What Causes Anti-War Activists?

This article suggests that alcohol plays a big part:

SILVERDALE — A college student was arrested Sunday in the slashing of 42 tires on 13 government vehicles in an Army recruiting office parking lot, saying he was angry about the war in Iraq, authorities said.

Following a number of calls about a man wearing black and slashing tires, two deputies stopped a 19-year-old college student from Colorado as he tried to run from the lot shortly after midnight Sunday, a Kitsap County sheriff's office report said.

The man put up his hands, dropped a knife and, after being made to lie on the ground and being read his rights, asked, "Is this the time where I can confess?" deputies wrote.

On a portable breath test, his blood alcohol level registered .168, more than twice the legal threshold for intoxication, according to the report.

He told deputies he decided to slash the tires of Army recruiting vehicles because he "hated the military and the government and the war we were in."

UPDATE; There's a lot of this anti-war insanity going around. This news report from the July 5, 2007 Times of Trenton, New Jersey, I found linked at Michelle Malkin's blog made it sound like a random act of violence:

WILLINGBORO -- An airman from McGuire Air Force Base remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition at a Camden hospital Thursday, a day after he was shot in the chest by another man who then took his own life.

The exact circumstances of Wednesday evening's bizarre attempted murder-suicide on Windsor Lane remained under investigation by township detectives and the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.

Authorities said they are still trying to determine if the gunman, identified as Matthew J. Marren, 22, of Pennsauken, knew and specifically targeted the victim, Jonathan Schrieken, 22, or if his shooting of the airman was a random act.

But, based on their preliminary investigation, authorities said in a news release Thursday that it "appears to be a random act of violence and there is no indication to believe, at this time, that other individuals (were) involved in this incident."

A few days later, MSNBC reported:

WILLINGBORO — The Pennsauken man who shot and wounded a member of the U.S. Air Force before killing himself left suicide notes that indicated he was “angry at the government and wanted to make a statement” on Independence Day, one of the man’s relatives said yesterday.

Matthew J. Marren, 22, of Walnut Avenue, drove to a home on Windsor Lane rented by Senior Airman Jonathan Schrieken, 22, at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Marren got of this vehicle, found Schrieken outside the house, shot him once in the chest with a small-caliber firearm, then turned the gun on himself, said Burlington County First Assistant Prosecutor Ray Milavsky.

Marren was pronounced dead at Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County in Willingboro later Wednesday night.

Schrieken was taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden where was listed in critical but stable condition yesterday afternoon, Milavsky said.

Schrieken is stationed at McGuire Force Base. He works as a loadmaster for the 6th Airlift Squadron.

Marren’s aunt, Terina Henderson of Trion, Ga., said she spoke to Marren’s mother yesterday who told her Marren left two notes, one in his home and one in his car, indicating he was upset with the government.

She said she did not know the exact wording in the notes, but said Marren was “mad at the government and wanted to make a statement … that’s why he did what he did on the Fourth of July.”

She did not know if Marren knew Schrieken or whether Marren shot him because he was affiliated with the military.