WASHINGTON (TIP) US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel expressed regret to an Indian-American college professor on Friday, June 21 after jokingly asking him if he was Taliban during a question-answer session following an event at the University of Nebraska. Hagel was taking questions after a speech when he called on an audience member.

While the microphone was being relayed to the questioner, Hagel, who had been in a chatty, jokey mood through the one-hour speaking engagement at his alma mater, inexplicably quipped, “you’re not a member of the Taliban, are you?”