But in recent days, the U.S. National Security Council has had its eyes warily focused on yet another reason to destabilize Tibet to seek a foothold in that remote part of the world. In an ABC Television interview on "This Week with George Staphanopoulos" on Sunday morning, April 13, 2008, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley inadvertently revealed a new hidden White House agenda behind its covert backing for the pro-independence movement in Tibet. In response to repeated questions from Staphanopoulos on whether President George Bush would attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Beijing over concerns about China's policy on Tibet, Hadley mentioned "Nepal" in repeated slips of the tongue.
Hadley's concern arises out of the surprising electoral victory by the Maoists in Nepal's elections for a Constituent Assembly to write a new constitution. Not only does this popular mandate accelerate the end of the monarchy, but it decisively marginalizes even the centrist Nepali Congress, whose Koirala family has dominated Nepal's electoral politics until now. While several Koiralas appear to be losing their parliamentary seats, the Maoists and their various communist allies are set to win an absolute majority in the 601-seat Constituent Assembly. Nepal has been a hot topic of discussion in secret National Security Council briefings in recent days, according to sources speaking on condition of anonymity. This explains why Nepal was on the tip of Stephen Hadley's tongue.
