"The commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan said Monday in an assessment of the war that a new strategy was needed to fight the Taliban, while NATO officials disclosed he is expected to separately request more troops," the Associated Press writes.

The BBC, quoting "sources" who are familiar with McChrystal's report, says the general now views "protecting the Afghan people against the Taliban as the top priority."

That should not be a surprise. McChrystal's boss — Central Command chief Gen. David Petraeus — said just last week that, as has been done in Iraq, the U.S. mission in Afghanistan must have a greater focus on protecting civilians.

The AP adds that McChrystal, in a statement separate from the not-publicly disclosed report, said today that "the situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable."

Political blogger Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic writes that "the president and his national security team are skittish" about putting more U.S. troops into Afghanistan, "but they aren't looking for a way to deny McChrystal what he thinks he needs."

McChrystal's much-anticipated review comes as two more U.S. service personnel lost their lives in Afghanistan. Their deaths, from bombs, brought the number of American deaths in August to 47 — the most of any single month since U.S. forces entered Afghanistan in October 2001.

Update at 1:45 p.m. ET. NPR's Tom Bowman and Kevin Whitelaw write that:

McChrystal is not asking for additional troops, but a separate request for forces will be sent in the next week or so, sources tell NPR. The general is expected to offer several options for possible troops increases, from one brigade to at least three, pointing out the risks and greater timeframe inherent in not sending more forces.

President Obama ordered an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan this year, raising the total number of U.S. forces there to about 64,000. Another 4,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are slated to arrive next month to train Afghan soldiers.