US Secretary of State 
Hillary Clinton... sometimes described as
The Woman to Call at 3 a.m.and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Charles Evans Hughes...
said Tuesday that Pakistain was reopening its supply lines into Afghanistan, after the US belatedly issued an apology for the November killing of 24 Pak troops in a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
Clinton expressed her condolences for the deaths in a telephone conversation with Pak Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.
The incident badly damaged already strained relations between the two countries and forced the US and its allies to send supplies via costlier northern routes into Afghanistan.
"We are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pak military," Clinton said in a statement, recounting her discussion with Khar. "I offered our sincere condolences to the families of the Pak soldiers who bit the dust. Foreign Minister Khar and I acknowledged the mistakes that resulted in the loss of Pak military lives," she added.
It is the first time any US official has formally apologized for the deaths, a step hotly debated within the B.O. regime and one demanded by Pakistain while its supply routes remained closed for seven months.
It came as key Pak civilian and military leaders were meeting on Tuesday evening in Islamabad to discuss whether to reopen NATO supply routes.
Clinton said a decision had been reached. "I am pleased that Foreign Minister Khar has informed me that the ground supply lines into Afghanistan are opening," Clinton said. She said Pakistain won't charge any transit fee, the subject of an earlier negotiation, and that the reopening would help the US draw down its war in Afghanistan "at a much lower cost."
"This is a tangible demonstration of Pakistain's support for a secure, peaceful, and prosperous Afghanistan and our shared objectives in the region," she said, calling the agreement "critically important to the men and women who are fighting terrorism and extremism in Afghanistan."
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
...current SecDef, previously Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993....
also welcomed Pakistain's decision.
"As I have made clear, we remain committed to improving our partnership with Pakistain and to working closely together as our two nations confront common security challenges in the region," he said.