US Officials Ask How ISIS Got So Many Toyota Trucks

[Jesus Malverde]

counter-terror officials have asked Toyota, the world’s second largest auto maker, to help them determine how ISIS has managed to acquire the large number of Toyota pick-up trucks and SUVs seen prominently in the terror group’s propaganda videos in Iraq, Syria and Libya, ABC News has learned.

Toyota says it does not know how ISIS obtained the vehicles and is “supporting” the inquiry led by the Terror Financing unit of the Treasury Department -- part of a broad U.S. effort to prevent Western-made goods from ending up in the hands of the terror group.

“We briefed Treasury on Toyota’s supply chains in the Middle East and the procedures that Toyota has in place to protect supply chain integrity,” said Ed Lewis, Toyota’s Washington-based director of public policy and communications.

Toyota has a “strict policy to not sell vehicles to potential purchasers who may use or modify them for paramilitary or terrorist activities,” Lewis said. He said it is impossible for the company to track vehicles that have been stolen, or have been bought and re-sold by middlemen.

Toyota Hilux pickups, an overseas model similar to the Toyota Tacoma, and Toyota Land Cruisers have become fixtures in videos of the ISIS campaign in Iraq, Syria and Libya, with their truck beds loaded with heavy weapons and cabs jammed with terrorists. The Iraqi Ambassador to the United States, Lukman Faily, told ABC News that in addition to re-purposing older trucks, his government believes ISIS has acquired “hundreds” of “brand new” Toyotas in recent years.

“This is a question we’ve been asking our neighbors,” Faily said. “How could these brand new trucks... these four wheel drives, hundreds of them -- where are they coming from?”

ISIS propaganda videos show gunmen patrolling Syrian streets in what appear to be older and newer model white Hilux pick-ups bearing the black caliphate seal and crossing Libya in long caravans of gleaming tan Toyota Land Cruisers. When ISIS soldiers paraded through the center of Raqqa, more than two-thirds of the vehicles were the familiar white Toyotas with the black emblems. There were small numbers of other brands including Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Isuzu.

“Regrettably, the Toyota Land Cruiser and Hilux have effectively become almost part of the ISIS brand,” said Mark Wallace, a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, who is CEO of the Counter Extremism Project, a non-profit working to expose the financial support networks of terror groups.

https://news.yahoo.com/us-officials-ask-isis-got-many-toyota-trucks-175832211--abc-news-topstories.html'

They will be unlikely to be parading around like this now that the bombs are raining down on them. Convoys like this are easily spotted and easily destroyed.

[Egnever]

1. Yay for congress

Couldn't be they buy them...Better investigate!

[PoliticAverse]

2. The investigation is by the Treasury Department which is part of the Executive branch. n/t

[Egnever]

7. Yea

it was a joke.

Just struck me as funny. Obviously if they can track down purchases with the help of toyota they can likely use that information to track down bank accounts connected to Isis.

Still strikes me as a funny headline.

[pinboy3niner]

3. Presidents Day Sale

Hard to say "No" to the deep discounts off MSRP, even for ISIS.

[NightWatcher]

18. Zero down AND no payment for 3 months

They'd be crazy to pass up a deal from Crazy Eddie's Toyota near the airport. Plus free oil changes for life.

[pinboy3niner]

19. But just like the rest of us, they probably got ISIS on the undercoating

[Jesus Malverde]

42. .

[lumberjack_jeff]

45. Destroy ISIS! Send in the dealership finance officer! n/t

[Purveyor]

4. I noticed this clear back to the illegal invasion of Iraq. Good trucks, indeed. eom

[GummyBearz]

5. Our intel knows how they get them

But our good friends in Saudi Arabia don't want any trouble... so we pretend we don't know. Even better, lets start a congressional inquiry which will last about a decade with no result.

[CanonRay]

39. ^This is the correct answer. n/t

[Ghost Dog]

55. ¿No result?

[Jesus Malverde]

6. Somewhat ironic Toyota sells a model in Japan called the ISIS

Name is above the number plate.

[Art_from_Ark]

14. It's supposed to be named after the Egyptian goddess Isis

http://blog.livedoor.jp/zzcj/archives/51883746.html

[GreatGazoo]

20. and there was a war in Libya (1986) named for Toyota because of the popularity of the trucks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War

[Jesus Malverde]

8. Let's blow things up together

https://m.

[flamingdem]

12. I'll take my chances

even on Du I think context matters.

.. at least I hope so!



I did get a hide once for the word douche of all things

[leveymg]

9. 1+1=2. Why did it take neocons at Treasury so long to calculate that?

That should be the focus of its own investigation along with Madam Secretary's financial ties to the Saudi petrolarchs.

[pinboy3niner]

13. From June: ISIS Has $1B Worth Of US Humvee Armored Vehicles

By Angelo Young June 01 2015

ISIS Has $1B Worth Of US Humvee Armored Vehicles; One Was Used In Monday's Suicide Bombing Near Baghdad

"In the collapse of Mosul, we lost a lot of weapons," Abbadi said an interview Sunday, as translated by Al-Jazeera. "We lost 2,300 Humvees in Mosul alone."

The theft of a fleet of American-made military vehicles underscores the difficulty of ensuring that U.S. military aid doesn’t wind up in the hands of the enemy it’s aimed at defeating.

The vehicles taken from Mosul would have been worth more than $1 billion if sold new. Late last year, the U.S. State Department approved a deal to sell Iraq 175 M1A1 Abrams tanks, worth $12.4 billion, and 1,000 military Humvees, valued at $579 million. Congress has yet to approve the sale, and some lawmakers have expressed concern about the hardware falling into enemy hands.

The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), or military Humvee, is made by Indiana-based heavy vehicle manufacturer AM General. The Humvees stolen from Mosul probably were part of the large amount hardware the U.S. left behind in Iraq after U.S. forces began pulling out in 2009.

...

http://www.ibtimes.com/isis-has-1b-worth-us-humvee-armored-vehicles-one-was-used-mondays-suicide-bombing-1946521

[onethatcares]

15. when you have a line of trucks that long

and they're filled with weapons and terrorists, wouldn't it be a great time for a bombing run?

Or am I missing something here?

I'd like to buy a Land Cruiser but alas my finances are too thin.

[pinboy3niner]

16. Finances thin? Call ISIS Ready Loan, we qualify you no sweat.

Special discount if you're in the market for a slightly-used Toyota!

[NuclearDem]

48. But trust us...

...you do not want us to show you the CarFax.

[ohnoyoudidnt]

49. It certainly would.

But I doubt the military was aware of the location of the convoy at the time the picture was taken. Maybe they could find out their sources and hide GPS devices in vehicles that could potentially be acquired by them.

[hobbit709]

17. Same way Iran acquired a shitload of HP printers.

[GreatGazoo]

21. article: How did ISIS acquire those matching Toyota trucks?

The official story is ISIS stole them from the “Good Terrorists”, (Al Nusra), who were originally given their cool wheels by the US government. Which would seem to beg a couple of enquiries. Not least of which is – why are the US giving any terrorists matching fleets of luxury SUVs? And for that matter, how many fleets are we talking about? (6 pictures of fleets)
...
Specifically – who takes those PR style pics of the matching fleets sailing by, replete with gun-toting, flag-waving terrorists leaning out of every window? Are they just being caught in transit by various opportunist photographers? Or are they pre-planned drive-buys for the purpose of publicity?

If the former, then do ISIS travel everywhere like that – with guys leaning out the windows holding massive ISIS flags? Wouldn’t that slow them down and also make them really easy to identify and take out?

If the latter – who is handling their publicity?

http://off-guardian.org/2015/03/31/questions-you-arent-supposed-to-ask-about-isis-1-those-toyota-trucks/

[Codeine]

22. Yeah, Toyota pickups have been ubiquitous in low-intensity warfare all over the globe for decades,

especially Africa and the Middle East.

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There's a series of conflicts named for the things, even.

[pinboy3niner]

23. ISIS is smart--they don't allow their Ford Escorts to be photgraphed

[Codeine]

24. They're smart; they won't have their operational tempo slowed by the upcoming Volkswagen recall. nt

[pinboy3niner]

25. So I drive an Escort. So what? Does that make me less manly?

I'm tired of you all taking shots at my manhood because of my little car.

I'm gonna get a new car and it's gonna be biiiiig. So there!

[Travis_0004]

26. It doesn't make you less manly

It just makes you unprepared for a warfare in Africa.

[pinboy3niner]

29. I may have forgotten to mention the bazooka on the roof

[KittyWampus]

43. but is it all properly camouflaged?

[pinboy3niner]

46. I was torn on the camouflage. Desert? Jungle? Desert? Jungle?

As a VN vet I'm partial to jungle, but there's a lot to be said for desert. I probably should have just gone with urban. My mistake.

[KittyWampus]

50. what is urban camouflage? Graffiti?

[kelliekat44]

27. ISIS has a truck that my nephew has been trying to buy but can't afford. nt

[Brickbat]

28. The Land Cruiser in particular has always been a favorite for rebels and separatists.

[Sunlei]

30. cars shipped through Assad controled sea port? or russia plays 2 sides of the table sales 'game'?

China docks big cargo ships in Assads Sea Port.

That is a very good question for Toyota and they know where their cars/trucks are sold. especially fleet sales that bring in millions.

[FSogol]

31. I just realized who is responsible. The head is ISIS is....

[Renew Deal]

32. Is the anti-aircraft gun part of the standard package?

Can they kick in a missile launcher if the buy the one with the GPS?

[Travis_0004]

52. Anti aircraft is optional

I was told they would only give me the Anti aircraft guns if I also got the extra clear coat.

[librechik]

33. Labor Day Supersale n/t

[Codeine]

36. Lol! Tent sale! nt

[pinboy3niner]

41. Special extra discount for fleet sales!

[ladjf]

34. An A10 Wart Hog could wipe out this entire column in five minutes.

Why aren't we using that airplane? It is perfect for the job.

[Codeine]

35. It's being flown in Syria.

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/a-10s-fly-combat-missions-over-syria-972fa758e6c8

[ladjf]

37. Thanks for the link. Money is at the root of the Air Force

decision to retire the A10's. They want to waste more money on the F35's which are not suited for close ground support.

[KingCharlemagne]

38. Is it fair or appropriate to call ISIS\ISIL\Daesh "terrorist"? They are

Last edited Fri Oct 9, 2015, 08:08 AM - Edit history (1)

a military force capable of fighting and defeating other conventional military forces. "irregulars," maybe. But if they are terrorists, then the word has become so debased as to have no meaning. By this standard, George Washington's Continental Army was terrorist.

[Codeine]

40. A valid observation. nt

[arcane1]

51. "Terrorist" is pretty much anything "we" say it is now.

Insurgents, activists, protesters, etc.

[olddots]

44. did they all come from

Cheney Toyota where the 5 and 405 meet in Smogtown ?

[stevenleser]

47. I'm guessing the answer is the Yakuza or some other large organized crime syndicate traffics in

these cars/trucks.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/15/asia/yakuza-yamaguchi-gumi-explainer/

[roamer65]

53. Ask Riyadh and Doha how they got them.

That is where the answer lies.

[hifiguy]

54. I suppose the bales of cash - billions worth - that Chimpy

sent to Iraq and were never accounted for had to get spent on something. I am sure the Saudis were happy to take it in exchange for Toyotas.