Retired General Barry McCaffrey Says Killings Raise Numerous Questions

The American soldier suspected in the alleged killing of at least 16 Afghan villagers over the weekend, was reportedly a conventional soldier, supporting a special ops unit-- either Green Beret or Navy Seals--in a village stability operation.

Ironically they were sort of creating a neighborhood watch for these remote villages.

Retired General Barry McCaffrey said that we don't know much about that operation and there are many questions about the soldier.

"We're almost undoubtedly facing a case of psychiatric breakdown, or a sociopath," he told Here & Now's Robin Young.

"This older guy was on his fourth combat tour. Had he been indicating instability- mental instability? Did he have an alcohol or drug problem? Had he been under treatment? Did the chain of command know that they had a non-commissioned officer who was about to commit mass murder? I would assume that he'd been giving indications of problems before this."

Gen. McCaffrey says there will also be questions about what happened at the base that night in Afghanistan.

"How does a non-commissioned officer leave a combat base armed in the middle of the night, murder people walking around in the dark, and then re-enter his base without some flag going up?" he said.