axis of evil

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The Axis of Evil is a political catchphrase coined by then -US President George W. Bush in a January 29, 2002 State of the Union address to describe countries he accused of supporting terrorists and after To strive for weapons of mass destruction, such as North Korea , Iran and Iraq .

semantics

The term is a neologism composed of quotations from Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan .

The use of moralizing terms is common in US political rhetoric across the political spectrum. In this respect, the fact that talk of the axis of evil outside the USA was received with considerable astonishment in some cases primarily reflects differences in political culture. However, factual criticism can be leveled at the conceptual reference to the Axis powers of the Second World War: It is misleading insofar as the accused countries Iran , North Korea and the Iraqi regime at the time are not and were not allies. They are pursuing or pursuing similar foreign policy goals, in particular in their rejection of US foreign policy. However, these goals are not being pursued in the kind of cooperation that was the case with the Axis powers. After all, Iraq and Iran had waged an extremely bloody war against each other less than a decade earlier. Even 20 years after the end of hostilities, neither country has conducted any official peace negotiations.

Text of George W. Bush's speech

The countries mentioned by Bush: Iran, North Korea, Iraq (red). In a broader sense, Cuba, Libya and Syria (yellow) are or were also included.

Literally, Bush said:

Our second goal is to prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction. Some of these regimes have been pretty quiet since September the 11th. But we know their true nature.
North Korea is a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens.
Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom.
Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror. The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax, and nerve gas, and nuclear weapons for over a decade. This is a regime that has already used poison gas to murder thousands of its own citizens - leaving the bodies of mothers huddled over their dead children. This is a regime that agreed to international inspections - then kicked out the inspectors. This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world.
States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil , arming to threaten the peace of the world.

In German translation:

Our second goal is to prevent regimes that support terrorism from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction. Some of these regimes have been fairly quiet since 9/11. But we know their true nature.
The regime in North Korea is arming itself with missiles and weapons of mass destruction while starving its citizens.
Iran aggressively seeks these weapons and exports terror, while a select few, unelected, quash the Iranian people's hope for freedom.
Iraq continues to openly display its hostility towards America and supports terrorism. For more than a decade, the Iraqi regime has been secretly trying to develop anthrax, nerve agents and nuclear weapons. This regime has already used poison gas to murder thousands of its own citizens - and then left the corpses of mothers huddled over their dead children. This regime consented to international inspections - and then threw out the inspectors. This regime has something to hide from the civilized world.
States like these, and their terrorist allies, form an axis of evil that is mobilizing to threaten world peace.

authorship

The full text of the speech was published in a White House press release . It probably comes from Bush's Canadian speechwriter and biographer David Frum , a former journalist. His wife, Danielle Crittenden , stated in an email in February 2002 that her husband was the author of the term. Frum left the White House at about the same time these circumstances became known. The exact dates are difficult to reconstruct, so it is not entirely clear whether Frum was forced out of the position or resigned of his own accord (before his authorship became known).

However, Frum emphasized that in his version of the speech he spoke of an "Axis of Hate " . White House speechwriter Michael Gerson or Bush himself may have changed the phrase to "axis of evil." In an interview with the ZDF program quintessential , Frum explained that the idiom was to be given a religious connotation .

Similar terms borrowed from Bush's speech

The axis image, which is known to be derogatory, was also reflected in Germany, with the CDU politician Wolfgang Schäuble rhetorically suspecting, with regard to the position of Gerhard Schröder and Presidents Jacques Chirac and Vladimir Putin against the US invasion of Iraq : "It could be that the Paris - Berlin - Moscow axis is ultimately driving the USA to go it alone."

When she took office as US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice spoke of six “ outposts of tyranny ” instead of the axis of evil . B. also counted Myanmar .

In the German press in 2009, after the problems at Deutsche Bahn with the axles of the ICE 3 trains and the vehicle failures of the Berlin S-Bahn , which were also caused by axle problems, jokingly spoke of the axles of evil .

The second edition of Dave Barry 's book “The Axis of the Stupid. A political theory of evolution in the USA.”, in which the American author takes a satirical and critical look at his compatriots.

American comedians Ahmed Ahmed, Maz Jobrani , Aron Kader and Dean Obeidallah, originally from Egypt, Palestine and Iran, organized a tour under the name Axis of Evil.

In the context of the public debate about the climate crisis , economist Paul Krugman took up the concept of the axis of evil by referring to states that had not approved a report from the UN climate conference in Katowice in 2018 : "There is a new axis of evil: Russia, Saudi Arabia - and the United States".

reception

"Inspired" by Bush's thesis, producer Erik Hillestad from the Norwegian record company Kirkelig Kulturverksted went in search of lullabies from the relevant countries and released the CD Lullabies from the Axis of Evil ("Lullabies from the Axis of Evil"), on which international artists interpret appropriate songs, e.g. B. Anisette Koppler, Kari Bremnes , Eva Dahlgren , Lila Downs , Nina Hagen , Rickie Lee Jones , Sarah Jane Morris or Eddi Reader . Hillestad wants to draw attention to the fact that people also live and cultivate culture in the countries incriminated by Bush : For the music producer, lullabies symbolize the beginning of all communication , they are part of a universal culture. Ten percent of the proceeds from the sale of the CD go to the organization Worldview Rights , which wants to promote human rights , democracy and conflict resolution through communication .

See also

web links

itemizations

  1. ↑ The Deutsche Bahn and the axes of the Bösen Handelsblatt of March 29, 2009
  2. ↑ Berlin S-Bahn chaos - Wowereit and the axes of evil ( Memento of April 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Frankfurter Rundschau of July 13, 2009
  3. ↑ '"Axis of Evil' inspires laughs" CNN.com
  4. ↑ "Stand-Up Diplomacy" Time
  5. ↑ Megan Keller: NYT's Krugman: US, Russia and Saudi Arabia are 'new axis of evil'. In: The Hill . 12 October 2018, accessed 17 February 2021 (English): "There's a new axis of evil: Russia, Saudi Arabia — and the United States"
  6. ↑ WORLD MUSIC - Where one sings, there settle down. Retrieved April 8, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Indigo 2004, EAN 4015698549621