Congressman says sorry for comparing Nazi camps with Guantanamo

A Republican member of the United States Congress has apologized for suggesting that Guantanamo Bay detainees were worse than Adolf Hitler because the Nazi dictator "sort of had a political rationale about what he was doing." Frank LoBiondo made the remark on a radio talk show, describing his recent visit to the Naval Base in Cuba. Muslim terrorists, he said, were more evil than Hitler. "Hitler, in his philosophy, was, you know, he hated Jews, he was murdering Jews, and there were some people he liked. But he never went to the level that these people are going to," LoBiondo said. A caller objected to the statement only a few minutes later. "You're right. You're right. I was wrong. I should not have used that and I apologize," LoBiondo responded. He afterwards said that the comparison had been a bad one. A member of the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives, LoBiondo had traveled to Guantanamo Bay to inspect the facility, which holds 520 detainees captured in Afghanistan. He had voted against an independent panel to investigate allegations of prisoner abuse there.