Is it West and the rest or America and the rest?

Top World News


01/31 16:32
Bush Warns Terrorism Sponsors in Next Phase of War (Update2)
By Holly Rosenkrantz and Richard Keil


Atlanta, Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said
countries that develop weapons of mass destruction must ``get
their house in order,'' sharpening his rhetoric about the next
phase of the war on terrorism.

``If you're one of those nations that develops weapons of mass
destruction, and you're likely to team up with a terrorist group,
or you're sponsoring terror,'' then ``you, too are on our watch
list,'' Bush said at a campaign-style rally today.

Bush's characterization of Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an
``axis of evil'' in Tuesday night's speech drew condemnations
from the three countries. Two top White House aides, Chief of
Staff Andrew Card and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice,
said today that Bush was simply putting those countries on notice
the U.S. is pursuing another stage in the anti-terror war.

``The list of states that sponsor terror and the list that are
seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction happen to overlap
substantially,'' Rice said at a speech to the Conservative
Political Action Committee, an arm of the American Conservative
Union.

Bush didn't mention North Korea, Iran and Iraq by name in two
days of rallies in North Carolina, Florida and Georgia. Today in
Atlanta, he said he wants the world to know ``what it means''
when his administration warns nations that develop nuclear,
chemical or biological weapons.

Rule of Law

``They better respect the rule of law,'' Bush said. ``They better
not terrorize America and our friends and allies, or the justice
of this nation will be served on them as well.''

Bush's aides were more explicit when asked whether Iran, Iraq and
North Korea were at the top of an administration watch list.
``They represent priority concern,'' Card told reporters while
traveling with Bush. ``There are reasons well known for the world
to be concerned about the climate of these three countries.''

``Those countries where they invite terrorists to play are
inviting greater scrutiny from the civilized world,'' Card said.
In North Korea's case, Card said the country had a history of
selling delivery systems for weapons of mass destruction ``to
some around the world who might not have the best of motives.''

The three countries are also far along in their development of
weapons of mass destruction, Rice said. North Korea, for one, is
the ``world's No. 1 merchant for ballistic missiles, open for
business with anyone, no matter how malign the buyer's
intentions,'' Rice said.

Iran's ``direct support for global terrorism'' and its
``aggressive'' efforts to obtain weapons ``belie any good
intentions'' it showed in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks on
the U.S., Rice said.

Appeal to Allies

The U.S. wants its allies to help stop these countries from
deploying weapons, and will take steps of its own, including
tightening export controls, Rice said.

The U.S. will also use its ``new and budding'' relationship with
Russia to improve efforts to prevent ``the leakage of dangerous
materials and technologies,'' Rice said. Even as Bush and Russian
President Vladimir Putin have touted their personal friendship,
they've clashed over Russian sales of weapons technology to Iran.

Some analysts said Bush's ``axis of evil'' remark may have done
more harm than good.

Ted Carpenter, the Cato Institute's vice president for defense
and foreign policy, said Bush's comments Tuesday were
``inflammatory rhetoric'' and ``not particularly helpful'' toward
cultivating a dialogue to reduce the threat of global terror.

Bush Marker

Jim Lindsay, a former Clinton administration national security
aide, said Bush ``clearly has made a major rhetorical
commitment'' and ``that puts pressure on the administration to
follow through.''

Bush laid down ``a marker'' for action that may have to be
unilateral and risks alienating Arab allies like Saudi Arabia,
Western nations like Britain and even Asian allies like South
Korea, plunging the Middle East and Asia into disarray, Lindsay
said.

Today the president defined the enemy as one that ``knows no
values, does not share the same values we do.''

``For the sake of a peaceful world, we must not only find them in
Afghanistan, we must find them wherever they hide, in any country
that harbors terrorism around the world,'' he said.