From a plugged-in friend:

Your take on the Corner is I think exactly right on the meeting yesterday. I got a call from a source in Petraeus land last night who said CT/Biden option is dead. That option was as you described it drones and SF, and a lighter footprint. The deciding factors were, I think, Gates supporting his generals and the Pakistanis saying their offensive would go pear shaped if U.S. was seen retreating from Afghanistan. The key is to make sure that splitting the difference looks like 25,000 troops and not 0. But most important is the commitment to COIN. If Obama commits to COIN, then the numbers can be made up and fudged down the road.