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Quick Guide & Transcript: Iraq Study Group releases recommendations, Fijian military stages coup
POSTED: 2313 GMT (0713 HKT), December 7, 2006
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(CNN Student News) -- December 7, 2006

Quick Guide
Iraq: Status Report - Take a look into a new report offering recommendations on the Iraq war.

Coup in Fiji - Witness a military coup that progressed as a reporter was on the scene.

Waters on Mars - Discover just how recently water is believed to have flowed on the red planet.

Transcript
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MONICA LLOYD, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Monica Lloyd, and you've found CNN Student News. New ideas to consider: The president mulls the suggestions of the Iraq Study Group. We'll tell you what options they've put on the table. New leader in power: Fiji's military chief kicks out the country's prime minister, dissolves parliament and warns the people to stay calm. And new discoveries: Scientists have long thought there might've been water on Mars. But the latest research suggests it was a lot more recently than 7 million years ago.

First Up: Iraq: Status Report

LLOYD: First up today, the long-awaited report by a group appointed to find solutions to the war in Iraq. The Iraq Study Group agrees with President Bush on at least one major point: It would be a bad idea to pull out U.S. troops right now. More sectarian and insurgent violence would almost certainly follow. But the group also says changes need to be made, and fast. Here's Sumi Das with a look at what those proposals are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUMI DAS, CNN REPORTER: Long-awaited, the Iraq Study Group offers a dismal assessment.

LEE HAMILTON, IRAQ STUDY GROUP CO-CHAIR: Attacks on U.S. forces and U.S. casualties continue at an alarming rate. The Iraqi people are suffering great hardship.

DAS: In its final report, seventy-nine recommendations. Many in stark contrast to the existing strategy.

JAMES BAKER, IRAQ STUDY GROUP CO-CHAIR: We do not recommend a stay the course solution, in our opinion, that approach is no longer viable.

DAS: Of the group's proposals, three rise to the top. A change in the primary mission of U.S. forces in Iraq, leading to a responsible exit of combat forces. Action by the Iraqi government to achieve milestones, such as control of its army and security spending increases. And the immediate launching of a new U.S. diplomatic initiative for Iraq and and the entire region. The president has so far rebuffed all suggestions that the United States hold talks with Iran or Syria.

HAMILTON: You cannot look at this area of the world and pick and choose among the countries that you're going to deal with. Everything in the Middle East is connected to everything else

DAS: The White House says the report doesn't repudiate current Iraq policy. The president says the recommendations won't be ignored.

U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: This report will give us all an opportunity to find common ground for the good of the country -- not for the good of the Republican Party or the Democrat Party but for the good of the country.

DAS: While the Iraq Study Group's report isn't an executive order, members stress it has bipartisan support. In Washington, Sumi Das, CNN Student News.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Gates Gets Confirmed

LLOYD: Also in Washington, the Senate confirmed Robert Gates Wednesday, making him the new secretary of defense. Gates was approved by a vote of 95 to two with strong bipartisan support. He replaces Donald Rumsfeld, who'd been under fire from Democrats. He resigned last month just days after the midterm election. Gates now faces the task of cleaning up the situation in Iraq.

ID Me

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: See if you can ID Me! I'm a Pacific island nation that is almost the size of New Jersey. You can find me between Hawaii and New Zealand. Maybe you've traveled here -- one of my top industries is tourism. I'm Fiji, a country that got its independence from Britain in 1970.

Coup in Fiji

LLOYD: One thing Fiji doesn't have: A stable democracy. This week, the Fijiian military launched the country's fourth coup, or government takeover, in less than 20 years. The military leader who led the coup had disagreed with the prime minister over local laws. So far, it's been relatively peaceful. But Mark Burrows shows us what it's like to be reporting, when soldiers come marching in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK BURROWS, REPORTER: The final assault on Fiji's democracy. Soldiers move in to close the parliament.

SOLDIER: I can't answer your question.

BURROWS: So, why are you here?

BURROWS: Inside, senators were condemning the coup as soldiers were preparing to enter.

SENATOR: Courage doesn't flow out of the barrel of a gun...instead it comes out of our moral integrity, of our belief in ourselves.

BURROWS: The soldiers had heard enough and told the speaker to adjourn.

SENATOR: The soldiers are ordering us senators to leave the complex.

BURROWS: The senators started the day debating bills, they finished it being escorted out at gunpoint.

MARY CHAPMAN, SENATE SECRETARY: There was no threat. They asked very nicely, and I thought it was prudent to act on that request.

BURROWS: The senators plan to sit again tomorrow but with the attitude of these soldiers, it doesn't look like they'll let the senators back into the parliament. Having got rid of the prime minister and the president, it looks like the military have gotten rid of the parliament as well.

BURROWS: The coup leader, Bainimarama has promised fresh elections. It doesn't look like being soon.

FRANK BAINIMARAMA, FIJI MILITARY COMMANDER: Everybody out!

BURROWS: Before he fled the capital, the deposed prime minister said Fijians should stand up to the military.

LAISENIA QARASE, DEPOSED PRIME MINISTER: What this man has done, he has raped the constitution. We are becoming a laughing stock around the world.

BURROWS: That interview wasn't seen by Fijians. Troops have taken over the local TV station. This is what the self-appointed president, Baniamra, wants viewers to see: him, celebrating the takeover, with his officers.

FRANK BAINIMARAMA, FIJI MILITARY COMMANDER: There is no point in debating the legalities of our actions. Callacy and his cronies are not coming back.

BURROWS: In, Suva, Mark Burrows, National 9 News.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Pearl Harbor Day

LLOYD: Today is national Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. It commemorates the devastating attack that occurred just before 8 in the morning on December 7th, 1941when propellers droned over the Hawaiian island of Oahu, and bombs began to fall. It was the first wave of an attack that would leave some 2,400 Americans dead, and 18 ships damaged or destroyed.

Fast Facts

AZUZ: Time for some Fast Facts: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was the site of a surprise attack on U.S. naval forces by Japan on December 7th, 1941. The attack caused heavy casualties and destroyed a number of American ships, and the U.S. responded by entering World War II the next day. In a speech to Congress, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called December 7th "a date which will live in infamy." Today marks 65 years since the attack.

Waters on Mars

LLOYD: Shifting gears now, scientists who've had their eyes on the red planet announced a new discovery yesterday: It looks like Mars had water, within just the last seven years! That's a lot more recent than previously thought. NASA researchers studied two gullies on the Martian surface, and found that material was deposited there in a way that water would do. And since H2O is a necessary element for life, well, set your imagination free. John Lisk gives us a sense of what life would be like on the red planet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN LISK, CNN REPORTER: Since the early 1960's, there have been dozens of missions to Mars. All but two were launched by the United States and the former Soviet Union. Many have been extraordinarily successful, others stunning failures. The first missions were spacecraft that flew by the red planet, taking as many pictures as possible. The first successful flyby was the U.S. Mariner 4 in 1964. Next came orbiters. Mariner 9 became the first artificial satellite of Mars when it went into orbit in 1971, and it revealed that Mars contained huge volcanoes and a canyon stretching three-thousand miles. The next missions were landers and rovers. One: The Viking Project made history by safely landing two spacecraft on Mars in 1976. Viking 1 and 2 set down in two different areas and successfully returned images to Earth. The Mars pathfinder was launched in 1996. Its findings suggest that at one time Mars was warm and wet, with water existing in its liquid state. Three years ago, two robotic geologists named Spirit and Opportunity landed on opposite sides of Mars. They've trekked for miles, sending more than 100-thousand full-color images to Earth. Both are among several mars explorers still on the job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Shuttle Launch

LLOYD: They're not going to Mars, but the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery is hoping to head to the International Space Station soon. Their mission will be to rewire the ISS, drop off some supplies, and relieve a crew member who's currently up there. Discovery is all set to launch tonight, but the weather isn't looking like it'll cooperate. Unless the forecast is wrong, the shuttle may not get off the ground until next week, or even later.

Promo

LLOYD: And we've put together a Space Shuttle Extra! covering the history and highlights of the Space Shuttle Program. If you can't name the shuttle that was used on the first-ever mission or describe who "Charles D. Walker" is, head to CNN.com/Education today!

Before We Go

LLOYD: Before we go, here's one tree you couldn't climb if you wanted to. Instead of a seed, it started out as huge blocks of Belgian ice, ice, baby! They were transferred to Austria, where ten international ice sculptors went to work sawing and shining up a true work of holiday-season craftsmanship. But the weather where it stands is currently warm and rainy, so this is probably as close as you'll ever get to it.

Goodbye

LLOYD: That frozen foliage finishes off today's show. For CNN Student News, I'm Monica Lloyd.

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