Nations Demonized as an ‘Axis of Evil’

George W. Bush loves to use the term “evil,” just as Ronald Reagan did when he called the Soviet Union an “evil empire.” A religious term that stirs the emotions is much more powerful in political diatribe than rational discourse. However, I was dismayed to hear him call Iran, Iraq and North Korea an “axis of evil.” Bush seems intent on antagonizing and isolating these regimes rather than engaging them. When he took office, he refused to support South Korea’s attempts to open dialogue with North Korea. Recently, North Korea requested a meeting with U.S. officials but canceled it after the president’s remark. Moderate Iranians have made friendly overtures to the West, and the government cooperated in arresting militant fundamentalists. Now they are so angry at the U.S. they are demonstrating and carrying signs that read “Death to America” (Feb. 12).

Why would this president deliberately provoke hatred instead of friendship and dialogue? Why would he associate these three very different nations? The answer lies in the central theme of his campaign, which was to build a missile defense system. The government can’t spend billions of dollars on missile defense if it can’t produce enemies that might be capable of launching an ICBM. He can safely demonize these small nations because he knows they pose little threat and that a fearful public, already traumatized by Sept. 11, will persuade a skeptical Congress to fund this irrational largess to the military-industrial complex regardless of the fact that it has nothing to do with the threat of terrorism.

James E. Young

Newport Beach

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In “Iraq Calls Bush’s Bluff on Weapons Scrutiny” (Commentary, Feb. 10), Scott Ritter exposes the hypocrisy in our government’s feud with Saddam Hussein. We are threatening military action, which means bombing and killing more thousands of Iraqi civilians, on the highly questionable premise that Iraq won’t allow resumption of the weapons inspections. The truth is that Iraq has offered to discuss that matter with the U.N.

One has to wonder why we Americans handle foreign relations with big nations as well as we do and nearly always bungle when we deal with the small nations. Might the answer have something to do with bullying by the big guy?

Dewey Wasser

Thousand Oaks