abstract:Axis of evil is a term coined by George W. Bush to describe governments that he accused of sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction.
"Unfortunately, when President George W. Bush came into office, he threw away all of those agreements ... and declared that North Korea was one of the 'axis-of-evil' " nations, Carter said.
The Syrian response was to add Turkey to its own version of the axis of evil -- the United States, NATO, Saudi Arabia and in fact much of the rest of the world -- in its official propaganda.
The administration came to town thinking that America's problems with Iran were largely self-inflicted -- a combination of "Axis of Evil" and "regime change" rhetoric, an invasion that gave Iran a reasonable motive for wanting to arm itself with nuclear weapons, and an unwillingness to try to settle differences in face-to-face talks.