Overnight Defense: Netanyahu brings Iran case to Congress

THE TOPLINE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Tuesday address to Congress warned lawmakers that President Obama's proposed nuclear deal with Iran would start the countdown to a "nuclear nightmare." He said the emerging deal "would all but guarantee" that Iran gets nuclear weapons -- "lots of them," and urged lawmakers to oppose the deal. "For more than a year, we've been told that no deal is better than a bad deal. Well, this is a bad deal. It's a very bad deal. We're better off without it," he said. Netanyahu said that without a "dramatic change," the current negotiations will result in a deal that would let Iran keep most of its nuclear program, while relying too heavily on inspectors who, he said, have been tricked before. More than 50 House Democrats skipped the speech, in part to protest Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) decision to invite Netanyahu without first notifying the White House. Democrats were also upset that the address was scheduled close to the Israeli elections. After the speech, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called it an "insult" to the country and said she was "near tears" throughout it. "The unbreakable bonds between the United States and Israel are rooted in our shared values, our common ideals and mutual interests," Pelosi said in a statement just after the speech. "That is why, as one who values the U.S. -- Israel relationship, and loves Israel, I was near tears throughout the Prime Minister's speech -- saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States as part of the P5 +1 nations, and saddened by the condescension toward our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran and our broader commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation," she said. PETRAEUS TO PLEAD GUILTY: Former CIA Director David Petraeus struck a plea deal with federal prosecutors over charges that he gave classified information to his mistress, ending a probe that began in 2012. A Justice Department spokesman said Petraeus will plead guilty to one count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material. He should receive two year's probation and pay a $40,000 fine as part of his deal, which must still be approved by a judge. The deal allows Petraeus to avoid a trial that could make public more details of his extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell, who wrote a biography about his time as a soldier and Army general. The government's case is centered on small black books that Petraeus used for taking notes while commanding U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Authorities said no classified material from the books appeared in Broadwell's biography, "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus." But the Justice Department said that Petraeus had lied to FBI agents about providing the information to Broadwell. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) issued a statement backing the former CIA chief. "With the Department of Justice investigation now complete, General Petraeus has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. He has apologized and expressed deep regret for this situation, and I believe it is time to consider this matter closed," he said. "At a time of grave security challenges around the world, I hope that General Petraeus will continue to provide his outstanding service and leadership to our nation, as he has throughout his distinguished career," McCain added. BENGHAZI CHAIR TROUBLED BY CLINTON EMAILS: Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, called Hillary Clinton's use of a private email account as secretary of State "troubling." He also said the disclosure could prompt lawmakers to ask her to testify multiple times before a panel investigating the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya. "You do not need a law degree to understand how troubling this is," he said at a press conference attended by five other Republicans on his panel. "In the past I had thought that we would have a singular invitation to discuss the before during and after Benghazi," Gowdy said. But "this revelation ... may well lay the groundwork for additional conversations with the secretary, in some setting or another," he added. Gowdy said the panel would also look into whether members of Clinton's staff also used personal email accounts to carry out U.S. foreign policy. And he brushed off a suggestion by Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), the top Democrat on his panel, that he make the messages public. "I am not going to make any emails public," said Gowdy, who argued it is unclear how many emails Clinton has released to his committee. "We have no idea whether this represents 10 percent of the document production, 50 percent of the document production," he said. "Whatever exists today could be contradicted by what's produced tomorrow." Gowdy suggested the committee has approached Clinton's email providers to investigate whether emails have not been turned over to his panel. Separately, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, issued a statement saying he would work with Gowdy's panel to determine if Clinton violated the Federal Records Act. 8,500 ISIS FIGHTERS KILLED: The U.S. military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has killed 8,500 enemy fighters so far, the commander overseeing the effort said Tuesday. "Make no mistake, [ISIS] is losing this fight," said Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Central Command at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday. The last update officials gave on enemy fighters killed came in late January, when officials said more than 6,000 ISIS fighters have been killed. The Pentagon has shied away from using numbers of enemy fighters killed as a metric for success, given the broader challenges in containing ISIS and preventing the group from taking new territory. The U.S. has led a six-month military effort against ISIS involving U.S. and coalition member airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, training 12 brigades of Iraqi forces, and training and equipping moderate rebels in Syria to fight ISIS on the ground. Austin said the U.S. would begin training the moderate Syrian rebels later this month. It is expected to take eight to 12 months to produce 5,000 fighters to take on ISIS and push back against the Syrian regime. He also touched on what's seen as a weakness in the administration's strategy against ISIS -- the lack of clarity over its policy toward Syria and its leader, Bashar Assad. Austin said the U.S. needs to "first get things under control in Iraq ... before expanding efforts to Syria." If the U.S. does that, "I believe that we can and believe that we will be successful." IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - House approves Homeland Security funding in 257-167 vote - Senate could take up Iran bill next week - Pakistani diplomat: Slowing Afghan drawdown would be seen 'positively' - Snowden has 'desire to return' home - State: No classified emails sent through Clinton's personal account Please send tips and comments to Kristina Wong, kwong@thehill.com, and Martin Matishak, mmatishak@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @thehill, @kristina_wong, @martinmatishak