I have been in the USAF for 22 years .. I've watched us go from the swaggering chest out don't mess with us days of Reagan to the touchy-feely force we have become.
Everyone, please don;t get me wrong - our military men and women are the best, are professionals and above all are American's. We will fight hard and will win, but Belevaqua is right on this point.
We are constantly hammered with Rules of Engagement, the Law of Armed Conflict, How to treat Prisoners, How to treat civilians, how to treat different cultures, etc etc etc. We get non stop training on how to be "nice".
We can get mad, and we can definately kick some ass, but we also are ordered to always always wear the White Hat and be the good guys. Not that that is neccesarily worng, but there is and should be a limit.