For the first time since the U.S. invasion there began in 2003, American troops in Iraq experienced no fatalities for the entire month of August. Officials credit this remarkable fact as the result of unilateral American action, and Iraq focusing its attack efforts on Iranian-backed Shiite militias. While this is unprecedented in the war, it may not signify the imminent arrival of a secure Iraq.

There may be a change for the plan to completely withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said the U.S. would be open to discussions of an extended stay in Iraq, if asked by the Iraqi authorities. "In terms of the future strategic relationship beyond the end of 2011, I would say that the initiative clearly needs to come from the Iraqis," Gates told reporters yesterday in Kuala Lumpur. Is the U.S. legacy there going to be even longer than we imagined? 

General Stanley McChrystal is in quite a pickle, after comments from him and his aides insulting Obama administration officials were published in Rolling Stone magazine, by writer Michael hastings, who spoke on our show yesterday:

"I was with General McChrystal when he checked his Blackberry, and he said, ‘oh no, not another email’ from Holbrooke, Richard Holbrooke, who’s the special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. And then he said, ‘I don’t even want to read it.'"

Today meeting between President Obama and General Stanley McChrystal won't be the first time the president has had to dress his top commander in Afghanistan down. Retired U.S. Army Colonel Jack Jacobs taught McChrystal as a cadet at West Point. He says this is most likely both a personal and policy dispute, but that McCrystal is "probably the wrong guy" for the job. That story, and this morning's headlines.

American, British and Afghan troops have entered day five of a major offensive in a Taliban stronghold in Southern Afghanistan. While the offensive is largely going to plan, troops on the ground are dealing with far more than just encounters with Taliban fighters. The accidental killing of 12 civilians in Afghanistan in recent days has troops bringing condolences to the families of the victims.

We continue our conversation with veterans about what they expect to hear from President Obama in tonight's speech on Afghanistan, and how they think the strategy will play out on the ground. We speak with Jack Jacobs, retired Army colonel and professor of politics at West Point; National Guard Spc. Marco Reininger, who served in Afghanistan in 2008; and retired Army Sgt. Genevieve Chase, founder of American Women Veterans, who served in Afghanistan in 2006.