Axis of Evil speech Jan 2002

[aschnackenberg]

3. Perhaps there weren't any policy implications at all...

Let's remember Bush had a fondness for religious rhetoric that had no bearing on reality.... as the phrase "Axis of Evil" itself shows. Perhaps he felt like calling out some "enemies" in a way that harkened back to WWII, and maybe someone on his staff decided it wouldn't do to just call out Muslim countries, but they needed a token baddy from somewhere else in the world.

The SCUD connection *is* interesting though, but it's not like other countries weren't shipping weapons to less-than-noble regimes in the region (eg, Chinese missiles being delivered to Pakistan).