`Axis of evil' is a coherent idea
Luke Burke
Dillon Hall
Perhaps Derek Vollmer [see "Alienating allies could prove destructive" on Tuesday] is the one confused regarding the Bush Doctrine, unveiled in the president's recent State of the Union speech, a.k.a. the "Axis of Evil" speech, because the president is far from confused. Furthermore, the situation regarding the support of our European allies is far from the "oversimplification of a very complex issue" of which Vollmer writes.
Bush deliberately made the "Axis of evil" a simplistic statement, a black and white issue. How else does one explain a minority of religious clerics continually subjugating the reformist political agenda in Iran. We also know that Iran is one of the most active state-sponsors and exporters of terrorism abroad, or have we already forgotten the recent arms shipment to Palestinian militants?
The Communists of North Korea have spent billions to produce weapons of mass destruction and develop the use of intercontinental ballistic missiles; meanwhile their citizens starve. The North Korean Communists have exported their weapons technologies to Iran. And, despite the Clinton policy of trying to buy off the Communists, they have actively sought to obtain nuclear capabilities.
Apparently we have also forgotten that the words "Communist" and "liar" go hand in hand. Defectors from the state have reported seeing bodies of starvation victims floating in rivers and people so hungry they regularly consumed grass to survive. According to the United Nations, 2 million North Korean children are slowly dying of starvation.
And then there is our old friend Saddam. The leader of Iraq murdered over a hundred thousand of his own Iraqi Kurd and non-Arab citizenry, many with chemical weapons. A few years later Saddam was at it again, attacking Kuwait and ultimately subjecting his people to the U.N. sanctions that now cripple the Iraqi population. But the Gulf War was all about oil, right? Make no mistake, the issues could not be clearer. These three nations breed and support the trepidation that would seek to destroy the United States should they ever be given the opportunity; much like Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and authoritarian Japan before it. These nations export hate, terror and fear. We export tolerance, individuality and free thought.
No, the Bush Doctrine could not be any clearer. As David Limbaugh explains: "The United States recognizes the clear and present danger global terrorist networks pose to the blessings of liberty, and so will act first to protect our interests." Similar to former President Reagan's "Evil Empire" speech (I think we know how that turned out), President Bush's State of the Union has come under much criticism from our allies abroad. I can only wonder what we will do without the backing and alliance with the Saudi Navy or French government (who sold Iraq its first nuclear reactors over 20 years ago). Much has been made about the international coalition organized before the recent military actions in Afghanistan. The reality being that extremely few of our allies' officers were even involved in the fighting, save British special forces.
The Bush Doctrine could not be any more straightforward and honest. And, if I were the leader of a European ally, I would go out of the way to support the efforts of the world's only superpower in their effort to encourage freedom and liberty in these backwards nations. I would do this before the great defender of democracy grows sick of taking such continual criticism and takes its ball and goes home.
Luke Burke
Dillon Hall
junior
Feb. 26, 2002
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, February 28, 2002
