Blackwater has been known for this sort of thing since at the very least the second year of the US-coalition presence in Iraq. There are a lot of vids like this with the humvee type driving and ramming and (especially to a bystander) seemingly wanton destruction. Blackwater's personnel has been repeatedly and consistently accused of arbitrary and irresponsible behaviour, while being free from prosecution. It's a bit like if police were above the law in the US, or if prison guards do not have rules to abide by. Meanwhile they're also far more expensive than the regular army (as usual with mercs).
Take a look at this old bit of news.
http://www.democracynow.org/2007/1/2...blackwater_inc
Also look at some of the related topics.
You know that sociological study where random students with no training or instructions on what is and is not allowed, were told to keep order in prisons and ended up torturing other students who rollplayed the prisoners? What if a similar sociological effect can be applied to these mercs?
What if you had the same lack of restriction on police? Would you get South African Apartheid police where police brutality was not just common, but also left unchecked? What if you leave a private army or army to do whatever?
Do you get the type of thing of raping and pillaging what they can, because they can and nobody would stop them? These people are not the top of the line, they need a leash. There need to be repercursions to improper use.
Besides, I notice the attitude in this thread as well, but what exactly makes their lives more important than the lives of other people that THEY get to do this, but everyone else just has to accept their secondary or tertiary class citizens in comparison? I'm not sure what kind of security you create by ramming people in the street, causing arbitrary property and bodily damage just because someone obeyed road rules: traffic light on red: stop. Green: drive. OH CRAP COLONNE OF HUMVEES - WAIT WHAT THEY SHOOT AT/RAM ME?!
Sure, being stopped/blocked can create an opportunity for an attack, but does that mean your paranoia should cause you to threaten the security of everyone around you? And how does that transfer a feeling of security and state of law (which you are supposedly there for) to the people?
Does not seem like a healthy situation to me. I understand why from a military pov you'd want to drive on, it does not help ease tentions in the country. Hell, if you were perfect models of law and order and set an example, yet were still attacked, sure, you'd be the victim, but you'd also be empathised with. Which in the long run would probably result in less recruits of disgruntled people.
Regardless, Bush was to blame for this whole insurgency and insecurity by dismantling the Iraqi army immediately and throwing the country into disarray, instead of listening to his generals and even Sun Tzu and taking it over, weeding out the bad apples over time. When I heard they decided to disband the army over night without even setting up security posts at all the ammo dumps, my jaw just dropped due to seeing a form of stupidity I thought even Bush Jr. was incapable of.
I do wonder how strong the Blackwater and other arms lobby was in doing so though.