A sinister twist was added to NATO's military operation in Afghanistan when it was revealed that private security companies were being investigated for colluding with the Taliban.
Two of the biggest security firms operating in Afghanistan have been accused of paying the Taliban to attack NATO conveys, therefore increasing demand for the demand for their services.
After a pair of bloody confrontations with Afghan civilians, Watan Risk Management and Compass Security were banned from escorting NATO convoys between Kabul and Kandahar.
The ban was put in place on 14 May but at 10.30am on the same day a NATO convoy was attacked. After two weeks more than 1,000 lorries sat stalled on the highway, forcing the Afghan government to allow the two companies to resume their activities.
Many security companies have ties relatives of President Karzai and other senior Afghan officials. Roshid Popal, president of Watan Risk Management, is a cousin of Mr Karzai and the companies largest shareholder is believed by Western officials to be Mr Karzai's brother Qayum.
Officials in charge of the investigation suspect that some security companies are bribing the Taliban with American taxpayers' money.
The suspicions raise complex questions about the conduct of operations, since the convoys, and the supplies they deliver, are the lifeblood of the war effort.
"We're funding both sides of the war," a NATO official in Kabul said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was incomplete, said he believed millions of dollars were making its way to the Taliban.
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