GLOBAL CONNECTIONS: the Near/Middle East
January 29, 2002: U.S. president George W. Bush says Iran, Iraq, and North Korea constitute an "axis of evil."

In his first State of the Union address, President Bush warns that the proliferation of long-range missiles, known to be under development in these countries, is as great a danger to the U.S. as terrorism.

NPR The State of the Union Address
http://www.npr.org/news/specials /sou/2002/020129.bushtext.html

The transcript of President George W. Bush's 2002 State of the Union address
NPR Wider War?
http://search.npr.org/cf/cmn/segment_display .cfm?segID=137243

President Bush's statements imply the United States will not necessarily wait for threats before acting against rogue nations developing weapons of mass destruction.


PBS Axis of Evil
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/international /jan-june02/axis_1-30.html

Experts analyze the president's warning to nations harboring terrorists and its potential impact on the U.S. war on terrorism. (January 2002)