Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil & The Presidency

The phrase "axis of evil" was first used by 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, four months after the September 11 attacks and more than a year before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and often repeated throughout his presidency. He used it to describe foreign governments that, during his administration, allegedly sponsored terrorism and sought weapons of mass destruction. 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, Hezbollah and the Gaza Strip under Hamas. Lately, an updated grouping consisting of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, also known as CRINK, has been 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 World War II (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Empire of Japan).