CNN news 2011-12-21 加文本

cnn news 2011-12-21

CARL AZUZ, HOST, cnn STUDENT NEWS: Welcome to cnn Student News where Fridays are awesome, and that is especially true for the students at Boonville (ph) high school in Boonville (ph), Indiana, because someone there correctly answered our social media question of the week.

This is our last show of 2011, and we`re going to do a lot of looking forward to next year. But we are starting with an ending.

More than eight years after it began, the U.S. military mission in Iraq is officially over. During a ceremony yesterday in Baghdad, American troops lowered the flag of command that flew over the Iraqi capital. One American official said that it`s time for Iraq to look forward, and he added, quote, "We owe it to all of the lives that were sacrificed in this war not to fail. Jonathan Mann looks back at the history of this conflict.

JONATHAN MANN, cnn REPORTER (voice-over): What began with shock and awe and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein has now ended quietly with the casing of the colors. Eight years, eight months and 26 days after it began, the U.S. officially ended its mission in Iraq. On Thursday, U.S. troops in Baghdad lowered the American flag for the last time. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta presided over the symbolic ceremony.

U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY LEON PANETTA: You will leave with great pride, lasting pride, secure in knowing that your sacrifice has helped the Iraqi people begin a new chapter in history.

MANN (voice-over): More than 4,500 hundred Americans have been killed since the conflict began, while it`s estimated that more than 100,000 Iraqis have died.

JAMES JEFFREY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: We look back at the sacrifices made by so many Americans and so many Iraqis. But we also look forward to an Iraq that is sovereign, secure and self-reliant.

MANN (voice-over): But nearly nine years after the war began, some current and former U.S. military brass questioned if U.S. troops are leaving too soon.

GENERAL MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY (RET): In my judgment, we could have used the next few years training and developing the Iraqi security forces so that those hard-won gains that our soldiers have achieved would be permanent and not speculative.

MANN (voice-over): Of the 5,500 U.S. troops still in Iraq, almost all must leave the country by December 31st -- Jonathan Mann reporting.

AZUZ: In Washington, lawmakers are trying to reach some compromises. Congress is scheduled to go on its holiday break after today. That means this is the deadline for action on a couple pieces of legislation.

AZUZ (voice-over): The first is the payroll tax cut we`ve told you about. It`s set to expire at the end of the year. Congress is considering extending the tax cut. If they don`t, it could mean higher taxes for working Americans next year.

The other piece of legislation is a government spending bill. If this doesn`t get passed, there could be a partial government shutdown. On Thursday evening, the White House and leaders from the House and Senate said they were making progress on both of these issues. But you can get the latest developments on what`s happening with them at cnn.com.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s Shoutout goes out to all cnn Student News viewers around the world. Which of these events from 2011 happened first? Was it final space shuttle mission, royal wedding in England, U.S. credit rating downgrade or Tunisia`s long-time leader flees? You`ve got three seconds, go.

After 23 years in power, Tunisia`s president fled his country in January following weeks of political protests. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout.

And to test your knowledge on more events from 2011, check this out.

AZUZ: Teachers and students, we have a great way for you to give and get some extra credit. Check it out. It`s our 2011 end-of-year news quiz at cnnstudentnews.com. Now you`ve seen us cover the headlines. We want to see what you`ve learned and this will be interactive or you could do it the hard way. We`ve got questions without answer options. It is available as a PDF, though I wouldn`t recommend it. It`s really tough.

All right. I`m going to go ahead and answer one of the questions here. Which African country split into two on July 9th to form the world`s newest nation? I`m going to say Sudan. And I`m going to be right. Oh, man, what a feeling of awesome. You can get that, too. You`ve got nine more chances. See how well you do at our news quiz, cnnstudentnews.com.