Just when you thought the US was simply a bit confused about the Middle East (Sunni-Shia, Iraq-Iran and all that) Stephen Hadley, national security advisor to President Bush, flubs it regarding Tibet.

Interviewed on this ABC News This Week, he says “Nepal” instead of “Tibet” more than a “half-dozen times“. But don’t take my word for it, see the video and transcript here. (ABC News had to put “sic” in multiple times to explain the oddity).

“The way to deal with the issue of Nepal (sic) is not by some — a statement that you’re not going to the opening ceremonies and say, therefore, I checked the Nepal (sic)box.”

Instead, Hadley said the President is opting to pursue a broader diplomatic approach. “What he’s doing on Nepal (sic) 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 (sic), 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.”

If you remember, it was Stephen Hadley who as deputy national security advisor admitted responsibility for the “16 words” about yellowcake uranium that slipped into Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address. Of course we all know now it turned out to be false. Afterwards, he submitted his resignation to the president, but Bush did not accept it and instead, he’s now top national security advisor.