Dressing up for a fight

Story from yesterday's Guardian about American troops coming up against gunmen in Baquba. The soldier taking aim appears to have a cigar jammed in his teeth, which doesn't't help knock down our key prejudice about American troops – they watch too much TV. I'm sure they're all equally brave but there's something about military chic which I find slightly disturbing. I set great store by the fact that Britain is the only country in the world where nobody joins the police because they have a cool uniform. It's also the only place where officers of the law don't generally address you from behind mirrored shades.