Inventing the Axis of Evil : The Truth about North Korea, Iran, and Syria

The Bush administration has thus far left little doubt regarding its intentions for the regimes that compose the so-called Axis of Evil. It has already disposed of Iraq, while North Korea and Iran ignore U.S. threats at their peril. The same goes for Syria, the object of an intense propaganda campaign waged in conjunction with Operation Iraqi Freedom -- when it was reported that contingency plans for war with Damascus were under review. Yet Americans know very little about these three "evil" countries beyond what the Pentagon has told them. In Inventing the Axis of Evil, noted experts on each country set the record straight, confronting relentless fear-mongering with hard facts. The authors explore each country's history and internal politics alongside the spotty record of past U.S. interventions, including the war in Korea and the CIA-sponsored overthrow of Iran's elected prime minister in 1953. While entertaining no illusions about these despotic regimes, Inventing the Axis of Evil demonstrates that the whole truth is more complicated. Essential reading for anyone concerned that the deceit of the war in Iraq will lead to further misadventures, this is a vital corrective to the saber-rattling of the Bush administration and an expose of the dubious claims that may well underwrite America's next war. Book jacket.