JEFFREY BROWN: And now to the latest twist in the often-tortured relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan, which announced today that it was reopening key truck routes into Afghanistan.
For much of the last decade, trucks from Pakistan have transported fuel, equipment and supplies to U.S. and NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan, snaking along a route that begins in the port city of Karachi, runs through the Khyber Pass and into various parts of Afghanistan.
Pakistan closed these routes last November, after U.S. forces killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in an operation along the border. What exactly occurred remains in dispute, but the event further strained an already strained relationship between two countries.
Today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended a diplomatic impasse, saying in a statement she "offered our sincere condolences to the families of the Pakistani soldiers who lost their lives. I acknowledge the mistakes that resulted in the loss of Pakistani military lives. We are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military. We are committed to working closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent this from ever happening again."
Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesman told Reuters that Taliban fighters would attack the supply trucks traveling these routes, something they have done in the past.
July 31, 2012
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