Is This Guy Serious?

We realize some people do not know where Nepal is located. Granted, it is a small country sandwiched between two of the world’s biggest countries (China and India). But when high level advisors to the world’s most powerful and influential figure in the world does not know, it is truly alarming. This following is an article from The Kathmandu Post:

It seems US President George W. Bush's security advisor, Stephen Hadley, did not know the difference between Nepal and Tibet. In an interview conducted by George Stephanopoulos of ABC television in the US on April 14, Hadley repeatedly confused Tibet with Nepal.

"If countries are really concerned about Nepal, we shouldn't have this sort of non-issue of opening ceremonies or not. They should do the hard work of quiet diplomacy to urge the Chinese government -- in their interest -- to take advantage of this opportunity to do something," Hadley said while asked about the issue of Chinese crackdown against Tibetan protests.
It did not end here. "The way to deal with the issue of Nepal is not by some -- a statement that you're not going to the opening ceremonies ..." he further said.

"What he's doing on Nepal is what we think the international community ought to be doing, which is approaching the Chinese privately through diplomatic channels and sending a very firm message of concern for human rights, a concern for what's happening in Nepal, urging the Chinese government to understand that it is in their interest to reach out to representatives of the Dalai Lama, and to show, while the whole world is watching China, that they are determined to treat their citizens with dignity and respect. There is an opportunity here," he added.
Hadley did not realize his mistake, nor did interviewer Stephanopoulos attempt to correct him during the interview.

Later, a White House spokesperson had to correct the mistake. "In his ABC interview, Mr. Hadley referred at least a half-dozen times to Nepal when he seemed clearly to be speaking of Tibet." A White House spokesman later confirmed that Mr. Hadley had misspoken, the New York Times said.