True, it's done because they are most open to attack when they are standing still and a large percentage of ambushes come when they get bogged down in traffic at intersections.
I think however, what David might find disturbing is a few things, some that I took note of having seen this video many times before on youtube,
#1, the driver of that Humvee clearly exercised poor judgment with regards to some very close calls with young children and adults walking on the street.
#2, The only indicator of their presence is them apparently honking the horn the entire time they are driving. I have seen this same scene done right by private contractors performing travel in convoys where the vehicles were fitted with sirens, and people have no problem getting out of the way.
#3, Trust me that by now there is nobody in Iraq who doesn't know that they must move aside for military vehicles, however often teenage boys handed large trucks and told to drive and don't stop, get a little bit out of hand at times. The small passenger bus in the video is a perfect example, the driver of that bus had no rear view whatsoever, and frankly having been to Arab countries, I can say that honking horns are a constant presence. Pulling that Nascar style bump and run, give 'em the chrome horn bit, on a vehicle like that bus was premature and frankly just done for kicks from the looks of it, the driver needed time to see them and indeed find somewhere that the bus could actually be pulled aside. If you notice the streets are loaded with parked cars leaving only a single car width of roadway for driving.
There is something called common sense which many very young boys who are tossed into situations like that are greatly lacking. Codes of conduct don't go out the window just because you are in a battle zone, soldiers can and do get held to account for their actions. You might notice that none of the riders in that vehicle chose to show anything that might identify them? Command does look at what is being posted by combat troops on Youtube, they aren't idiots, they see this stuff. I can also say that the American military hands out tens of thousands of dollars a day to Iraqi people for damage done to property, houses, cars, livestock, and yes even people. They have claims offices set up where the Iraqi people can go, they submit their claim, it's quickly reviewed and they are handed cash money to compensate for their losses.
Smashing some shitty 20 year old vehicle with a Hummer may be just fun for some, but when that shit old vehicle is all you own in the world, and you make your living as a cab driver or a delivery guy, it's a big deal.
as always, just my not so humble opinion.
