Editing Axis of evil (section)

{{Short description|American term for "sponsors of terrorism"}}
{{about|the term coined by George W. Bush|World War II alliance|Axis powers|other uses|Axis of evil (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} 
{{Multiple issues|section=y|{{more citations needed|date=February 2024}}
{{Primary sources|date=February 2024}}
}}
[[File:Axis of Evil map.svg|upright=1.35|thumb|{{legend|#c60000|Bush's "axis of evil" included [[Iran]], [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]], and [[North Korea]]}}{{legend|#ffb366|"Beyond the Axis of Evil" included [[Cuba]], [[History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi|Libya]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tucker |first=Jonathan B. |date=November 1, 2009 |title=The Rollback of Libya's Chemical Weapons Program |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10736700903255060 |journal=The Nonproliferation Review |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=363–384 |doi=10.1080/10736700903255060 |issn=1073-6700}}</ref> and [[Ba'athist Syria|Syria]]}}{{legend|#000080|The [[United States]]}}]]

The phrase "'''axis of evil'''" was first used by [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[George W. Bush]] and originally referred to [[Iran]], [[Ba'athist Iraq]], and [[North Korea]]. It was used in Bush's [[State of the Union address]] on January 29, 2002, less than five months after the [[September 11 attacks]] and more than a year before the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], and often repeated throughout [[Presidency of George W. Bush|his presidency]]. He used it to describe foreign governments that, during his administration, allegedly [[State Sponsors of Terrorism|sponsored terrorism]] and sought [[weapon of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]].<ref name="politico-20190129" />

The notion of such an axis was used to pinpoint these common enemies of the United States and to rally the American population in support of the [[War on Terror]]. The countries originally covered by the term were [[Iran]], [[Ba'athist Iraq]], and [[North Korea]]. In response, Iran formed a political alliance that it called the "[[Axis of Resistance]]" comprising Iran, [[Ba'athist Syria]] and [[Hezbollah]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 5, 2024 |title=Axis of Resistance revived: A new turn in the US-Iran conflict, what's next? |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/features/panorama/axis-resistance-revived-new-turn-us-iran-conflict-whats-next-787406 |access-date=August 23, 2024 |website=The Business Standard |language=en |archive-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521082223/https://www.tbsnews.net/features/panorama/axis-resistance-revived-new-turn-us-iran-conflict-whats-next-787406 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Later, [[China]], [[Russia]], [[Iran]] and [[North Korea]] were referred to as the "new axis of evil" by U.S. politicians and commentators. The term "axis of evil" is a reference to the [[Axis powers]] of [[WWII]] ([[Nazi Germany]], [[Fascist Italy]], and [[Empire of Japan]]).<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Axis of Evil: From Rhetoric to Reality |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2005-10-03/the-axis-of-evil-from-rhetoric-to-reality |access-date=August 23, 2024 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en |archive-date=August 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240824052529/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2005-10-03/the-axis-of-evil-from-rhetoric-to-reality |url-status=live }}</ref>