Rapid Fire July 5, 2012: Pak Trucks Back on Track

• NATO supplies started crossing the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan earlier today, after months of negotiation, and the eventual apology from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the deaths in November 2011 of Pakistani soldiers. Releasing withheld Coalition Support Funds (CSF) is also part of the deal. The Pentagon’s FY12 budget reprogramming includes hundreds of millions of dollars of extra shipping costs incurred after Pakistan closed its border.

• Meanwhile Russia may consider the same sort of hardball gatekeeper tactics in its dealings with the US over European missile defense, said a prominent Russian legislator. Regardless of which countries withdrawal from Afghanistan will go through, it’s going to be complicated and expensive.