Afghanistan Complains About Russians In Drug Raid : NPR: "Afghanistan's president said Saturday he had not been informed in advance of Russian participation in a NATO-led drug raid that netted $56 million worth of heroin and morphine, and his administration demanded a formal apology from the alliance.
Hamid Karzai's complaint was the latest evidence of his strained relationship with the U.S.-led coalition. It also underscored lingering sensitivities over Russian involvement in Afghanistan, which was invaded by the former Soviet Union in 1979.
Russian counternarcotics agents teamed up with U.S. and Afghan forces Thursday to seize four drug labs in an unprecedented joint raid in Nangarhar province, near the Pakistani border, officials said. The action came less than a week after Russia's anti-narcotics chief accused the U.S. of failing to dismantle such labs and slow down the flow of heroin into Russia.
The level of cooperation between U.S. and Russian forces was significant and suggested an improvement in relations between the former Cold War foes, two decades after U.S.-financed Afghan militias chased the Soviet military out of the country.
But it irked Karzai. The Afghan president stressed Afghanistan and Russia also have friendly relations but said no country should carry out military operations on Afghan soil without permission."
