Current Affairs
The
Axis of Evil is Now for Real
by Roar Bjonnes (PNA)
I
am starting to believe Bush. The Axis of Evil really exists. In an op-ed
piece in the Los Angeles Times, former US State Department official Bennet
Ramberg reminds us, quite chillingly, that the Axis of Evil is now for
real. For a while, it looked like the three most evil countries in the
world--Iraq, Iran, and North Korea--was simply strung out on an imaginary
line in Bush's own metaphoric mind. But no longer.
The
preemptive war against Iraq is gaining momentum. North Korea has sharpened
its rhetorical sabers in a nuclear standoff with the United States, saying
only a ''tremendous military deterrent force'' could avert war. And Iran,
according to Ramberg, must be stopped before it gains nuclear weapons.
How? By diplomacy backed by force.
Sounds
familiar? Indeed, isn't that the same strategy Bush used in the days
leading up to the war against Iraq? Use the UN when diplomacy is needed;
use force when diplomacy no longer works to his advantage.
One Evil country is now being fought in the trenches of Baghdad. The other two
Evils have already become embedded in a war of words.
''Only
the physical deterrent force, tremendous military deterrent force powerful
enough to decisively beat back an attack supported by any ultramodern
weapons, can avert a war and protect the security of the country and
the nation. This is a lesson drawn from the Iraqi war,'" said
the North Korean Foreign Ministry recently.
And
Iran, according to Ramberg, must be stopped in its race to require nuclear
weapons. How? Back the rhetoric with missiles, he says, before Iran becomes
part of the nuclear club.
Ramberg
is not a speech writer for President Bush, but one wonders how long it
will take before we hear Bush say: "Iran is now diverting nuclear
material to terrorist allies. You have only one option: Disarm or face
serious consequences." ("Serious consequences," that controversial
phrase from UN resolution 1441, remember, is, according to Bush, diplomatic
language for WAR)
One wonders how long it will take before Bush, Powell, and Rumsfeld will heed
Ramberg's suggestion: "The choice should be squarely in Teheran's hands."
Along
that rhetorical Axis of Evil, there is a real and parallell track, a
long and dusty path of war and hell. Along that road, Iraq was the first
stop. Will Iran be next?
