I loved my time driving a Hilux. They’re seemingly indestructible. They can carry a solid load and have the stability to traverse a wide range of terrain. They’re great. They use diesel and are fairly efficient. However, they are never available in the United States. Also, you hardly ever see a video featuring Al-Qaeda or ISIL without a Hilux in the mix. But from where are they coming? Arms dealers are international middlemen. Who is the go-between for the Hilux?

The Toyota trucks seen in videos and photographs of insurgent forces in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan appear to be Hilux variants. These Hilux variants have long been manufactured in Thailand for Toyota. I’ve been curious about what middle-man entities acquire these vehicles from Toyota. They must transport and adapt them so weapons can be mounted in their cargo beds. Al-Qaeda and other groups around the world have had this resource for a long time. You can’t blame Western forces for every Hilux floating around. They have their logistical network, too.

It’s an open secret that the Rebels receive Toyota trucks. It’s en vogue to blame the U.S. and other Western forces for training the would-be terrorist groups. This gives extremely high praise to the training and the resources they receive. Why would any force knowingly train a force to be very effective against their interests? They don’t – but lines are blurred in the long term for sure. Most important, the number of trucks present out number whatever the West has given.

The US Government is curious how so many trucks have been injected into the Army economy. It brings to surface that there is a shadow economy at the heart of war. The U.S. Treasury’s counter-terror office has asked Toyota for help them figure out how ISIL is getting so many trucks.

Pakistan’s police use similar Toyota trucks for patrol and other duties, so there have to be known fabricators who adapt the trucks for police and military use; bringing to question whether or not there are possible ISI (Pakistan’s Intelligence Group) ties to trucks used by militants. Many believe the ISI kept Bin Laden’s presence a secret from their own government. ISIL is not officially affiliated with Al-Qaeda, and they have a public feud. But that might not keep other partnerships from mutually beneficial arrangements.

Lastly, Toyota can’t be entirely in the dark. They must be untroubled seeing ISIL using their trucks to decimate innocent civilians.

Featured image courtesy of www.freakingnews.com.