Hi Bill,

Unsurprisingly, it shows appalling stupidity to have included Iran (I know
little about North Korea, so won't comment).  Iran is in the middle of a
long-running, massive reform movement.  The President is elected, and is
engaging in reform far beyond the religious leaders, and has had some
meaningful wins recently.  With the US now calling Iran "evil", the
hardliners have received a huge boost.

I find it frightening that Colin Powell is considered a dove in this
administration.

Alister

At 05:47 AM 5/02/2002, Bill Bartlett wrote:
>http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/2002/02/04/FFX6GYTP7XC.html
>
>How the White House chose the membership of the 'axis of evil'
>
>
>By ANTON LA GUARDIA
>LONDON
>Monday 4 February 2002
>
>When President Bush was preparing his State of the Union address, he was
>adamant about using his now famous phrase, "an axis of evil", to describe
>some of the world's rogue states.
>
>His foreign policy advisers, however, disagreed over who should be
>included in this unholy alliance.
>
>According to British sources, all agreed Iraq was evil, but the inclusion
>of Iran caused intense arguments and North Korea was thrown in to avoid
>accusations that America was targeting only Muslim countries.
>
>Libya and Syria, regimes that have links to international terrorism, were
>left out because they were deemed to be of secondary importance and
>maintained a dialogue with the West.
>
>Mr Bush did not spell out how he proposed to deal with the evil alliance
>he had identified.
>
>Two of the three countries listed in the "axis of evil" - Iran and North
>Korea - have diplomatic relations with a number of European and other
>Western countries countries, including Australia.
>
>Iraq has been the object of international sanctions for a decade and is
>accused of trying to rebuild weapons of mass destruction.
>
>Iran, a sponsor of radical Islamic groups, is also trying to build
>long-range missiles and nuclear weapons. But it is Iraq's regional rival
>and has helped the West in its war against the Taliban.
>
>North Korea has little to do with Islamic terrorism, but has tested
>long-range missiles, has developed biological weapons and is working on a
>nuclear capability. It has also provided missile technology to Iran.
>
>British officials are still analysing the nuances of Mr Bush's speech. But
>they are increasingly convinced that the "axis of evil" is intended more
>to galvanise domestic support for Mr Bush and his missile defence policy
>than to provide any clear guidance on Washington's next military target.
>
>- Telegraph



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