The unidentified soldier accused of massacring 16 civilians in Afghanistan had been drinking the night of the murders, a government source tells the NY Times. (Alcohol consumption is a violation of military rules in combat zones.) According to the Times' source, the soldier was also having marital problems, as well as the accumulated stress from his four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. "When it all comes out, it will be a combination of stress, alcohol and domestic issues — he just snapped," says the anonymous source. "There will be questions raised about his emotional and mental stability for a fourth deployment." Gosh, ya' think?
But at a press conference last night, an attorney who says he was hired by the soldier's family vigorously denied that there were any marital problems. "That is absolutely false,” John Henry Browne said last night in his Seattle office. "I would like to put to rest the report that there was any discord in the family. The soldier’s wife is very supportive. She’s worried about his safety." The soldier, who is originally from the midwest and part of the Third Stryker Brigade, Second Infantry , has two children, ages 3 and 4.
The Army has flown the soldier out of Afghanistan to Kuwait, but when the Kuwaiti government found out he was imprisoned there, they "blew a gasket and wanted him out of there." He's most likely on his way to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas today, and military officials say they may seek the death penalty.
Browne says his client is a highly decorated war hero who lost part of a foot in combat, and suffered a concussion during a vehicle rollover caused by a roadside bomb. He says the soldier was The soldier was "frustrated" about being redeployed after his injury. "He was told his tours were over," Browne told reporters. "Literally, then, overnight that changed. His family was not very happy... The government is going to want to blame this on an individual rather than blame it on the war." How about we blame both and throw the government in there for good measure?
