Axis of evil



Axis of evil is a term initially used by the former United States President George W. Bush in his State of the Union Address on January 29, 2002, and often repeated throughout his presidency, describing governments that he accused of helping terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction. Iran, Iraq and North Korea were portrayed by George W. Bush during the State of the Union as possessing nuclear weapons. The Axis of Evil was used to pinpoint these common enemies of the United States and ally the country in support of the war on terror. The term has stirred controversy, as it turned out Iraq never actually possessed any weapons of mass destruction. Nevertheless, "the Bush administration was undeterred by the paucity of evidence and the failure to find a nuclear weapons program or any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and remained relentlessly focused on the nuclear weapons ambitions of North Korea and Iran, all the while ignoring or minimizing diplomatic efforts that are not hegemonic and confrontational."

2002 State of the Union
In his 2002 State of the Union Address, Bush called North Korea "a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens." He also stated Iran "aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom." Of the three nations Bush cited, however, he gave the most criticism to Iraq.

He stated "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." Afterwards, Bush said, "States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world."

David Frum
The phrase was attributed to former Bush speechwriter David Frum, originally as the axis of hatred and then evil. Frum explained his rationale for creating the phrase axis of evil in his book The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush. Essentially, the story begins in late December 2001 when head speechwriter Mike Gerson gave Frum the assignment of articulating the case for dislodging the government of Saddam Hussein in Iraq in only a few sentences for the upcoming State of the Union address. Frum says he began by rereading President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "date which will live in infamy" speech given on December 8, 1941, after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. While Americans needed no convincing about going to war with Japan, Roosevelt saw the greater threat to the United States coming from Nazi Germany, and he had to make the case for fighting a two-ocean war.

Frum points in his book to a now often-overlooked sentence in Roosevelt's speech which reads in part, "...we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again." Frum interprets Roosevelt's oratory like this: "For FDR, Pearl Harbor was not only an attack&mdash;it was a warning of future and worse attacks from another, even more dangerous enemy." Japan, a country with one-tenth of America's industrial capacity, a dependence on imports for its food, and already engaged in a war with China, was extremely reckless to attack the United States, a recklessness "that made the Axis such a menace to world peace", Frum says. Saddam Hussein's two wars, against Iran and Kuwait, were just as reckless, Frum decided, and therefore presented the same threat to world peace.

In his book Frum relates that the more he compared the Axis powers of World War II to modern "terror states", the more similarities he saw. "The Axis powers disliked and distrusted one another", Frum writes. "Had the Axis somehow won the war, its members would quickly have turned on one another." Iran, Iraq, al-Qaeda, and Hezbollah, despite quarreling among themselves, "all resented power of the West and Israel, and they all despised the humane values of democracy." There, Frum saw the connection: "Together, the terror states and the terror organizations formed an axis of hatred against the United States."

Frum tells that he then sent off a memo with the above arguments and also cited some of the atrocities perpetrated by the Iraqi government. He expected his words to be chopped apart and altered beyond recognition, as is the fate of much presidential speechwriting, but his words were ultimately read by Bush nearly verbatim, though Bush changed the term axis of hatred to axis of evil. North Korea was added to the list, he says, because it was attempting to develop nuclear weapons, had a history of reckless aggression, and "needed to feel a stronger hand".

Afterwards, Frum's wife disclosed his authorship to the public.

Yossef Bodansky
A decade before the 2002 State of the Union address, in August 1992, the political scientist Yossef Bodansky wrote a paper entitled "Tehran, Baghdad & Damascus: The New Axis Pact" while serving as the Director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare of the US House of Representatives. Although he did not explicitly apply the epithet evil to his New Axis, Bodansky's axis was otherwise very reminiscent of Frum's axis. Bodansky felt that this new Axis was a very dangerous development. The gist of Bodansky's argument was that Iran, Iraq and Syria had formed a "tripartite alliance" in the wake of the First Gulf War, and that this alliance posed an imminent threat that could only be dealt with by invading Iraq a second time and overthrowing Saddam Hussein.

Bolton: "Beyond the Axis of Evil"
On May 6, 2002, then-Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton gave a speech entitled "Beyond the Axis of Evil". In it he added three more nations to be grouped with the already mentioned rogue states: Cuba, Libya, and Syria. The criteria for inclusion in this grouping were: "state sponsors of terrorism that are pursuing or who have the potential to pursue weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or have the capability to do so in violation of their treaty obligations". The speech was widely reported as an expansion of the original axis of evil.

Rice: Outposts of Tyranny
In January 2005, at the beginning of Bush's second term as President, the incoming Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, made a speech regarding the newly termed outposts of tyranny, a list of six countries deemed most repressive. This included the two remaining Axis members, as well as Cuba, Belarus, Myanmar and Zimbabwe.

No coordination
One criticism is that unlike the Axis powers, the three nations mentioned in Bush's speech did not coordinate public policy, and therefore the term axis is incorrect. Also, while the Axis Powers of the Second World War signed diplomatic treaties with one another, such as the Pact of Steel and the Tripartite Pact, that created a military alliance between them, none of the nations that make up the "axis of evil" have taken similar steps publicly, nor have they done so secretly according to present intelligence records.

No category
In addition, Iran and Iraq fought the long, Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, under basically the same leadership as that which existed at the time of Bush's speech leading some to believe the linking between the nations under the same banner as misguided. Others argue that each of the three have some special characteristics which are obscured by grouping them together. Anne Applebaum has written about the debate over North Korea's inclusion in the group.

Axis of terror
In January 2006, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz implicated "the axis of terror that operates between Iran and Syria" following a suicide bomb in Tel Aviv.

In April 2006 the phrase axis of terror earned more publicity. Israel's UN Ambassador, Dan Gillerman, cautioned of a new axis of terror—Iran, Syria and the Hamas-run Palestinian government; Gillerman repeated the term before the UN over the crisis in Lebanon. Some three months later Israeli senior foreign ministry official Gideon Meir branded the alleged alliance an axis of terror and hate.

Axis of belligerence
In 2006, Isaias Afewerki, the transitional president of Eritrea, had declared in response to the deteriorating relations with the neighboring countries of Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen by accusing them of being an "Axis of Belligerence."

Colonialist axis
In a speech, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi the chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran has spoken of what he refers to as a "true axis of evil" consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel.

Axis of good
The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez has described the so-called New Latin Left as an "axis of good" comprising Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela (all countries now governed by leftist leaders) and instead "Washington and its allies" as an "axis of evil".

Axis of diesel
The Economist referred to an article about the term apparently used more often in reference to a burgeoning alliance of Iran, Russia and Venezuela. They cite the billions of dollars in arms sales to Venezuela and the construction of Iranian nuclear facilities as well as the rejection of added sanctions on Iran. They did conclude that the benefits of the arrangement were exaggerated, however.

Axis of environmental evil
Several environmental non-governmental organizations, including Friends of the Earth International and Greenpeace, as well as the Green Party of Canada, have dubbed Australia, Canada and United States, the "Axis of Environmental Evil" because of their lack of support for international environmental agreements, particularly those related to climate change.

Parodies
Various related pun phrases include:
 * axis of weasels - mocking certain countries that did not support the US invasion of Iraq
 * Axis of Eve - a women's political action group that opposes Bush through satirical expression
 * axis of medieval - mockingly criticizes the influence that Bush's personal Christian faith has on his political views
 * asses of evil - a mocking insult against Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld
 * axles of evil - denouncing sport utility vehicles for their poor fuel efficiency, and several other variations
 * coalition of the drilling - mocking the 'coalition of the willing', stating the possible goal behind the "willing" in getting access to the Iraqi oil
 * Axes of Evil - the title of a song by the Canadian heavy metal band 3 Inches of Blood.

The term has also lent itself to various parodies, including the following:
 * In a Saturday Night Live skit with host Jonny Moseley, George W. Bush played by Will Ferrell expands the "Axis of Evil" (although he doesn't mention North Korea, instead saying "one of the Koreas") to include things with "evil" in it or things he does not understand (including Enron, Tom Daschle, the economy, France, those who "mess with Texas", the "original Axis of Evil", mathematics, Dick Cheney (for now), and Evel Knievel, with the exception of Dr. Evil). Ferrell mispronounces "axis" so it sound like "Access of Evil".


 * Serj Tankian, lead singer for the group System of a Down and Tom Morello, guitarist and former guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave (respectively) founded a political action group called the Axis of Justice.
 * Andrew Marlatt wrote an extensive parody for SatireWire, with the rule: "An axis can't have more than three countries."
 * The Economist ran a 2006 (May 13–19) cover headline titled "Axis of Feeble" about the end of the George Bush-Tony Blair partnership.
 * King Dedede, a character from the Kirby series, refers to the titular character as an "axis of evil" in an episode of the Japanese version of the anime.
 * SatireWire created an oft-quoted article which had China, Libya, and Syria in the "Axis of Just as Evil"; Cuba, Serbia, and Sudan in the "Axis of Somewhat Evil"; and Bulgaria, Indonesia, and Russia in the "Axis of Not So Much Evil Really as Just Generally Disagreeable". Applying for a new axis were El Salvador, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone, who wished to be called the "Axis of Countries That Aren't the Worst But Certainly Won't Be Asked to Host the Olympics".  Additional axes were Australia, Canada and Mexico in the "Axis of Nations That Are Actually Quite Nice But Secretly Have Some Nasty Thoughts About America"; and New Zealand, Scotland and Spain with the "Axis of Countries That Want Sheep to Wear Lipstick".  Finally, there was the "Axis of Countries Whose Names End in 'Guay" with one of the members (Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chadguay) possibly filing a false application.
 * In the Top Gear "Middle East Special", during a road trip through Syria, Jeremy Clarkson installs an "Axle of Evil" to make his Mazda MX-5 a six-wheeled vehicle.

Star Wars
In the science-fiction Star Wars novel Labyrinth of Evil, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine uses the term the Triad of Evil when referring to a trio of enemy Separatist strongholds (Felucia, Mygeeto, Saleucami). Palpatine is the public persona of Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith, who seeks to take over the galaxy and installs an authoritarian Empire.

Bill Bailey
British Comedian Bill Bailey also referred to the Axis of Evil in his Part Troll tour. He queried whether it was possible to assume a non-evil role within a terrorist organisation, possibly in the laundry or catering department. Then going on to pretend that he was the receptionist for the Axis of Evil. Imagining he was answering the phone, Bill Bailey says to the audience, "Hello, Axis of Evil. Oh no, they're all out at the moment. Oh, I don't know. Doing something evil I suppose". Placing the "caller" on hold, he then played a short jingle for the "Axis of Evil Pension Scheme".

Comedy Tour
In response to the problems Americans of Middle-Eastern descent have in the current climate, a group of comedians have banded together to form the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. The comedians, Ahmed Ahmed (from Egypt), Maz Jobrani (from Iran), and Aron Kader (whose father is Palestinian), have created a show which currently plays on Comedy Central. They have also included half-Palestinan, half-Italian Dean Obeidallah in some of their acts.

The group recently took the comedy tour around the Middle East (November - December 2007), performing in the UAE, Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, and Lebanon to sell-out crowds.

Lullabies
In 2003 the Norwegian record label Kirkelig Kulturverksted published the CD Lullabies from the Axis of Evil containing 14 lullabies from Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan and Cuba. Every lullaby is presented in its original form sung by women from these countries, and then a western version with interpretations in English.

Words Without Borders
In 2007 the online magazine Words Without Borders published its first anthology titled Literature From The "Axis of Evil". The anthology contains works from Syria, Cuba, Libya, Sudan, Iran, Iraq and North Korea. The works included are typically non-political in nature, and are intended to further a human understanding of life inside the countries designated as part of the "Axis". Sudan (included in the anthology) has never been given an "Axis" or "Beyond the Axis" designation by proponents of the terms.

Other

 * "Holidays in the Axis of Evil" is a documentary by BBC.
 * Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil is a direct to video film.
 * Empire of Evil (documentary film)
 * Team America: World Police comedy film
 * The song "Axes of Evil" by 3 Inches of Blood in their album Advance and Vanquish

Cosmology
In cosmology, the Axis of Evil is the name given to a pattern that is left imprinted on the radiation left behind by the Big Bang. The pattern itself is an alignment of hot and cold spots in the Cosmic Microwave Background that seemingly defies the standard isotropic model of the Universe. Discovered and named in 2005 by Kate Land and João Magueijo of Imperial College London, the pattern is controversial and disputed amongst scientists, though two independent studies have confirmed its existence.