* 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.
* Iran filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Russia’s arms export firm Rosoboronexport over suspended missile deliveries. Good luck with that.
* The British Ministry of Defence officially announced the conclusions of its Army 2020 review. Unsurprisingly – given the leaks – it’s mostly about troop cuts. More in: The Guardian | The Telegraph | Think Defence | Thin Pinstriped Line.
* Admiral Greenert, the US Navy’s Chief of Naval Operations, likes modular ships that can handle different payloads.
* Hawker Beechcraft filed its plan with the bankruptcy court a few days ago.