One of Toyota’s most devoted and unfortunate customers returned to power on August 15 when the Taliban rode into Kabul and took control of the presidential palace.
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Is Toyota a terrorist organization?
In addition to being able to handle Afghanistan’s challenging terrain, the trucks are also popular with other terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and ISIS. They are also sophisticated enough to be modified with heavy equipment.
Journalists from India Today recounted how “tanks and ammunition-laden Toyota Hilux trucks raced into Afghanistan’s capital” when the Taliban initially assaulted the presidential palace in 1996. The New York Times declared in 2001 that the trucks were “excellent platforms for intimidation and enforcement.”
The Taliban were prepared to jump out of their Land Cruisers and Hiluxes and beat women for revealing a hint of an ankle or to hold a man in a cargo container for three weeks until his beard reached the required length. Or perhaps the most depressing option would be to drag a suspected adulterer or blasphemer to the soccer stadium for death.
On September 27, 2001, Afghan Taliban combatants sat in the back of a pickup truck as they traveled to the fighting lines north of Kabul.
(AFP file photo)
Toyota has long sought to separate itself from terrorism and has openly backed a US Treasury Department inquiry into how terrorists are able to obtain its automobiles.
When the Toyota Land Cruiser, the brand’s longest-running model, went on sale for the 2022 model year, the carmaker also unveiled a new policy. The car manufacturer revealed that anyone purchasing one had to sign a contract committing not to resell the vehicle within a year after it went on sale in Japan on August 2 for about $46,500.
Toyota reaffirmed the rationale for this clause in a statement. Toyota claimed that the Land Cruiser is “especially well-liked abroad, and we are concerned about the movement of vehicles from Japan to abroad immediately after their introduction, as well as the chance that they may be transported to certain countries where security laws are in force.
Selling Toyotas to prohibited organizations like terrorist organizations or rogue regimes may result in legal repercussions. According to Toyota’s statement, there is a chance of breaking foreign currency laws, which, depending on the country of export, could result in serious issues that jeopardize international security.
They can also be obtained by terrorist organizations in dishonest ways. Humanitarian groups like the Red Cross and the United Nations, which Toyota has provided with 150,000 vehicles over the past forty years, choose Toyota SUVs.
Due to the fact that international relief organizations work in so many underdeveloped nations, their vehicles may be targeted by terrorists who may steal them, purchase them from unregistered dealers, or locate them through other means.
Why is Toyota utilized in combat?
They frequently have to travel swiftly through rocky terrain and crowded areas. The Toyota checks all the necessary boxes for handling such a duty because it is durable and incredibly dependable. The truck’s bed also has the ideal dimensions for big weapons to fit inside.
What makes rebels choose Toyota?
Because you can install a big weapon in the pickup and also carry people and things in the back, they use the twin-cab variant. The light, transportable Hilux was the weapon of choice for militants in the 1980s “Toyota War,” which was fought between Chad and Libya.
How is Toyota acquired by ISIS?
According to an ABC News report, Toyota, the second-largest automaker in the world, has stated that it is assisting a US investigation into how the Islamic State terrorist group (also known as ISIS) obtained the substantial number of Toyota pick-up trucks and SUVs that are featured in its propaganda videos.
Which trucks are used by the Taliban?
Since the Taliban and other terrorist groups have long favored Toyota trucks and SUVs, “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal spoke with Utpal Dholakia, a professor of marketing at Rice University, about what the political upheaval in Afghanistan would imply for the brand of the car manufacturer.
What does Toyota War mean?
The ChadianLibyan conflict’s final phase, known as the Toyota War (Arabic:, Romanized: arb Tyt; French: Guerre des Toyota) or Great Toyota War[9], took place in 1987 in Northern Chad and along the LibyanChadian border. It gets its name from the Toyota pickup trucks, notably the Toyota Hilux and the Toyota Land Cruiser, that were employed as technicals and to give the Chadian troops mobility while they fought the Libyans. [10] Libya suffered a crushing setback in the war of 1987, losing one-tenth of its army, 7,500 soldiers, and military hardware valued at US$1.5 billion, according to American sources. [11] Only 1,000 people died while fighting for Chad. [8]
When Muammar Gaddafi, the leader of Libya, refused to acknowledge Hassne Habr as the legitimate leader of Chad, he militarily supported the opposition’s Transitional Government of National Unity (GUNT) in its attempt to topple Habr, which resulted in the occupation of northern Chad by Libya. The French intervention thwarted the plan by restricting Libyan development to the area north of the 16th parallel, which is the driest and least populated region of Chad. This was done first with Operation Manta and then with Operation Epervier. [12]
The GUNT revolted against Gaddafi in 1986, depriving Libya of its primary pretext for maintaining a military presence in Chad. Habr ordered his soldiers to cross the 16th parallel in December in order to connect with the GUNT rebels (who were battling the Libyans in Tibesti), seeing an opportunity to unify Chad behind him. [13] A larger army launched an attack at Fada a few weeks later, defeating the small Libyan garrison. Habr was able to reclaim practically all of northern Chad in three months by merging guerilla and conventional warfare tactics into one campaign. In the months that followed, Habr dealt further severe setbacks to the Libyans before a truce that ended the war was negotiated in September. The Aouzou Strip dispute, which the International Court of Justice ultimately allocated to Chad in 1994, was left unresolved by the cease-fire.
What model of Toyota do rebels drive?
According to ABC News, US authorities have recently asked Toyota to determine why so many ISIS propaganda use its automobiles.
ISIS has amassed hundreds of brand-new Toyota pickup trucks in recent years as it has grown in power in Iraq and Syria, according to Lukman Faily, the ambassador of Iraq to the US, who spoke to ABC.
According to Faily, “We have been posing this query to our neighbors.” How could these hundreds of brand-new four-wheel drives, including hundreds of brand-new vehicles, arrive from where?
However, ISISalso referred to as the Islamic State, ISIL, and Daeshis not the only terrorist organization to select the truck manufacturer’s rugged models.
The Toyota Hilux pickup has been a staple of numerous extremist movements over the past few decades, as Ravi Somaiya noted in Newsweek in 2010.
Former US Army Ranger and current US deputy assistant secretary of defense for Middle East affairs Andrew Exum told Newsweek that “the Toyota Hilux is everywhere.” “It is the AK-47’s automobile counterpart. It is common to insurgency conflict. And more recently, counterinsurgency operations. The Humvee gets the crap kicked out of it.”
Terrorists fighting against lightly armed special forces have reportedly found the Hilux to be a reliable truck.
According to Alastair Finlan, a strategic studies expert at Aberystwyth University in the UK, the truck is “fast, nimble, and packs a huge punch [when it’s mounted with] a 50-caliber [machine gun] that easily destroys body armor on soldiers and penetrates lightly protected vehicles as well.”
Which trucks are used by terrorists?
The Toyota Tacoma is the go-to rugged little pickup truck for a variety of truck tasks here in America. This type is suitable for practically all truck-related activities, including towing, overlanding, camping, working, etc. The Toyota Hilux is the similar vehicle sold abroad, and the Taliban obviously like it for the same reasons.
In footage documenting the ISIS war in Iraq, Syria, and Libya, the Toyota Hilux and Toyota Land Cruisers have come to be regarded as standard fare. The cabs of the small trucks are packed with terrorists, and their beds are filled with powerful weaponry. This pattern matches the most recent actions taken by the Taliban.
Although Toyota has a stringent policy against selling to extremist organizations, the Iraqi ambassador to the United States, Lukman Faily, told ABC News that his government believes ISIS has acquired “hundreds” of “brand new Toyotas” over the years in addition to reusing older trucks.
ISIS Toyota a reliable vehicle?
Ownership Cost Purchase Cost: Starting at Ksh.950,000 Full Coverage Insurance Average annual cost in Kenyan Shillings, or third party insurance: Ksh 7,000 annually Change of Tires, Ksh. 32,000 for 4 Tires (If Necessary) Here are the most recent Toyota ISIS pricing.
1. a large doorway
2. Plenty of legroom
3. Reasonable
For those who have large families, the Toyota ISIS is a very useful van. It’s a dependable automobile with few problems, and if maintained properly, it may last for many years. When compared to its near competitors, like the Nissan Lafesta, Mazda Premacy, and Subaru Exiga, it is more roomy and useful. It is an useful automobile for families with children and for loading bags thanks to the big electronic sliding doors.
Toyota automobiles for sale in Afghanistan?
Since the 1960s, the Japanese carmaker has been producing the Corolla, which was dubbed the best-selling car in the world by 1974. This compact family car, which is synonymous with dependability and usefulness, is marketed all over the world.
But one nation in particularand that nation is Afghanistanhas kind of fallen in love with this specific paradigm.
The Toyota Corolla is a well-liked vehicle in Afghanistan, just as the Ford Mustang is in the United States. This car is cherished for a variety of causes, including:
- Price Despite the high import duties imposed on foreign vehicles, many Afghan drivers find the Toyota Corolla to be fairly reasonable. Although people in Afghanistan also buy brand-new models, the most popular models are typically those that are a few years old.
- Reliability
- Particularly when produced by firms like Toyota, who frequently go to great efforts to guarantee that their vehicles are built to the highest quality standards, Japanese cars are well recognized for their dependability.
- Practicality
- Obviously, there are many various types of cars in the globe, each with a unique design and size. The Toyota Corolla is the ideal small to medium-sized family vehicle since it provides plenty of comfort, adequate interior and trunk capacity, and essential equipment like air conditioning.
- Access to replacement parts
- Toyota Corollas make up a significant fraction of the vehicles on Afghan roads, making replacement parts very accessible. Although there is a tendency for many people to recycle model-damaged part, there is also a good supply of fresh parts.
- decent on gas
- This car’s popularity is also due to the fact that it provides a good balance of fuel efficiency and engine performance, which is crucial when residing and working in a place like Afghanistan.
Even the vast majority of the city’s yellow taxi cabs are Toyota Corollas, if you ever travel to Afghanistan and roam around Kabul’s city streets, for instance. General Asadullah Khan, the head of Kabul’s traffic police, estimates that up to 80% of the vehicles on the city’s busy and frequently clogged streets are Toyota Corollas.
bio of the author
Freelance writer Bradley Taylor covers a wide range of topics, but he especially enjoys writing about anything automotive. He enjoys exploring new places and learning about everything. He is accessible on Google+ and Twitter.