served as the symbols of the different medical units. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (right), Nevada Democrat, and Sen. Charles Schumer, New York Democrat, leave a news conference on Capitol Hill on July 27, 2011, after talking about the conflicting plans to deal with the debt crisis. (Associated Press)

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Norway's Prime minister Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference in Oslo on July 27, 2011. (Associated Press)

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a meeting of the Central Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the West Bank city of Ramallah on July 27, 2011. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

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From left: House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Peter King, New York Democrat, speaks July 27, 2011, with committee members Rep. Bennie Thompson of Missouri, the committee's ranking Democrat; Rep. Loretta Sanchez, California Democrat; and Rep. Al Green, Texas Democrat, on Capitol Hill before the committee's hearing on Islamic radicalization in the U.S., focusing on recruitment within the Muslim American community. (Associated Press)

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An Afghan border police man stands guard on a wall near the mayor's office in Kandahar south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, July 27, 2011. The mayor of Kandahar was assassinated on Wednesday by a suicide bomber who hid explosives in his turban, Afghan officials said. (AP Photo/ Allauddin Khan)

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada speaks with reporters about the conflicting plans to deal with the debt crisis, Tuesday, July 26, 2011, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Thousands of young Israelis marched in downtown Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest rising housing prices, the first major demonstration in a movement calling attention to the soaring cost of living. (Associated Press)

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House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican (right), greets Lorren Leadmon, an ATF intelligence operations specialist, before the hearing Tuesday about the fallout from "Operation Fast and Furious." At left is Carlos Canino, ATF acting attache to Mexico.

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DREW ANGERER/THE WASHINGTON TIMES UNDER OATH: On hand to testify about "Operation Fast and Furious" failings before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday are from left: Jose Wall, ATF agent; Carlos Canino, ATF attache to Mexico; Lorren Leadmon, ATF intelligence specialist; and William Newell, former ATF agent.

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY DREW ANGERER/THE WASHINGTON TIMES ATF officials are sworn in Tuesday at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the failings of "Operation Fast and Furious." From left are: Jose Wall, senior special agent; Carlos Canino, acting attache to Mexico: Lorren Leadmon, intelligence operations specialist; William Newell, former special agent in charge; and William McMahon, deputy assistant director for field operations.

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** FILE ** South Sudan President Salva Kiir (center) and Sudan President Omar al-Bashir (right) stand on the podium at the start of independence celebrations in Juba, South Sudan, on Saturday, July 9, 2011. (AP Photo/David Azia)

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** FILE ** Army Gen. Martin Dempsey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, July 26, 2011, at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Associated Press)

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Army Gen. Martin Dempsey is welcomed by Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, before testifying Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee on his nomination to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "It's important that we place everything on the table, so that we can maintain balance at whatever level [of cuts] we end up at," he said of impending defense budge cuts. (Associated Press)