Axis of Evil
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The Axis of Evil was mentioned in a President George W. Bush's State of the Union address in January 28th, 2002. The Axis of Evil was a reference to the governments of Iran, Iraq and North Korea.
"Our goal is to prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction. Some of these regimes have been pretty quiet since September the 11th. But we know their true nature. North Korea is a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens.
Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom.
Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror. The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax, and nerve gas, and nuclear weapons for over a decade. This is a regime that has already used poison gas to murder thousands of its own citizens—leaving the bodies of mothers huddled over their dead children. This is a regime that agreed to international inspections—then kicked out the inspectors. This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world.
States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic." --George W. Bush
Criticisms
At the time of Bush's speech, Iran and Iraq were hostile to each other, having fought a bloody war (with Iraq buying weaponry from the US) between September 1980 to August 1988, rendering an alliance unlikely. And North Korea, half a world away and with its own problems, had nothign to do with either of them.
