Achse des Bösen

Am 29.Januar 2002 von US-Präsident George Bush in einer Rede zur Lage der Nation geprägter Begriff ("Axis of evil"). Mit diesem Begriff stellte er die Länder Nord-Korea, Iran und Irak in einen gemeinsamen Kontext: Sie seien mit Terroristen alliiert und rüsteten auf, um den Weltfrieden zu bedrohen.

Wörtlich sagte Bush:

Our second 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.

Die Rede im Volltext wurde in einer Pressemitteilung des Weißen Hauses veröffentlicht: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html