US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has apologized after he was caught on cameras asking an Indian member of an audience if he was a member of the Taliban.
The Pentagon Chief made the inappropriate joke after finishing speaking at the University of Nebraska, his alma mater, and began taking questions.
According to the New York Daily News, an Indian member in the audience approached the microphone, prompting Hagel to deliver the extremely inappropriate joke.
A prolonged awkward silence followed the strange question, before the man identifies himself as Robin Gandhi, an assistant professor at the school.
Through a spokesman, Hagel immediately apologized for the remark, explaining that he did not know or see who was approaching the microphone.
