MCGrath:

The military are trained by task, including civilian police type tasks.

The reason the soldiers in Iraq behave badly is that their lives are constantly being threatened by people who should be under civilian control, who delight in sowing chaos and destruction in the name of whatever god or banner they can find that will let them get their adrenalin rush through destruction. Most of these soldiers would rather switch than fight, given a choice, and will go home and raise families at the first opportunity to do so. But under the threat of bombs and hidden weapons, people get nervous and tetchy. On both sides.

A