For Iraqis, August saw the worst wave of violence to strike the country in months. On August 15, for example, a barrage of attacks across the country killed at least 84 people and wounded more than 200.And August was not easy for U.S. service members in Afghanistan, either. It was the deadliest month in that part of the Middle East, with 66 casualties.Obama says:
"Hundreds of thousands have deployed again and again, year after year," he said. "Never before has our nation asked so much of our all-volunteer force — that 1 percent of Americans who wears the uniform."The war in Afghanistan is the longest in U.S. history.