Quickhits

(CNN) 45 killed in Pakistani funeral blast in the Swat valley. (Iraq tactics go to Pakistan.)

(AFP) "The number of Iraqis killed in February rose by 33 percent over January, reversing a six-month trend of reduced violence. ("The metric" is at 721, not the 3,500 of last summer.)

(AP) Petraeus will recommend "a pause" in the drawdown of US troops in Iraq.

(WaPo) "The United States and Saudi Arabia have launched a joint campaign to pressure Syria to end its political interference in Lebanon, including the U.S. deployment of the USS Cole and two other warships off the Lebanese coast, according to U.S. and Arab officials."