Cain slips up on Libya policy - again

Republican candidate Herman Cain. Photo / AP

Republican White House hopeful Herman Cain, looking to explain a gaffe earlier this week on Libya, has suggested the Taleban was part of the new government in Tripoli in a new slip-up.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday in Florida, Cain defended himself over his rambling response to a question about Libya posed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's editorial board - a video of which quickly went viral.

Cain, while admitting he was "a bit fatigued" during the interview, said the reporter had asked him a question that was too vague about whether he agreed with the Obama administration's handling of the crisis in Libya.

"Do I agree with siding with the opposition? Do I agree with saying that Gaddafi should go? Do I agree that they now have a country where you've got Taleban and al-Qaeda that's going to be part of the government?" he said.

"Do I agree with not knowing the government - which part was he asking me about? I was trying to get him to be specific and he wouldn't be specific."

The United States invaded Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks to overthrow the Taleban regime, which had refused to surrender 9/11 mastermind and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Within weeks, the regime had crumbled. Taleban fighters are still active in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but there is no hint they are present in Tripoli.

Earlier in the week, when asked about President Barack Obama's handling of the crisis in Libya, Cain stumbled badly and paused before finally saying he had "all this stuff twirling around in my head".

The foreign policy gaffes come as Cain is fighting to keep his campaign on track amid a spiralling sexual harassment scandal. Several women have claimed he behaved improperly towards them - claims Cain has vehemently denied.

- AAP