The New Axis of Evil

In former president George W. Bush’s 2002 State of the Union address, he introduced to the world a new concept: the “axis of evil.” The phrase, coined by Bush speechwriter David Frum, referred to an unholy trinity of Iran, Iraq, and North Korea, states that sponsored terrorism and sought the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction. Frum writes in his book, The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush, that the phrase was inspired by former president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address to Congress after Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor — the famous “Day of Infamy” speech.

Frum recalled the acrimony and suspicion between Germany, Italy, and Japan during the war — to the extent that, in Frum’s estimation, the three would have ultimately cannibalized each other had the Axis prevailed — and the parallel goals the powers shared that drove them to form an alliance. Thinking of Iran, Iraq, and the terror groups al-Qaeda and Hezbollah (North Korea would be added to the list before Bush delivered the speech), Frum found an analogous dynamic: Despite the internecine conflicts between those entities, they had a common enemy in the United States.

About the Author

Zach Kessel

Zach Kessel was a William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow in Political Journalism and a recent graduate of Northwestern University.

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In former president George W. Bush’s 2002 State of the Union address, he introduced to the world a new concept: the “axis of evil.” The phrase, coined by Bush speechwriter David Frum, referred to an unholy trinity of Iran, Iraq, and North Korea, states that sponsored terrorism and sought the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction. Frum writes in his book, The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush, that the phrase was inspired by former president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address to Congress after Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor — the famous “Day of Infamy” speech.

Frum recalled the acrimony and suspicion between Germany, Italy, and Japan during the war — to the extent that, in Frum’s estimation, the three would have ultimately cannibalized each other had the Axis prevailed — and the parallel goals the powers shared that drove them to form an alliance. Thinking of Iran, Iraq, and the terror groups al-Qaeda and Hezbollah (North Korea would be added to the list before Bush delivered the speech), Frum found an analogous dynamic: Despite the internecine conflicts between those entities, they had a common enemy in the United States.