Axis of Evil: Bush Predicted or Produced?

Secretary Rice bestowed the Karnak the Magnificent label on President George W. Bush for his Axis of Evil label given in 2002 to North Korea, Iran and Iraq. In an interview with Sean Hannity Condi said:

"You think of some of the world reaction to the president's use of the word 'axis of evil,' and then you see how events have been unfolding," Hannity remarked. "It was a pretty good analysis, wasn't it?" Rice replied. "It really was."

Bush said the three countries were state sponsors of terror and wanted to acquire weapons of mass destruction. It took an invasion of Iraq to find out Bush applied the label in error. However the President and the V.P. continued for nearly 3 years to inaccurately claim a Saddam/al-Qaida connection.

As for Iran, President Ahmadinejad wasn’t in office in 2002. Instead Mohammad Khatami, a reformer stood in the seat of power. This Iranian leader reached out to Bush with reconciliatory overtones in 2003. The U.S. summarily rejected the olive leaf, adhering to his Axis of Evil label. What role did this snub have in the Iranian people electing a hard liner in 2005? Only the Iranian people can tell us. They do remember the United States unwavering support for the Shah and consider his overthrow much the way Americans consider July 4th and the Declaration of Independence.

As for North Korea, their pathological leader qualifies for whatever label given him at any point in any day.

From here Bush is 1-1-1. Iraq is the loss in many more ways than one. Iran is the tie as it is difficult to tell if the Bush rhetoric is the chicken or the egg. His one win is North Korea with its nutcase leader. That a pathological leader can recognize darkness in the other is no surprise. As Bush ushers in space weapons and a new modern nuclear warhead that may or may not need testing, he and Kim Jong-il resonate like two tuning forks in full vibration.

If Condi is going to be NFL Commissioner one day, she needs to bone up on what makes a win and what constitutes a loss. Her comments today rival her prior root cause analyses. And did Dick Cheney ever figure out to do a plan with timelines?