Like where you hold you hands during prayers say a lot on your Madhab, how one holds his weapon says a lot about his troop too.
In the two pics bellow, you can clearly identify one as a US troop and the other one an Islamic fighter. Even though both the images are only shadows.
It has more to do with how they hold their weapons. US troops will always hang it down at an angle outwardly. And Muslim fighters will point it upwards.
Why? So that an accidental discharge doesn't kill himself. For the upward pointing one, the bullet will travel up. And the US style will go into the ground.
And about the origin of the icons. I can trace those back to the 70s maybe. Hizbullah in Lebanon used to march on the streets holding their arms like this, which was then regularly broadcast on TV, even though I hardly understood politics then.
And the US style probably came from Vietnam war tours. "Tour of Duty" a show from the 80s. Which show the Americans don't want to fight. But they have to, as have been ordered and now it's their duty.
Long post.
