During the State of the Union address last week, President Bush singled out Iran, Iraq and North Korea as a group of nations that oppress their people, seek weapons of mass destruction and harbor terrorists.
While the accuracy of these claims cannot be denied, President Bush’s labeling of these countries as an “axis of evil,” similar to World War II’s axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan, has raised eyebrows across the international community.
A main concern for American citizens centers around whether the decision to single out these three countries signals the imminent threat of U.S. military action.
Given that any encounter would be far more costly and dangerous than the war in Afghanistan, Americans need to ask: How real is this threat? Do we really face an “axis of evil”?
According to Bush aides following the address, the president’s use of harsh rhetoric to publicly put these countries on notice should simply be construed as a warning, intended to expand the scope of the anti-terror campaign.
Not surprisingly, however, leaders in Iraq, Iran and North Korea balked at the president’s open condemnation and responded in kind with palpable threats against America.
Bush’s decision to use the term “axis,” while historically significant, fails to apply accurately to these three states.
Leaders in Iran, Iraq and North Korea (along with many leaders from other nations) certainly share a mutual fear of and hostility toward the United States. But there is absolutely no indication that the three states in question have conspired together to fight the United States or to cooperate militarily.
On the contrary, these states are more divided than they are united. It has been little more than a decade since Iran and Iraq fought a bloody war with one another and they remain bitter enemies today. The suggestion of an “axis” between these two states is inaccurate.
Furthermore, neither Iran nor Iraq have acted in alliance with North Korea.
Bush would make a far stronger case by dealing with the three countries as individual actors. Each has taken part in manufacturing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, and all three possess chemical weapons. This threat requires our country’s full attention.
There is little doubt all three present threats – along with other countries Bush failed to mention – and we must take steps to diminish these threats.
But there are many ways to accomplish this without heading into a dangerous and costly war.
