For those who follow international politics one would have heard of the term ‘Axis of evil’ 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, Bush labeled Iran, Iraq and North Korea as the axis of evil. 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." Further 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: Libya, Syria, and Cuba. 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. Off course now Iraq and Libya have been ‘liberated’ i.e. if one goes by Washington’s definition.
But why should we be concerned about such a thing as Axis of Evil—which to begin with was just an acronym used by the US Presidency? Well actually nothing really, expect that over the years the term Axis of Evil is becoming a negative reflection of America’s insensitivity and obviously not a very healthy language to use against any country or people, no matter the differences. Now the worry is also that there is a gradual inclination by those countries in the Axis of Evil to form some kind of an alliance. While there is still no evidence of any formal grouping or pact, there is evidence that these countries— North Korea, Iran, Syria, Cuba—with an anti-American sentiment has started to share a common bond and understanding. Going a step further Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is reaching out to Latin America—an ideal base for anti-Americanism. Ahmadinejad’s four-nation tour of the region earlier in January, included stops in Cuba and visits to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador. It is an open secret that Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez is the ideal Iranian ally and the prospect of Tehran using this to install long range missiles targeting the US is cause of concern—reminiscent of the Cuban Missile crisis of1962, when the Soviet Union supplied Cuba with missiles.
What is even more worrying is that this divide mentioned above has seeped into the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Among the powerful five permanent members of the Security Council it is becoming clear that China and Russia are starting to move away from the western grouping of the United States and Europe. Whether on Iran, North Korea or Syria both Beijing and Moscow are taking a stance supporting these countries. The latest case is on the crisis in Syria. Both China and Russia have vetoed a UN resolution condemning Syria's crackdown on anti-government protesters. So there is growing evidence that those in the Axis of Evil may well be working on an anti-American platform even to the point of open military confrontation. Even the international community (read the UN) has failed to agree on a unified response. Is anti-Americanism growing? Are we going to see a return of the world divided into camps (military alliance)? This is an ominous sign for global peace. Better sense should prevail amongst the comity of nations.
