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November 24, 2001

taliban man

Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban's supreme leader, co-equal on America's most-wanted list with Osama bin Laden, is partial to Chevrolet Suburbans with darkened windows. Mr. bin Laden, like many of the sheiks and princes of Saudi Arabia among whom he grew up, likes Toyota Land Cruisers, as did his military commander, Muhammad Atef, a former Egyptian policeman who is believed to have been killed by American bombing last week.

There is a hierarchy of vehicles among the more important lieutenants of the
Taliban and Al Qaeda, Mr. bin Laden's terrorist organization. Not for them
anything discreet and durable, to go with the austerity of their faith: nothing but
a Land Cruiser will serve. For ordinary fighters, men with long beards and longer
barrels on their ubiquitous Kalashnikovs, the vehicle of choice is the Toyota
Hilux, a compact pickup truck popular throughout the developing world.

The presence of these vehicles raises questions, given that the Taliban have
been subjected for three years to one of the strictest economic sanctions ever
applied by the United Nations. And Afghanistan is one of the world's poorest
countries. How can thousands of men who produce nothing of economic value
afford vehicles that cost $50,000 or, in the case of luxuriously equipped Land
Cruisers, significantly more?

Wade Hoyt, Toyota's spokesman in New York, who put the best corporate spin on
the situation this week. "It is not our proudest product placement," he said. "But
it shows that the Taliban are looking for the same qualities as any truck
buyer: durability and reliability.".

Trucks of the Taliban: Durable, Not Discreet, By JOHN F. BURNS from AUTOS ON FRIDAY, NYTimes, 2001 November 23.

Posted by dc at November 24, 2001 09:13 PM

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