Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain, who is touting his foreign policy credentials, got tangled up briefly on Tuesday on which Islamic extremist group Iran is accused of supporting.
McCain, at a news conference in the Jordanian capital of Amman, accused Iran of supporting the Sunni extremist group al-Qaeda in Iraq.
US officials believe Iran has been backing Shiite extremists in Iraq, not a Sunni group like al-Qaeda.
"Well, it's common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and is receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran. That's well known and it's unfortunate," McCain said.
Connecticut independent Senator Joe Lieberman, traveling with McCain on a swing through the Middle East and Europe, whispered in his ear and McCain quickly corrected himself.
"I'm sorry; the Iranians are training the extremists, not al-Qaeda. Not al-Qaeda. I'm sorry," McCain said.
Democrats quickly jumped on McCain, a strong backer of US President George W. Bush's troop build-up in Iraq.
"After eight years of the Bush administration's incompetence in Iraq, McCain's comments don't give the American people a reason to believe that he can be trusted to offer a clear way forward," said Democratic National Committee communications director Karen Finney.
McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said McCain "misspoke and immediately corrected himself."
"Democrats have launched political attacks today because they know the American people have deep concerns about their candidates' judgment and readiness to lead as commander in chief," Rogers said.
McCain's next stop was Europe yesterday where Bush has been heavily criticized for a perceived "go it alone" approach on a wide range of international issues.
Before his arrival in London, McCain wrote in the Financial Times that the US must be a "model country" and work with others to tackle challenges such as terrorism and global warming.
The newspaper said McCain distanced himself from what allies see as the unilateralism of the Bush administration, promising to "listen to the views and respect the collective will of our democratic allies."
In a column in the newspaper, McCain promised to renew the "mutual respect and trust" between the US and Europe and vowed to put the US at the forefront of international efforts to tackle climate change.
"When we believe that international action is necessary, whether military, economic or diplomatic, we will try to persuade our friends that we are right. But we, in return, must also be willing to be persuaded by them," McCain wrote.
Meanwhile, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey on Tuesday brushed aside US and Jewish criticism of a multibillion-dollar gas deal she helped clinch with Iran, saying the Alpine republic does not need permission from the US to advance its strategic interests.
The brusque remarks by Calmy-Rey, who has ruffled feathers in Washington and Jerusalem with her outspoken positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, threaten to escalate tensions over a 25-year natural gas contract announced on Monday between Swiss energy trading company EGL and the state-owned National Iranian Gas Export Company.
The agreement is worth between 18 billion euros and 27 billion euros (US$28 billion and US$42 billion).
"Switzerland is an independent country that has its own strategic interests to defend," Calmy-Rey told reporters.
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