AP scrubbed Hadley's reportedly mistaken reference to “Nepal”

Written by Jeremy Holden

Published

In an article on appearances by national security adviser Stephen Hadley on two television news programs during which he discussed President Bush's decision to attend the Olympics opening ceremonies, the Associated Press did not note that during his appearance on ABC's This Week, Hadley repeatedly referred to Nepal when apparently talking about Tibet and reported: " 'The whole issue of opening ceremonies is a nonissue,' Hadley said. 'I think it is a way of dodging what really needs to happen if you're concerned about' Tibet." In fact, Hadley had said, “This whole issue of opening ceremonies is a nonissue. I think it is a way of dodging what really needs to happen if you're concerned about Nepal [emphasis added].” By contrast, The New York Times reported that Hadley “referred at least a half-dozen times to Nepal when he seemed clearly to be speaking of Tibet.”

An April 13 Associated Press article on national security adviser Stephen Hadley's appearances on that day's episodes of ABC's This Week, and Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday, during which he discussed President Bush's decision to attend the opening ceremonies of the summer Olympics in Beijing, reported: " 'The whole issue of opening ceremonies is a nonissue,' Hadley said. 'I think it is a way of dodging what really needs to happen if you're concerned about' Tibet." In fact, Hadley said on This Week, “This whole issue of opening ceremonies is a nonissue. I think it is a way of dodging what really needs to happen if you're concerned about Nepal [emphasis added].” Bush has been criticized for his refusal to boycott the opening ceremonies in light of China's violent crackdown on demonstrations in Tibet, not Nepal. The AP did not note Hadley's repeated references during the appearance to Nepal in talking about China's alleged human rights abuses in Tibet.

By contrast, in an April 14 article, The New York Times reported: “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.”

An April 13 post on the Daily Kos blog noted that the AP substituted the word “Tibet” in reporting Hadley's comment.

From the April 13 edition of ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos:

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (host): Let's talk about the Olympics. President Carter came out against a boycott, but President Bush has been under tremendous pressure to stay away from the opening ceremonies. Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain won't go. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany won't go. The president has said his plans have not changed. Does that mean he'll attend the opening ceremonies, or not?

HADLEY: What the president said is that he will go to the Olympics. He wants to support our Olympic athletes -- the wonderful men and women who are going to participate.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So that means he'll go see events but he won't go to the opening ceremonies?

HADLEY: The president has said he is going to the Olympics. I think this whole issue --

STEPHANOPOULOS: How come you can't -- how come you don't want to answer the question?

HADLEY: This whole issue of opening ceremonies is a nonissue. I think it is a way of dodging what really needs to happen if you're concerned about Nepal.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So does that mean the president will be going to them?

HADLEY: The president is going to the Olympics. The president is going to -- thinks that the way to deal with the issue of Nepal is not by some -- a statement that you're not going to the opening ceremonies and say, “Therefore, I've checked the Nepal box.”

STEPHANOPOULOS: But he may not go to the opening ceremonies, you just don't want to say it.

HADLEY: No, the president is going to the Olympics. 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, of 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. And if countries are really concerned about Nepal, we shouldn't have this sort of nonissue 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 about meeting the concerns about people in Nepal.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But you call it a nonissue, yet you won't say clearly that the president is attending the opening ceremonies, and I'm just trying to figure out why.

HADLEY: The president at this point is going to the Olympics. We haven't worked out the details of his schedule at this point in time. But from his vantage point, if you listen what he has said, he has no reason not to go. Because what he has said is, we need to be using diplomacy to try and deal with the issue of Nepal.

A tip from readers A.G. and S.T. contributed to this item. Thanks, and keep them coming.