Now, LoBiondo Questions War

Regarding the April 19 article, “LoBiondo finds improvements, worries in Iraqi, Afghan tour”:Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, reports that his latest trip to Afghanistan and Iraq was a “mixed bag.” He now admits that President Bush's administration has made some errors, such as disbanding the Iraqi army and not providing for an alternate way for them to feed their families. That decision was made three years ago by Paul Bremer, then chief of the Coalition Provisional Authority, and obviously supported by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and President Bush. Suddenly, LoBiondo is questioning that decision?His constituents would like to know when he will “not only ask the right questions but make the right challenges to these policies,” as he is quoted saying in the article. Where was his curiosity and gumption when Bush was diverting millions from the chase for Osama bin Laden so that we could prepare for a war of choice in Iraq?LoBiondo's recent statements would be more laudable if one did not know that he is up for re-election this year and that Bush's approval rating is 36 percent and that the public no longer sees the Republican Party as the party to keep Americans safe. Why else the change of heart in distancing himself from a president he has supported so steadfastly since 2001?

NICK REINA

Buena Vista Twp.

Letter published in Press of Atlantic City, April 26, 2006