The smearing starts: Separately, an un-named US military official told the New York Times that the suspect had simply "snapped", and confirmed that he was on his fourth combat tour. "When it all comes out, it will be a combination of stress, alcohol and domestic issues - he just snapped," the official said.

Although the soldier describes his Marriage as fantastic and had no problems with alcohol. I guess trying to angle blame away from the military who sent him back is very important at this point - better a drunk wife beater than a damaged war veteran.