Courier Post

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007709120325

On Aug. 4, U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., voted against a bill requiring minimum rest periods for soldiers between tours in Iraq. He reasons that imposing any requirements on the military is the same as micromanaging the war.

LoBiondo, in his rush to support a flawed commander in chief, has chosen to ignore some very important data. Soldier suicides, desertions, divorces and post-traumatic stress disorders are at record highs in no small part due to the short rest periods between the extended 15-month tours. Some soldiers have served four and five tours.

LoBiondo claims to care for our soldiers, but his record proves otherwise. He has voted against Congress' every effort to bring the troops home; provide increased health care for them and their families by reducing the tax cut on those with $1 million incomes; provide reservists with the same health insurance as active-duty members; and extend bankruptcy protection to those who suffer hardship resulting from military service.

The usual reasons for ending this war go beyond the thousands of combined American and Iraqi casualties and $455 billion already spent. Iraq is a country with three disparate groups of people, a history of violence, a crumbling government that was forced on Iraqis by the United States and no apparent desire to share a common future.

A reasonable person would have stopped supporting this war long ago. Apparently, LoBiondo is a slow learner.

NICK REINA Milmay