Why Rebel Groups Love the Toyota Hilux

But then “a shipment of high-quality [real] Hiluxes arrived, courtesy of the Canadian government,” he explains. “They had little Canadian flags on the back. Because they were the real deal, and because of how the Hilux is seen, over time, strangely, the Canadian flag has become a symbol of high quality across the country. Hence the tattoos.”

.. It’s not just rebels in Afghanistan that love the Hilux. “The Toyota Hilux is everywhere,” says Andrew Exum, a former Army Ranger and now a fellow of the Center for a New American Security. “It’s the vehicular equivalent of the AK-47.

.. But Hunter admits he doesn’t know why Hiluxes are so popular with guerrilla forces; many other manufacturers’ trucks, he says, are also body-on-frame

.. the vehicle’s longevity is a factor, as is the high ground clearance. “They cover the ground incredibly well,” he says. They are often used by insurgent forces as “a modern version of light cavalry.

.. Toyota’s status is self-perpetuating. “Because everyone uses them, there are parts easily available, and mechanics everywhere know how to fix them. That kind of feeds on itself,” he says.

Military Times: Were the wars worth the cost?

The black-and-white issue of winning and losing is not something most service members dwell on. Instead, the conversation among military professionals is more nuanced.

“What actually comes up is more the question of what our goal in Afghanistan was, not so much, ‘Did we win or did we lose?’ or ‘Should we stay or should we be pulling out?’ The question I hear is about what we as a nation intended to accomplish,” Lacy said.

.. “Initially, our goal was to go find bin Laden, that was the impression that most of us had. We accomplished our mission. But then all the other stuff? How much do we need to be responsible for another nation? If we are somehow responsible, then for how long are we responsible?” Lacy said.
.. Yet most troops disagree with those defense experts on the value of staying in Afghanistan. In the Military Times survey, only 28 percent of active-duty troops say the U.S. should maintain a troop presence there beyond 2016.

.. Bradshaw, the Navy corpsman who deployed several times to both Iraq and Afghanistan, said he was frustrated by the conservative rules of engagement imposed due to concerns about civilian casualties.”At one point, the Marines couldn’t shoot unless they were shot at first. That added to the body count, and I’m the one that has to go try and patch them up,” Bradshaw said. “I’m not sure who was to blame, whether it was the military leadership or politicians that tied their hands, but I lost a lot of Marines because of the ROE.”

.. About 70 percent of the active-duty troops surveyed said the U.S. should not send a significant number of ground troops to Iraq to support Baghdad’s fight against the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

.. “I think it’s good that the war [in Afghanistan] is winding down,” Fox said. “As always, the Marines are going to do what they’re told to do to the best of their ability. If it so happens that there isn’t really a military solution to a particular problem, that’s not on us. And that pretty much sums up Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Conquest Is for Losers

War makes you poorer and weaker, even if you win.

.. One suspects, by the way, that this false notion of power was why the architects of war made torture routine — it wasn’t so much about results as about demonstrating a willingness to do whatever it takes.