Afstan weekend update

1) NATO Hopes to Undercut Taliban With 'Surge' of Projects

2) Extra British troops for Afghanistan ruled out

3) Pakistan 'kills 1,000 militants'

Pakistani troops have killed 1,000 Islamist militants in a huge offensive in the Bajaur tribal district over the last month, the army says.

Update:

Pakistan's New Leader Denies Firefight as Mullen Confirms It

Upperdate:

What a Surge Can't Solve in Afghanistan
...
The need for precise targeting is why Gates is stressing what's known as ISR -- short for "intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance." He has been pushing for more than a year (against foot-dragging by the Air Force) for a big increase in the use of drones and cheap manned aircraft to watch the roads and mountain passes of this huge country and spot the insurgents before they strike. This ISR surge has more than doubled the number of daily Predator patrols in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past year, from 12 in June 2007 to 28 today, and that number should reach 55 by the end of 2009.

By using ISR sensors, U.S. forces can see what's coming at them across Afghanistan's porous borders. And with new surveillance tools, they may be able to identify the networks and individuals that pose the biggest threat -- and then call in Special Forces teams to capture or kill insurgent leaders. "You don't hit a whole town, you hit the two people you want," says Lt. Gen. Richard Zahner, who heads a new ISR task force...

Monday update:

[UK] Troops in Afghanistan to get 600 new armoured vehicles