CNN 2010-09-05

I'm Carl Azuz and this is CNN Student News, bringing the world to your classroom with 10 minutes of commercial-free headlines. And we're kicking things off today in the Middle East.

March 19, 2003, President George W. Bush announced the start of the war in Iraq. September 1, 2010: Defense 1 Secretary Robert Gates says the U.S. is no longer at war in the Middle Eastern country. Iraq's security is now in the hands of Iraqis, and American forces there are now part of New Dawn. That's the new name for the U.S. military operation in Iraq. A ceremony in Baghdad on Wednesday marked the transition. Secretary Gates and Vice 2 President Joe Biden were there. It happened at one of the palaces of the late Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader whose government was kicked out of power by the U.S.-led invasion back in 2003. During the ceremony, Vice President Biden paid tribute to the sacrifices made by Americans and Iraqis during the past seven years. President Obama talked about the transition during a televised speech on Tuesday night. Before he addressed the nation, some Republican leaders urged the president to talk about the success of the 2007 troop surge in Iraq. That was ordered by former President Bush and Mr. Obama had been opposed to the surge. When he talked to the nation Tuesday night, President Obama chose to focus on the future.

We persevered 3 because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people, a belief that, out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilization. Through this remarkable 4 chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibilities. Now, it's time to turn the page.

And the president is focusing on another part of the Middle East right now. He's hosting a group of leaders from that region who are getting together for a series of peace talks. This has to do with Israelis and Palestinians. There have been problems between the two sides for decades. They've tried working out a peace agreement before, but those talks have been stalled for about a year and a half. President Obama met with Israeli and Palestinian representatives yesterday, as well as with the heads of Egypt and Jordan, countries that border Israel. He made this speech at the White House after those meetings. These pictures coming into us live as we recorded today's show. There are a lot of obstacles to a peace deal, issues that the Israelis and Palestinians don't agree on. Some officials admit that it's hard to be too optimistic at this point, but they argue that just starting the talks back up again is sign of progress.