20,000 more troops to Afghanistan

This is interesting to me in that it comes shortly after the Obama transition had its first discussions with Sec Def Gates. He could be setting this up before he steps down, but I'd be more likely to see this as a sign that he's staying.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he and top commanders had discussed sending five brigades to Afghanistan, including four brigades of combat ground forces as well as an aviation brigade, which a defense official said would consist mainly of support troops.

Related: (Reuters) US airstrike in Pakistan kills "the suspected ringleader of a 2006 plot to blow up transatlantic airliners using liquid explosives." (Now, that's a measurable cost/benefit.)