Spy Plane Finale: Safe Landing

In the end the old hands helped Bush understand that a way out required accommodating both sides' sensitivities. So a few carefully chosen words ended a potentially explosive standoff. The denouement was crafted to exact concessions from both sides but leave each able to claim victory. China yielded on its demand that Washington take full blame and didn't force the U.S. to end its airborne surveillance. The Bush Administration used language of regret that earned charges of "national humiliation" from the Republicans' conservative ranks.

While it ended this impasse, the delicate agreement won't bring permanent calm to the volatile relationship between the world's most powerful nation and its most populous one. Indeed, the whole incident has given potent ammunition to those on both sides who prefer hard-edged confrontation to hard-argued cooperation. But being a superpower means knowing when, and exactly how, to say you're sorry--and when to say you're very sorry.

--Reported by Jay Branegan, James Carney, John F. Dickerson and Mark Thompson/Washington, Massimo Calabresi with Powell and Jeffrey Ressner/Whidbey Island